tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42525246486966929012024-03-13T17:09:59.574-07:00bookbroadsA blog from Broadway Books: A great little bookstore with great big service.Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.comBlogger827125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-42018143753329693412013-01-09T09:44:00.003-08:002013-01-09T09:44:38.970-08:00Ann Patchett: My Hero I'm sure most of you are familiar with Ann Patchett the author. She has written several well-loved books, including <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780061565311" target="_blank">Bel Canto</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547521893" target="_blank">Taft</a></i>, and her most recent, <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/%5Bmodel%5D-13" target="_blank">State of Wonder</a></i>. But did you know that she is also Ann Patchett the independent bookseller and, sort of by accident, Ann Patchett the spokesperson for independent booksellers everywhere?<br />
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When the last general independent bookstore closed in Nashville, her hometown, Ms Patchett and her business partner (former Random House rep Karen Hayes) started their own: Parnassus Books. When an author of such high recognition opens a bookstore, it makes news, and Ms Patchett has been all over the media. If you haven't yet read the article she wrote for the December issue of <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/12/the-bookstore-strikes-back/309164/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a>, I encourage you to read it.<br />
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I love just about everything she wrote in her essay, but I was particularly moved by this passage: "Maybe we just got lucky. But this luck makes me believe that changing the course of the corporate world is possible. Amazon doesn't get to make all the decisions; the people can make them, by choosing how and where they spend their money. If what a bookstore offers matters to you, then shop at a bookstore. If you feel that the experience of reading a book is valuable, then read a book. This is how we change the world: We grab hold of it. We change ourselves." Ooooh, it still gives me goosebumps - especially the part about Amazon not getting to make all the decisions.<br />
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Last year I had the pleasure of attending a conference at which Ms Patchett spoke. She was so moving and inspirational I thought, "I need to open a bookstore right this minute," and then I remembered I already have one. I have never felt prouder than I did at that moment.Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-27780941892707521432012-12-24T10:27:00.002-08:002012-12-24T10:27:59.275-08:00Day 24: A Look at Saudi ArabiaIt's finally here: the last day in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Day 24. Christmas Eve. We've talked about a lot of books this month -- a little bit of everything. I'm guessing you deduced that the blog posts were written by more than one person: Sally McPherson (the every-day blogger), Roberta Dyer, Kate Bennison, and Joanna Rose. (Either you figured it out or you thought they were being written by one twisted, multi-personality bookseller.) I resolve to write more book posts in 2013 on a regular basis, rather than saving the bulk of them up for the time of year when we're all likely to be the busiest. But, what the heck; it adds a little extra juice to the month.<br />
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I had a hard time thinking about which book to tell you about today. I considered <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781452110585" target="_blank"><i><b>I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats</b></i></a>, but those are selling like hotcakes without a mention here (the perfect stocking stuffer). I thought about writing about Lidia Yuknavitch's new novel <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780983477570" target="_blank"><i><b>Dora: A Headcase</b></i></a>, but everyone seems to know about that already as well. (By the way, let me just say that I think a wrapped set of <i>Dora</i> with Lidia's award-winning memoir <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780979018831" target="_blank"><i><b>The Chronology of Wate</b></i><i><b>r</b></i></a> would make a incredibly thoughtful gift.)<br />
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I considered <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780870716690" target="_blank"><i><b>Standing at the Water's Edge: Bob Straub's Battle for the Soul of Oregon</b></i></a>, a new biography that I will be taking on vacation with me next month on the personal recommendation of one of my biggest idols: former Oregon governor Barbara Roberts.<br />
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But instead I decided to go with another paired set of reading: two perspectives on Saudia Arabia and it's people, one nonfiction and one fiction.<br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307272164" target="_blank"><i><b>On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - And Future,</b></i></a> is written by Karen Ellott House, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has been visiting the kingdom for more than 30 years. Saudia Arabia is a country of great importance to the world, but one that most people know little about, one of the last absolute monarchies in the world. Or, as <i>The New York Times</i> described it in its review of House's book: "It’s not Mars, exactly, but for most Americans Saudi Arabia is probably
more like another world than any other inhabited part of this one. It is
about as distinct from the freewheeling United States as a country can
be."<br />
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In her book, House examines Saudi Arabia not only through her interviews with most of the key members of the royal family, but, more importantly, through the lives of countless individuals -- men and women, in villages and in cities, conservative Muslims and modern reformers, young and old. This book is an authoritative, illuminating, riveting inside look at a country that could well be on the brink, and what that portends for Saudi Arabia's future -- and for our own. Here are some comments from reviews of House's book:<br />
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Zbigniew Brzezinski: "It exposes incisively and dispassionately the social contradictions and
the potential political vulnerabilities of contemporary Saudi Arabia. A
timely and truly important book."<br />
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Henry Kissinger: "An engaging and lucid exploration of Saudi politics and culture . . .
recommended reading for all those seeking a new perspective on one of
the world's most consequential societies." <br />
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Tina Brown: "One of the most revealing and impressively reported books I read this
year. Karen Elliot House’s 30-plus years’ experience in one of the least
accessible countries makes us see, hear, and experience Saudi Arabia
like a local."<br />
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For a fictional perspective on this country, I offer up the newest from Dave Eggers: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781936365746" target="_blank"><i><b>A Hologram for the King</b></i></a>, a finalist for this year's National Book Award for fiction and recently named one of the top five fiction titles of the year by <i>The New York Times</i>. His novel centers on 54-year-old Alan Clay, a struggling American business and a bit of a sadsack in a rising Saudi Arabian city, pursuing a last-ditch attempt to stave
off foreclosure, pay his daughter's college tuition, and finally do
something great.<br />
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The book has been called a "heartbreaking character study" and a "deft and darkly comic novel," a sort of "moral vision quest." Pico Iyer in a review in <i>The New York Times</i> called <i>A Hologram for the King</i> a "supremely readable parable of America in the global economy that is
haunting, beautifully shaped and sad ... With ferocious energy and
versatility, [Eggers] has been studying how the world is remaking
America ... Eggers has developed an exceptional gift for opening up the
lives of others so as to offer the story of globalism as it develops
and, simultaneously, to unfold a much more archetypal tale of struggle
and loneliness and drift."<br />
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I did not expect to like this book, although I'm not exactly sure why, but it became one of my favorite novels of the year.<br />
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So, that's the end of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. All of us at Broadway Books are full of immense gratitude for all of the kindness you've shown us in 2012. Best wishes for happy and safe holidays, wherever you spend them, and for good tidings in 2013.Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-53324268486722004182012-12-23T13:51:00.001-08:002012-12-23T13:54:03.598-08:00Day 23: Help Thanks Wow. Really. We Mean It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Day 23 in our<b> 24 Days of Books.</b> We're down to the second to last day! Although I do not consider myself a spiritual person and gave up the church of my parents forty years ago, there is a small handful of “religious” writers that I consistently read. At the top of this list is Anne Lamott. She is a Christian writer whose thousands of avid fans include many readers who are not.<br />
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Because she is such a good writer, I suspect I would read Ms. Lamott’s books were she to write about ice fishing or Tuvan throat singing or the import/export business in Chad. I would read her sports columns if she wrote them. I would read her first drafts, which she says are horrible. I would not dare to read her diary, but I most certainly would read her grocery list. Her writing has helped me through early parenthood and tough times. She has helped me with my own writing. She has made me snort-laugh out loud more than most humorists who are trying way harder than she is to elicit laughter. And whether I am reading her fiction or her essays, I always feel that I am in good hands.<br />
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Ms. Lamott’s new book is a slim but timely volume titled <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594631290" target="_blank"><i><b>Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers </b></i></a>($17.95, Riverhead Books). Her thesis is that all “prayer” – and she defines this term very, very loosely – boils down to one of the three simple words in the title.<br />
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The definition of prayer that Ms. Lamott uses transcends religious differences or ideology. Prayer is “certainly not what TV Christians mean. It’s not for display purposes….Prayer is private, even when we pray with others. It is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding.” And, she adds, “Let’s not get bogged down on whom or what we pray to….to the animating energy we are sometimes bold enough to believe in; to something unimaginably big, and not us.” Although I might personally quibble with the “not us” part of her definition, I might just change it slightly for myself to say “not me."<br />
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So, the three prayers are rather self-explanatory, I think. Help me. Thank you. Wow, that is awesome.<br />
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These three thoughts (call them prayers if you want) will carry us a long way. It’s the season for all of them. Help is something we all need when we are struggling alone or together with doubt, hardship, loneliness, suffering, or tragedy – and there is too much of that going around lately. Thanks is especially felt at this time of year but applies to every single day of our lives that we have food and shelter. And Wow: I am reminded of Steve Jobs’ last words: Oh Wow. Oh Wow. Oh Wow. <br />
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It’s telling that we have a little trouble figuring out where to shelve this book in the store. It doesn’t fit neatly into Christianity or Judaism or Eastern Religions, which are the three distinct sections for religion that a small store such as ours has. Neither does it strictly adhere to the Psychology shelf, or Essays, or Personal Memoir. Right now we are solving the problem by stacking it up on the front table, where we put our favorite new nonfiction. And as fast as we stack it, we sell it. Shall we hold one for you?<br />
<br />Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-28522312340529487572012-12-22T10:18:00.002-08:002012-12-22T10:18:25.956-08:00Day 22: Superb Stories from WomenWelcome to Day 22 in our <b>24 Days of Books.</b> While there are lots of great new books out from well-respected male novelists this year (Tom Wolfe, Ian McEwan, Michael Connelly, Junot Diaz, Martin Amis, John Banville, to name just a few), it's a rocking fall for great novels from female writers. Here are a few that particularly stood out to us: <br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316204279" target="_blank"><i><b>Where’d You Go, Bernadette?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></i></a>(Little Brown,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>$25.99) Maria Semple. This is our new go-to book for anyone who needs to get out of the doldrums, who needs a good belly laugh. A funny funny new novel by the author of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316031332" target="_blank">This One is Mine</a>,</i></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this rockin' story takes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> on </span>the PC world of Seattle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Microsoft, rampant blackberry vines,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>over-polite drivers, coffee shops on every corner) and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ends up in Antarctica, while exploring the
lighter side of family dysfunction along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Roberta likes to say that this book does for Seattle what "Portlandia" has done for Portland. </span>Jonathan Franzen says, “Hilarious … I tore through this book with
heedless pleasure.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Or this, one of my favorite reviews: </span>"If you read only one book this summer about an agoraphobic mother and
her broken promise to take her daughter Bee on a trip to Antarctica,
make it this one.... " Semple is a
former writer for <i>Arrested Development, Ellen</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and </span><i>Mad About You</i><span style="font-style: normal;">; her ability to write snappy, witty dialogue is apparent in this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And did we
mention funny?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did we specifically
mention laugh-out-loud,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wet-your-pants funny? 'Cause it is. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062065247" target="_blank"><i><b>The Round House</b></i></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062065247" target="_blank"><i><b> </b></i></a>
</span>(Harper,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>27.99), by Louise Erdrich, recently won the National Book Award for Fiction. The novel is a compelling, comic, and tragic tale of
injustice, a
coming-of-age story with a lonely thirteen-year-old Ojibwe boy at its heart. Set in the late '80s,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> told </span>in her
typically poetic voice, and reaching out wide in all directions -- including the
spirit world -- this is pure Erdrich story-telling;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>heartbreaking and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>multi-layered. The National Book Award judges called it "the story of a family
and community nearly undone by violence.... an intricately layered novel
that not only untangles our nation’s history of moral and judicial
failure, but also offers a portrait of a community sustained by its
traditions, values, faith, and stories.<br />
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Zadie Smith's latest novel, <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594203978" target="_blank">NW</a>,</b></i> has been named one of the top five novels of 2012 by <i>The New York Times. </i>Four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix, and Nathan - try to make adult
lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. From
private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a
complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares
hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to
a dead end. Reviewers have called it "remarkable," "absolutely brilliant," "endlessly fascinating," "innovative and moving," and "radical and passionate and real."<br />
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In her new novel, <i><b>Flight Behavior, </b></i>Barbara Kingsolver calls on both her Appalachian roots and her studies in biology to explore the scientific, financial, and psychological intricacies of climate change. While her passion for the issues at stake ring through, Kingsolver is a storyteller first. In <i>Flight Behavior </i>she tells the story of Dellarobia Turnbow, a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at seventeen. As we heard on NPR, Kingsolver is "as sensitive to human interactions and family dynamics as she is to ecological ones."</div>
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Oprah revived her book club so she could share with the world her love of the memoir <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307592736" target="_blank"><i><b>Wild,</b></i></a> by Portland's own Cheryl Strayed, and so she could have people she could discuss the book with. For her second book for the new club she has chosen <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780385350280" target="_blank"><i><b>The Twelve Tribes of Hattie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></i></a>(Knopf,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$24.95), by Ayana Mathis. Hattie Shepherd<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>flees Georgia at age 15 to create a new life in Philadelphia. Spanning the decades from 1923 to
1980,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mathis weaves together the individual
stories of Hattie's children. In some ways, I think of this book as the fictional off-shoot of the wonderful narrative nonfiction book from last year, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/search/apachesolr_search/the%20warmth%20of%20other%20suns" target="_blank"><i>The Warmth of Other Suns</i></a>, which tells the story of the Great Migration of blacks from the south to the north and west. <i>Kirkus Review </i>has compared Mathis to
Toni Morrison<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Marilynne
Robinson,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> calling the novel </span>vibrant,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>compassionate<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">, </span>and elegant. This is a stunning new voice of
African-American historical fiction.<br />
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I'll conclude this discussion with novels from three local authors: two debut novelists and a welcome return.<br />
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Set in the lawless frontier town of Century, Oregon, Anna Keesey's debut novel <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780374192044" target="_blank"><i><b>Little Century</b></i></a> tells the story of eighteen-year-old Esther Chambers who, when orphaned after the death of her mother, heads west in search of her only living relative. Paula McLain, author of the <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780345521316" target="_blank"><i>The Paris Wife</i></a>, called the book an incredible debut -- "I found myself dog-earing nearly every page." Keesey's novel, says author Joshua Ferris, "reminds us that character matters, and that justice is pursuant to
conscience," describing the novel as "a frontier saga, a love story, and an
epic of many small pleasures."<br />
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Another debut novel receiving high praise is <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062188502" target="_blank">The Orchardist,</a> </b></i>by Amanda Coplin, <span class="text">a story set in the untamed American West about a makeshift family whose dramatic lives
are shaped by violence, love, and an indelible connection to the land. </span>Reclusive orchardist William Talmadge tends to his apples and apricots
as if they were loved ones. A gentle man, he's found solace in the
sweetness of the fruit he grows and the quiet, beating heart of the land
he cultivates. His calm life is forever altered by the arrival of two feral, scared, and very pregnant teenage girls. <i>Kirkus Reviews</i> describes that book as "Beautifully written, so alive to the magnificence of the land and the
intricate mysteries of human nature, that it inspires awe rather than
depression."<br />
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And, best of all, a new novel from a favorite Portland author:<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451682694" target="_blank"><i><b> Eight Girls Taking Pictures<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></i></a>(Scribner,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$25), by Whitney Otto. The<i><b> </b>New York</i> <i>Times</i> describes Otto’s beautiful new work of fiction as “…a
narrative collage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the book, eight women <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>photographers through the years -- starting in 1917 and moving forward to
the twentieth century -- struggle
with the realities of being women and artists, in individual narratives that
connect and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>inform each other. This
delicious, smart <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>novel is set in Europe,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>California, and Mexico, as well as in the psychological landscapes
that make up the lives of women in the balancing of art and life. As she did in her bestselling novel <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780345388964" target="_blank">How to Make an American Quilt</a>, </i>Whitney Otto offers a finely woven, textured inquiry into the intersecting lives of women, giving us thoughtful, nuanced depictions of the complexity of women's lives.</div>
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<span class="swb">As always you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">,</a>
available at our store. We love more than anything helping you to find
just the right gifts for the people on your list -- especially the
hard-to-shop-for ones. We'll be open til 9 pm tonight, from 10am to 7 pm on Sunday, and from 10 am to 5pm on Christmas Eve for your convenience. Publishers are already starting to run out of some of the most popular books, so don't wait much longer. If the book you come in for is no longer available by Christmas, fear not! We're happy to help you find just the right substitute. Hope to see you soon!</span> </div>
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Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-88329877340323772172012-12-21T09:22:00.001-08:002012-12-21T09:22:19.453-08:00Day 21: The End of Your Life Book Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS909nAxsUAAZzMfVR83bSTZbSdf2T0fSyTmsWYXrA5R3lwDiyhqzgN_jlC9-4gF2tsFAaBsRCiS4omwrbuLYTzeDVpKeOTmdCe794__tNm_XmX8McTDZnHLr92EkkZfautSLZ6jWcdwRK/s1600/end+of+your+life+book+club.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS909nAxsUAAZzMfVR83bSTZbSdf2T0fSyTmsWYXrA5R3lwDiyhqzgN_jlC9-4gF2tsFAaBsRCiS4omwrbuLYTzeDVpKeOTmdCe794__tNm_XmX8McTDZnHLr92EkkZfautSLZ6jWcdwRK/s1600/end+of+your+life+book+club.jpeg" /></a></div>
Wow. It's Friday, which means Christmas is only a few days away, and means it's Day 21 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. One of my favorite books of the season -- and one of the most touching and inspirational (which sounds way smarmier than the book is) -- is the true story of a son and his mother who start a
“book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307594037" target="_blank"><i><b>The End of Your Life Book Club</b></i></a> ($25; Knopf), by Will Schwalbe, tells the story of the time he spent with his mother at the end of her life -- his mother’s last days through the prism of the things they read together<br />
<br />
Mary Anne Schwalbe had been a passionate, active woman; she maintained her passions to the end. She had a successful career in education, eventually becoming the director of admissions at Radcliffe and then Harvard. In her 50s, she discovered the cause of refugees, and she devoted the rest of her life to that cause, traveling all over the world -- Bosnia, Liberia, Monrovia, Laos, etc. She was the founding director of what is now known as The Women's Refugee Commission.<br />
<br />
As an ardent believer in education and in reading, one of her final goals was to help raise money for a national library and cultural center at Kabul University, as well as for traveling libraries to reach remote villages throughout Afghanistan. (Today, the main library building is almost finished, and there are nearly 200 libraries across all 34 provinces.)<br />
<br />
When Mary Anne was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her husband and children were actively involved in her treatment. Will started accompanying his mother to her chemo treatments. Because they were both ardent readers, Will usually started their conversations with a natural question: "What are you reading?" Mary Anne underwent treatment for almost two years, so what evolved was a sort of mother-son book club.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Talking about books allowed
them to talk about tough issues that they might not have otherwise been
able to talk about. It wasn't about setting a
reading agenda -- reading all the classics, for instance, or books on a certain subject -- but just reading
books they wanted to read, for whatever reason, and talking about them. "Just because a book is
selling zillions of copies and is enormously
popular, that doesn’t mean there aren’t extraordinary things to be
learned and gained from it. That education and inspiration can come from
all different kinds of messengers....I really wanted to show how my mother and I talked about books, which is we’d talk about what was interesting to <i>us</i> in a book. It doesn’t have to be the best thing you ever read or the worst thing you ever read. It can just be interesting."<br />
</div>
<div>
Schwalbe was in publishing for 21
years. During that time he saw a lot of great memoirs about people who
had difficult times with their mothers. For him, however, this memoir is a celebration of his mother.<br />
<br />
At Hyperion, Schwalbe signed a book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781401323257" target="_blank"><i>The Last Lecture</i></a>, written by a college professor who was dying of pancreatic cancer and wanted to leave something behind so his young children would have a way of knowing him. Schwalbe thought about sharing the manuscript with his mother, but he worried that perhaps the subject might be too close to her situation. So he just left the manuscript in her room and figured she would read it if she wanted to. She devoured it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Another book they read together was <i>The Etiquette of Illness,</i> by Susan Halpern, through which he learned not to ask "How are you feeling?" but rather "Do you want to talk about how you are feeling?" He learned that when you are spending time with someone who is ill or dying, it's not about what you <i>say</i>; it's about what you <i>ask</i> -- ask, and then truly listen -- and to check in more regularly, rather than waiting until something bad happens.<br />
<br />
Along the way, Schwalbe began writing a blog to keep friends updated on his mother's condition. But it also gave his mom a "mini platform" to get out what she wanted to say. "Don't forget to talk about healthcare reform," for instance. As her son says, there were things she wanted to say in her life, but she didn't care that <i>she</i> said them; she just wanted them heard.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Education and books were very important to her. But she wasn't a writer. A few months
before she died he told her that he wanted to write a book about their
time together and their reading lists. Her first response was "There’s
got to be something else that’s more interesting to write about.” But she began to cotton to the idea: "She loved the idea that the causes and books she was passionate
about would get out in the world."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Although Shwalbe and his mom never actually had "The Big Talk" about death and cancer, through their "book club" they had lots of little
talks, around books, that actually added up to The Big Talk. In other words, they had
The Big Talk; it just lasted two years. The books they talked about allowed her to choose how personal or abstract she wanted the conversation to be.</div>
<div>
<br />
By the time Mary Anne Schwalbe died, at age 75 -- about two years into the "book club" -- she and her son had read dozens of books of all
different kinds: classic novels and modern ones, mysteries,
biographies, poetry, short-story collections, self-help and spiritual
books, histories. She had one particular idiosyncrasy as a reader: she always read the ending of a book first. At the back of the book an appendix lists all of the authors, books, plays, poems, and stories discussed or mentioned in Schwalbe's memoir.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of the lessons Mary Anne left her son was this: "It’s not enough to be moved by a book —
you have to do something...books
are calls to action. Sometimes they’re calls to action to do something
very specific in the world....But sometimes they’re calls to action to see things differently,
to treat people differently, to change the way that you move in the
world."<br />
<br />
Schwalbe titled his book not to remind himself that his mom was dying, "but so I would remember that we all
are — that you never know what book or conversation will be your last." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While
the book is very clearly a tribute to and celebration of his mother,
Schwalbe had a second goal in mind as well: "What I really wanted to do
was share with people the role that books
played in our lives, and the way to do that was to tell our story. I
think many people who don’t read think that reading is a kind of
escape—that it’s the opposite of doing something. You even hear people
say things like, 'Why don’t you put down that book and do something?'
But reading <i>is</i> doing something, and it’s one of the most
important things in the world. I wanted to show how books can teach,
entertain, help you talk about difficult things, change the way you see
the world around you, show you what you need to do in the world, comfort
and inspire. And I wanted to show how books could bring people closer
to each other, at a very difficult time—even two people who were already
very close."<br />
<br />
Will Schwalbe has worked in publishing (most recently as senior vice president and editor in chief of Hyperion Books); in digital media (as the founder and CEO of Cookstr.com, a recipe website); and as a journalist (writing for various publications, including <i>The New York Times</i> and the<i> South China Morning Post</i>). He is the author with David Shipley of <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307275998" target="_blank"><i>Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better.</i></a><br />
<br />
<span class="swb">As always you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">,</a>
available at our store. We love more than anything helping you to find
just the right gifts for the people on your list -- especially the
hard-to-shop-for ones. Hope to see you soon! We'll be open til 9pm every
day until Christmas, except for Sunday (7pm) and Christmas Eve (5pm),
for your convenience. Publishers are already starting to run out of some
of the hot titles of the year, so don't wait too long. </span></div>
Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-85636651267057703212012-12-20T08:16:00.002-08:002012-12-20T08:16:49.790-08:00Day 20: Succeed in the Kitchen with Science<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEE__9ZoLt7VKLtJ1QhFbCSaDsXw6QLUqYr2exJLaIDprT6qlBAPGjIwgYgD-e157m7jAOO98WYNABYN97dm53tSZxaLgVDkpHYTrubsJAzbFTmI_uLkDixm2_47YSwG633cEr9b4NPsX/s1600/science+of+good+cooking.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEE__9ZoLt7VKLtJ1QhFbCSaDsXw6QLUqYr2exJLaIDprT6qlBAPGjIwgYgD-e157m7jAOO98WYNABYN97dm53tSZxaLgVDkpHYTrubsJAzbFTmI_uLkDixm2_47YSwG633cEr9b4NPsX/s1600/science+of+good+cooking.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span class="swb">Welcome to Day 20 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Tick tock tick tock.... In a year when so many good cookbooks have been
published, one merits our special attention due to its popularity with
cooks across the country. I'm talking about <i>Cook's Illustrated</i> <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781933615981" target="_blank"><i><b>The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen </b></i></a>($40, America's Test Kitchen).<br />
<br />
<i>Cook's Illustrated</i> is one of our favorite magazines, and also one of our
bestselling periodicals. It is renowned for its near-obsessive devotion
to finding the very best way to cook a particular dish. Focusing on
American home cooking and aimed at the home cook who wants to be the
best possible cook she/he can be day after day after day, the magazine
staff tests hundreds of recipes weekly, to discover which techniques
work well and which don't.<br />
<br />
Besides recipes, the indefatigable chefs at <i>Cook's Illustrated</i> test and
rate cookware, kitchen gadgets, and pantry staples. And they aren't
afraid to say what they think.<br />
<br />
It's known as "the food geek's bible" for good reason. Cooking is an
art, yes, but so much of what happens in the kitchen is science, and
this magazine has been exploring the relationship between cooking and
science for twenty years. As they say, good science makes good food. And
good food doesn't have to be a mystery.<br />
<br />
This new book boils down tens of thousands of tests into fifty simple
concepts that are guaranteed to make you a better cook, whether you are a
novice in the kitchen or an old hand. <br />
<br />
Christopher Kimball, the bow-tied founder and publisher of<i> Cook's
Illustrated</i> (which incidentally does not accept advertising to avoid any
conflict of interest) is the relentless (in a good way) captain of this
ship, and his personality and attention to detail steer the ship with a
firm hand.<br />
<br />
Including 400 recipes that are "engineered to perfection," the nearly
500-page volume is organized around the fifty concepts. Each concept is
explained in a section called "How the Science Works," and then the Test
Kitchen experiments are described. Following that, the recipes! <br />
<br />
So, here are a few of the principles:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="swb">
Gentle Heat Prevents Overcooking</span></li>
<li><span class="swb">
Fat Makes Eggs Tender</span></li>
<li><span class="swb">
All Potatoes Are Not Created Equal</span></li>
<li><span class="swb">
Vodka Makes Pie Dough Easy</span></li>
<li><span class="swb">
Two Leaveners Are Often Better Than One</span></li>
</ul>
<span class="swb">
Besides the principles and recipes, this book also contains essays on
the sciences of measuring, time and temperature, heat and cold, tools
and ingredients, and much, much more.<br />
<br />
This is the perfect book for just about any cook on your list. As always you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store. We love more than anything helping you to find just the right gifts for the people on your list -- especially the hard-to-shop-for ones. Hope to see you soon! We'll be open til 9pm every day until Christmas, except for Sunday (7pm) and Christmas Eve (5pm), for your convenience. Publishers are already starting to run out of some of the hot titles of the year, so don't wait too long. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</span>Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-92016462731565385882012-12-19T15:29:00.001-08:002012-12-19T15:29:07.350-08:00Day 19: We Be Dancing Fools<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnMV41Bhbj594d1EIGjVzW-IqPLXOSYSKqO8qvkztNbc_esHKDfb57LE4h5G7ondk_6FlRzzFDX4sWMHlrGJsxF5E9KN-e2yP4vDX-v_2hIeX2KfkJ5f-rw0VDU_IwrktcNJrqwfYWhHM/s1600/dancers+among+us.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnMV41Bhbj594d1EIGjVzW-IqPLXOSYSKqO8qvkztNbc_esHKDfb57LE4h5G7ondk_6FlRzzFDX4sWMHlrGJsxF5E9KN-e2yP4vDX-v_2hIeX2KfkJ5f-rw0VDU_IwrktcNJrqwfYWhHM/s1600/dancers+among+us.jpeg" /></a></div>
It's Day 19 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>, and we feel like dancing all around the store. Wouldn't it be cool if you were just walking down NE Broadway and out of nowhere someone began dancing, I mean really dancing, when you least expected it? Wouldn't that make you smile? You probably wouldn't be able to help yourself. Even if you'd been feeling a little dour or grumpy (not that that <i>ever </i>happens to<i> me</i>), you wouldn't be able to hold back a happy turn-up of the lips, or perhaps even a guffaw.<br />
<br />
So imagine a whole book of such things. That's what photographer Jordan Matter <span class="text">started by asking a
member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company to dance for him in a place
where dance is unexpected. So, dressed in a commuter's suit and tie, the
dancer flew across a Times Square subway platform. And in that image
Matter found what he'd been searching for: a way to express the feeling
of being fully alive in the moment, unselfconscious, present.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">Organized
around themes of work, play, love, exploration, dreaming, and more, the book <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780761171706" target="_blank"><i><b>Dancers Among Us</b></i></a> celebrates life in a way that's fresh, surprising, pure, and joyful. There's no photoshopping here, no trampolines, no
gimmicks, no tricks. Just a photographer, his vision, and the
serendipity of what happens when the shutter clicks. </span><span class="text"><span class="text">The book presents one thrilling photograph after another of
dancers leaping, spinning, lifting, kicking, but in the midst of daily
life: on the beach, at a construction site, in a library, a restaurant, a
park. With each image, the reader feels more optimistic, elated even, eager to see the next
bit of magic. One reviewer wrote: "I wonder, if we could see into people's souls, would we see them dancing just like this?" </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="text"><span class="text">Jordan Matters's grandparents were a photographer and a painter, his parents a filmmaker and a model. He began his career as a baseball player, but after seeing a Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit he started taking pictures as a hobby. His hobby turned into a passion, and soon into a career as a portrait photographer. His <a href="http://www.dancersamongus.com/" target="_blank"><i>Dancers Among Us</i></a> project continues on his website. Here's a taste of what the book has to offer:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="text"><span class="text"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zgYs2Qnk3sY" width="560"></iframe> </span> </span>Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-74957077019952577142012-12-18T14:57:00.002-08:002012-12-18T14:57:38.569-08:00Day 18: We're Caught in a Spiral...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2NqLnRQatVhAmwlMhAlR3z-MEHIyNNYCK86RI5ZJUAWvYzYlioAPuBckBgtVBk6-gSy6B0AEhaF9E59AZBaG7zdEkaJi2qrgyq6rjk6YDL8CKZ49M8FQCi1Oqn4652nojKKSpQaxl3KR/s1600/spiral+draw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2NqLnRQatVhAmwlMhAlR3z-MEHIyNNYCK86RI5ZJUAWvYzYlioAPuBckBgtVBk6-gSy6B0AEhaF9E59AZBaG7zdEkaJi2qrgyq6rjk6YDL8CKZ49M8FQCi1Oqn4652nojKKSpQaxl3KR/s1600/spiral+draw.jpeg" /></a></div>
Today is Day 18 in our <b>24 Days of Books,</b> and we're feeling a little playful. While we usually speak only of books (the series is, after all, called the 24 Days of <i>Books</i>), today we're going to tell you about something that's a book <i>and</i> an activity, all wrapped up in one package: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780545459921" target="_blank"><i><b>The Klutz Spiral Draw</b></i></a>.<br />
<br />
When I was a kid, I used to love to play with my Spirograph, happily making designs for hours. Did you do that too? The geometric drawing toy was first developed by British engineer Denys Fisher. It has been a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc., since that company bought the Denys Fisher company.<br />
<br />
Now Klutz has developed a new spin on this classic drawing activity: Spiral Draw. With this kit, you can create one zillion designs. Really. I counted them. The package includes a 48-page book of instructions, inspiration, and wide open space for your own spiral expression; 4 see-through drawing wheels with more than 65 shapes; a spiral draw frame; and one six-color pen (yellow, pink, violet, blue, green, and black, for those of you dying to know).<br />
<br />
The Spiral Draw box says it's for ages 8 and up, but I bet they're are plenty of kids older than 8 (my age, for instance, which is plenty older than 8) who would get a big kick out of this box o' fun. And you know how you find yourself at the last minute having to bring a present to a kid's holiday or birthday party? Keep a few of these in the closet for just those occasions. Or need a white elephant gift? (I bet this is the one that people will keep trading to get!) And it's under $20, so it should easily fall under your spending limit.<br />
<br />
Klutz was incorporated in 1977 in Palo Alto, California, by three
friends from Stanford University: an English major, a business major, and a psychology major. They began by selling sidewalk
juggling lessons along with a trio of no-bounce bean bags. "We think people learn best through their hands, nose, feet, mouth and
ears. Then their eyes. So we design multi-sensory books," says John Cassidy, the English major. The company's credo is "create wonderful things, be good, have fun." Sounds good to me. Klutz was acquired in 2002 by Scholastic Inc., the largest children's book publisher and
distributor in the world.<br />
<br />
As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available in our store. Hope to see you soon!<br />
Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-2182843146719252172012-12-17T15:58:00.001-08:002012-12-17T15:58:29.025-08:00Day 17: Dancing with Calvin and Hobbes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpvxXkigIh50vvipBH49gqdb46UUYslRr9XhuVVVi1GDfNry75lpSCwKgluhajDUoFTPtX-0soxW94j3TUedEGqAwOuhgqVB-mtu9TLZ9_Ffw-x-KZ3OERTt-SX8wBPptE9kC30ACBe3_/s1600/complete+calvin+and+hobbes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpvxXkigIh50vvipBH49gqdb46UUYslRr9XhuVVVi1GDfNry75lpSCwKgluhajDUoFTPtX-0soxW94j3TUedEGqAwOuhgqVB-mtu9TLZ9_Ffw-x-KZ3OERTt-SX8wBPptE9kC30ACBe3_/s1600/complete+calvin+and+hobbes.jpeg" /></a></div>
Welcome to Day 17 of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. "Calvin and Hobbes" is unquestionably one of the most popular comic
strips of all time -- and definitely one of my favorites. The imaginative world of a boy and his
real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more
than 2400 newspapers. Bill Watterson, the man behind the strip, retired on January 1, 1996, leaving many ardent followers (including me!) bereft.
The entire body of "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoons is now available in four full-color paperback volumes in a sturdy slipcase:<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781449433253" target="_blank"><i><b> The Complete Calvin and Hobbes</b></i></a> -- and it's only $100!!<br />
<br />
Combining the richly conceived characters and efficient drawing of
"Peanuts" with the visual virtuosity and linguistic playfulness of
"Pogo" and "Krazy Kat," Watterson applied his intelligence and supple cartoon
skills to come up with a creation beloved by millions who still
mourn its passing.<br />
<br />
As you probably already know, the strip featured a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, Calvin, and his sardonic stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Hobbes' dual nature is a defining motif for the strip: to Calvin, Hobbes is a live anthropomorphic tiger, while all the other characters in the cartoon strip see him as an inanimate stuffed toy. But did you know that the pair are named after John Calvin, 16th-century French Reformation theologian, and Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century English political philosopher? Come to think of it, you probably did.<br />
<br />
Bill Watterson was designing grocery ads, a job he detested,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-detest_4-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes#cite_note-detest-4"></a></sup> when he began devoting his spare time to cartooning, his true love. When asked how autobiographical the series was, he said, "I'd say the fictional and nonfictional aspects were pretty densely
interwoven. While Calvin definitely reflects certain aspects of my
personality, I never had imaginary animal friends, I generally stayed
out of trouble, I did fairly well in school, etc., so the strip is not
literally autobiographical. Often I used the strip to talk about things that interested me as an
adult, and of course, a lot of Calvin's adventures were drawn simply
because I thought the idea was funny. In any given strip, the amount of
invention varied. Keep in mind that comic strips are typically written
in a certain amount of panic, and I made it all up as I went along. I
just wrote what I thought about."<br />
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Available for the first time in a paperback boxed set, this is a treasure sure to create jubilation in all <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i> fans. And really, who isn't?<br />
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As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available in our store. Hope to see you soon!Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-41427045383934409872012-12-16T14:40:00.001-08:002012-12-16T14:40:09.575-08:00Day 16: The Gift of PoetryWelcome to Day 16 in our<b> 24 Days of Books</b>. What a wonderful gift a book of poetry makes; don't you agree? It seems there are always so many good collections from which to choose -- and we are especially blessed with so many lovely poets right in our own backyard. It's so hard to pick from the many wonderful collections at our fingertips, but here's just a few that come to mind.<br />
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One of my favorite poets is Mary Oliver, so I'm thrilled that she has a new collection out in time for the holidays. And this isn't the first time I've mentioned in this blog the effect a beautiful cover has on me: a good cover doesn't always make for a good book, of course, but it draws the eye -- and how wonderful to display on your shelf!<br />
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In her newest book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594204777" target="_blank"><i><b>A Thousand Mornings</b></i></a>, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet once again opens our eyes to the beauty of nature, exploring the mysteries of our daily experience and the transformative power of attention. Whether studying the leaves of a tree
or mourning her adored dog, Percy, she is ever patient in her
observations and open to the teachings contained in the smallest of
moments.<br />
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In an interview on NPR, Oliver said that her work has become more spiritual over the years, growing
from her love of the poets who came before her and the natural world —
but that she feels a great sorrow over humanity's lack of care for that
world. "One thing I do know is that poetry, to be understood, must be clear,"
Oliver adds. "It mustn't be fancy. I have the feeling that a lot of
poets writing now... sort of tap dance through it. I always feel
that whatever isn't necessary shouldn't be in a poem."<br />
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Another wonderful author -- one who fortunately for us lives right here in Portland -- with a new collection of poetry is Ursula K. Le Guin. Though internationally known and honored for her imaginative fiction, Le Guin started out as a poet, and since 1959 has never ceased
to publish poems. <span class="text"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547858203" target="_blank"><i><b>Finding My Elegy</b></i></a> spans fifty
years of work and includes some of the best of her earlier verse along
with a rich series of new poems that she has been writing for the last
four years<i><b>.</b></i></span><br />
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<span class="text">The seventy selected and seventy-seven new poems consider war and creativity, motherhood, and the natural world -- from the titles of many you can see the influence of place on these poems, such as "At Cannon Beach," "Up the Columbia River," and Mornings in Joseph, Oregon."<i><b> </b></i></span><br />
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<span class="text">And not to sound like a one-trick pony, but what a breathtaking cover. I should add that Ms. Le Guin also has a two-volume collection of short stories just out: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781618730343" target="_blank"><i><b><span class="productDetailTitle">The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume One: Where on Earth</span></b></i></a></span> and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781618730350" target="_blank"><i><b><span class="productDetailTitle">The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume Two: Outer Space, Inner Land.</span></b></i></a><br />
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<span class="productDetailTitle">This is what <i>The Guardian</i> has to say about her short stories: </span>"A century from now people will still be reading the fantasy stories of
Ursula K Le Guin with joy and wonder. Five centuries from now they might
ask if their author ever really existed, or if Le Guin was an identity
made from the work of many writers rolled into one. A millennium on and
her stories will be so familiar, like myths and fairytales today, that
only dedicated scholars will ask who wrote them. Such is the fate of the
truly great writers, whose stories far outlive their names."<i><span class="productDetailTitle"></span><b><span class="productDetailTitle"> </span></b></i><br />
<br />
<span class="productDetailTitle">One of my favorite authors to hear read in person -- whether he's reading poetry, prose, or, I imagine, the telephone book</span><i><b><span class="productDetailTitle"> -- </span></b></i><span class="productDetailTitle">is John Daniel, with his sonorous voice and big heart. [I am a HUGE fan of what he laughingly calls his "momoir' and his "popoir": <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781887178594" target="_blank">Looking After: A Son's Memoir</a> </b></i>and <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781593761059" target="_blank">Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone</a>.] </b></i>His newest book is a collection of poetry: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780983997597" target="_blank"><i><b>Of Earth</b></i></a>. </span><br />
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<span class="productDetailTitle">His first new collection in eighteen years, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780983997597" target="_blank"><b><i>Of Earth</i></b></a> contains
roughly half the poems from each of his two previous collections, <i>Common Ground</i> and <i>All Things Touched by Wind</i>,
and a generous selection of newer work. Old or recent, most of these
seventy poems were inspired by the landscapes where Daniel has lived or
spent lengths of time over the last forty years. </span><br />
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<span class="productDetailTitle">“I am a spiritual and scientific generalist,” Daniel writes, “intolerant
only of fundamentalism in either realm. These poems are products of a
kind of nearsighted groping toward forms of truth that can be realized,
if at all, only in the process of seeking them. One name for this
seeking is imagination, which is not a way of making things unreal but
of trying to understand their reality by calling it forth in language.
My intent is that each poem should embody its portion of truth in ways
accessible to the general reader."</span><br />
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<span class="productDetailTitle">From another "locally owned" but nationally praised poet comes </span><span class="productDetailTitle"><span class="productDetailTitle"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780393081190" target="_blank"><i><b>Mayakovsky's Revolver</b></i></a>, by Matthew Dickman. At the center of Dickman's new collection </span></span><span class="productDetailTitle"><span class="productDetailTitle">is the suicide of his older brother, as the author </span></span><span class="productDetailTitle"><span class="productDetailTitle">explores how to persevere in the wake of grief. </span> A book of hauntingly dark enlightenment, these poems </span>take place in quiet moments, the shadows of memories.<br />
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Two recently published collections from two highly respected poets we lost in the past few years would make wonderful gifts. <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781934414903" target="_blank">The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton: 1965-2010</a> </b></i>and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780393089561" target="_blank"><i><b>Adrienne Rich: Later Poems Selected and New:</b></i> <i><b>1971-2012.</b></i></a><br />
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Clifton's landmark volume contains all of her published work and
55 previously unpublished poems, with a foreword by Nobel Prize-winner Toni
Morrison. Clifton died on February 13, 2010, at the age of 73.<br />
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In addition to her personal selections from twelve volumes of published work,
<i>Later Poems Selected and New </i>contains ten powerful new poems, previously uncollected. We lost Ms. Rich in March 2012. <br />
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As always, you will find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide,</a> available at our store. See you soon!Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-33139568492672763342012-12-15T17:36:00.001-08:002012-12-15T17:36:12.143-08:00Day 15: Let's Rock And Roll!<span class="swb"></span><br />
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of you who follow our 24-day Adventish countdown of books may have noticed that
“a book a day” often means “a group of books a day” in our lexicon. We can’t
help it: 24 days just isn’t enough time to tell you about our favorites if we
can only do one a day. So we're going to push the envelope today, Day 15 in our<b> 24 Days of Books</b>, and tell you about an extraordinary number of new memoirs and biographies this year from musical folks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Did
you make it to the recent Springsteen concert? Who doesn’t love The Boss?
Peter Ames Carlin’s book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781439191828" target="_blank"><i><b>Bruce,</b></i></a> is the first biography of Bruce Springsteen in
twenty-five years to have been written with the cooperation of the man himself.
Allowed unprecedented access to the artist as well as his family and band
members, Carlin’s assessment of this musical giant shows the human as well as
the heroic sides to a very complicated, often controlling, and always
passionate figure. Mr. Carlin, formerly a television and music critic for <i>The
Oregonian</i>, lives in Portland and we have signed copies on our shelves now (signed by Mr. Carlin, not by Bruce).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780399159466" target="_blank"><i><b>Waging Heavy Peace </b></i></a>by Neil Young chronicles his career from his early days with
Buffalo Springfield through his solo career and collaborations with Crosby,
Stills & Nash, Crazy Horse, and dozens of other notable musicians and
groups. He has seen it all, and here he tells it all. Acclaimed for both his
musical talent and his artistic integrity, he has had at least one major hit in
every decade since the sixties and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame twice. Known almost as well for his political and philanthropic
involvements as his music, he was a cofounder of Farm Aid and an annual fundraising
concert for The Bridge School, which assists children with physical and
communication impairments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780061944857" target="_blank"><i><b>Mick Jagger</b></i></a> is the story of the most notorious and enigmatic rocker of them all,
written by a seasoned biographer of such animals. Philip Norman, who previously
wrote bios of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Buddy Holly and John
Lennon, works his magic here to peel back the layers we all know are there
(narcissist, drug and alcohol abuser, archseducer of women) and exposes some
suprisingly human qualities and vulnerabilities. We recently learned that the
average age of the Rolling Stones is higher than the average age of Supreme
Court jurists. Mick is 70. Has he mellowed? Read it and see. If you're really into the Stones, you might also be interested in <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781401324735" target="_blank">The Rolling Stones 50</a>. </b></i><span style="color: black;">T</span></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4252524648696692901" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span class="text">he only official book celebrating the band's 50th anniversary, this is </span>a coffee table book with more than 1000 illustrations and photographs, as well as Stones memorabilia</span>.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Two
years ago, I attended a Portland concert by Leonard Cohen that was part of what
we all assumed was his farewell tour. And this year, he was back again, falling
to his knees and skipping around the stage as if he were in his twenties! At
age 78, this mellow, sage Zen master of song is still taking us along on his
oh-so-cool ride, cocked fedora atop his head and mellow voice deepened with
age, cigarettes, and experience. Sylvie Simmons recounts his remarkable life
and legacy in <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780061994982" target="_blank"><i><b>I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen</b></i></a>. From Montreal to the
Chelsea Hotel to the monastery to the concert stage, this book tells the
definitive account of an extraordinary life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And as long as we're on the topic of Leonard Cohen, you should check out <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451657845" target="_blank">The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah,"</a> </b></i>by Alan Light. The book offers a fascinating account of the making, remaking, and unlikely popularizing of one of the most played and recorded rock songs in history: Leonard Cohen's beautiful and heartrending song, "Hallelujah."</span><span class="text"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><i><b>Who I Am </b></i>is Pete Townshend’s autobiography. One of the most literary and literate
musicians of his time, Mr. Townshend and his band The Who have been called The
Voice of a Generation. He thought he would write his story when he was 21, but
found himself much too busy. Finally, at age 67, he got it all down on paper.
Did you know that he loved The Everly Brothers but thought Elvis was a
“drawling dope”? That he is banned for life from Holiday Inns? That he nearly
died several times (alcohol, cocaine, and following Keith Moon off a hotel
balcony into a pool)? That his favorite job was working as an editor in a
respected literary publishing house?
It’s all here, along with every smashed guitar and trashed hotel room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316200806" target="_blank"><i><b>The John Lennon Letters </b></i></a>is a handsome volume that is a perfect gift for fans of the
great songwriter/musician/singer/performer/legend. This collection of nearly
300 letters and postcards is edited and annotated by Hunter Davies, whose
authorized biography of The Beatles was published to great acclaim. Including
hundreds of photos of the actual letters and doodles and drawings, the book
also prints the texts along with informative commentary by the editor that puts
each piece of correspondence in context and reveals the intimate life of an
extremely private man. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451645309" target="_blank"><i><b>The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs</b></i></a> is by Michael Feinstein, a
performer who has been called the “Ambassador of the Great American Songbook”.
Known primarily for his interpretations of songs by such iconic writers as
Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and especially George and Ira Gershwin, the author
worked for Ira for 6 years in his twenties. As caretaker of the Gershwin’s
legacy, he offers this reminiscence, including unforgettable stories and
memorabilia he’s collected through the years. Each of the 12 chapters
highlights a classic Gershwin song, telling what the music meant to them and
how it came into being. HUGE BONUS: the book includes a CD that includes
Feinstein’s original recordings of all 12 songs (can’t list them all here, my
faves are I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You and Someone to Watch Over Me).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Lest you think that only men can be rockers, let us dissuade you from that thought by telling you about a couple of recent memoirs from rocking ladies who just happen to live in our own fair city. <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780385525916" target="_blank">Coal to Diamonds</a>, </b></i>a memoir by Beth Ditto (co-written with Michelle Tea), tells the coming-of-age story of the lead singer for the group Gossip. Mary Beth Ditto was b</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">orn and raised in Judsonia, Arkansas, a place where indoor plumbing was a
luxury, squirrel was a meal, and sex ed was taught during senior year
in high school -- long after many girls had gotten pregnant and dropped
out. Ditto was a fat, pro-choice, sexually confused
choir nerd with a great voice, an eighties perm, and a Kool Aid dye job -- in other words, she didn't blend in. She gave up trying to remake her singing voice into the ethereal wisp she thought it should be and intsead embraced its full, soulful potential. Gossip gave her that chance, and the raw power of her voice won her and Gossip the positive attention they deserve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And no discussion of musical memoirs would be complete without talking about <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781439192412" target="_blank"><i><b>Crazy Enough,</b></i></a> by Storm Large. Although the book came out last year, the paperback version has just recently been released. Storm -- and yes, Storm Large is her real name -- spent most of her childhood visiting her mother in mental institutions and psych wards. It was a hard way to grow up, especially when the doctor told her that her mother's illness was hereditary, but Storm's strength, charisma, and raw musical talent gave her the will to overcome the challenges. As one review says, "We're in complete awe of the blunt, surprisingly memoir...told in
honest, poignant prose... [Large shows] all of us how to let go—not
without fear and doubt, but with it." We are also -- and especially -- in awe of her amazing voice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">As always you'll find lots more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide,</a> available in our store. See you soon! </span></div>
</span>Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-32833372942371168242012-12-14T16:22:00.002-08:002012-12-14T16:22:12.615-08:00Day 14: Let's Get Cooking!<div class="MsoNormal">
On the fourth day of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>, we told you about some wonderful new cookbooks -- all by area authors! Today, the 14th day, we're going to tell you about a few more, including one by another local author (how blessed are we with local cookbook authors???) who was inadvertently left out last time.</div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780811878371" target="_blank"><i><b>Roots: the Definitive Compendium with More than 225 Recipes</b></i></a> (Chronicle, $40), by Diane Morgan</div>
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Roots, rhizomes, tubers, corms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lotus root, salsify, malanga, crosne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diane Morgan is a Portland writer who truly
belonged in our local writers cookbook blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(What a major oversight on our part!!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The introduction alone is a celebration of the world of gnarly
underground food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are 225 recipes
arranged by root, with beautiful colored photographs that will change your mind
forever about what grows down there under the dirt. Lotus root is a delicate,
flower-shaped root that nestles among snow-peas in a stir-fry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crosne is a member of the mint family that
can go into curried fritters or get pickled to dress up a martini. There is
history, lore, and storage tips, as well as availability. (How else would you
find a good source of galangal?)</div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307595652" target="_blank"><i><b>The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook</b></i></a> (Knopf, $35), by Deb Perelman.</div>
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Simple recipes in a book full of advice from the creator of
the award-winning SmittenKitchen blog, this is a collection of chat and ideas
on how to be at home in your kitchen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starting with peach and sour cream pancakes
and including a recipe for broccoli slaw as well as the author’s favorite
summer cocktail, this book has everything for the rookie cook as well as the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gourmand:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>tips about how many good knives you really need (one), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what kind of salt the word “salt” means,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether you need one of those cool, long-handled
wooden spoons (you don’t), and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how to
lose your fear of pizza.</div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781607743941" target="_blank"><i><b>Jerusalem: A Cookbook</b></i></a> (Ten Speed Press, $35), by Yotam Ottolenghi<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>& Sami Tamimi
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This lavishly illustrated book celebrates the tradition of
Middle – Eastern hospitality that goes back centuries:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>food as shared humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are classics, in reverently traditional
form, as well as dishes wherein the authors have allowed themselves a little “poetic
license." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Roasted sweet potatoes with
fresh figs,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>swiss chard fritters, and
chicken cooked with clementines and arak,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>or with sweet spiced freekeh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeasted cakes, kibbeh, ghraybeh,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>mutabbaq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recipes are a walk through
the cultures of Israel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Palestine, Iraq,
Syria,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> and </span>Lebanon. This is an important book about not only food and food
traditions, but also about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the historic diversity
that is Jerusalem. </div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307464873" target="_blank"><i><b>Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust </b></i></a>(Potter, $35), by Ina Garten
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Not just a cookbook,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>this is a party book!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food Network
star Ina Garten <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>arranges recipes (with
150 color photographs) by meal:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>cocktails (Sidecars with dried cherries!), starters (Crab streudel! Carmelized
bacon!), and onward to lamb dishes,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>barbecue, pasta, and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>seafood <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for lunch and dinner, with side trips into
vegetables and desserts. She also includes ten foolproof tips for cooking, twelve
foolproof tips for tables settings, and a whole section on foolproof menus, planning
and shopping --<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all in Garten's friendly and reassuring
chatty style.</div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781579654351" target="_blank"><i><b>Bouchon Bakery </b></i></a>(Artisan, $50), by Thomas Keller.</div>
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This magnificent book is about French baking as an act of
creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three world-class chefs come
together to offer their answers to what they define as the eternal
question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is your favorite recipe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each recipe tells not only how to make one of
their amazing pastries or cookies or breads,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>but also why it is included,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>its
history with the author,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>its
contribution to the skill of the reader: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the slightly stiffer pate a choux dough for éclairs,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>secret to the creamy center of a peppermint
patty, and why you will want a pastry bag with a Wilton 789 tip for your Dutch
Crunch Semi-baguettes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fabulous
book is a commitment to the good life.</div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780393050691" target="_blank"><i><b>Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America</b></i></a> (Norton, $45), by Maricel E Presilla
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A compendium of not only what foods are involved in Latin
American cuisine,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but why, tracing
techniques and ingredients from pre-Columbian times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long before we <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>get to any of the 500 recipes in this huge
book (900 pages!) we are taken into the Latin American kitchen and shown the
tools, crafts, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the basic flavorings, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>with everything from How to Crack Open a Coconut
to Peppers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Short Glossary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also an undoubtedly helpful section
on superstitions and lore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Pour the
lime juice into the dulce con leche in the shape of a cross, and cold water
scares the food, although scared yucca softens faster.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This encyclopedia covers an entire
geographic range,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from Mexico to Brazil
to Venezuela, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>El Salvador and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Ecuadorian Andes,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and includes how to roast a pig in your back
yard. </div>
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As always, you can find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide,</a> available in our store. See you soon! </div>
Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-39065396795101632692012-12-13T16:02:00.001-08:002012-12-13T16:02:30.638-08:00Day 13: And a Wookie to You Too!Welcome to Day 13 in our <b>24 Days of Books.</b> It's a gorgeous, sunny day in Portland today, which causes us to look to the sky, which leads us, naturally, to think of all things Star Wars. Surely you have a Star Wars fan in your circle of friends and family. Check out all of the cool Star Wars books we have in the store:<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781465403896" target="_blank">Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle.</a> </b></i>This gorgeous $50 hardcover book
is <i>the</i> definitive history of all-things Star Wars, a coffee-table book
celebrating four amazing decades of the Star Wars experience. This is truly the book for the Star Wars fans of <i>all</i> ages. <br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780756692483" target="_blank">Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded</a>, </b></i>by Ryder Windham (Dorling Kindersley; $24.99). This oversized hardcover book reveals the story of the amazing Star Wars saga in full detail, covering not just the movies but also the ever-expanding range of books, novels,
comics, and media. Packed full of interesting facts about the world of Star Wars merchandise and fandom, astonishing pieces of art, and
full-color photographs, this compendium is the key to knowing everything there
is to know about the iconic brand that is Star Wars.<br />
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Matthew Reinhart is one of the Kings of Pop-Up (capitalizing just felt right), and he shows off all of his skills in this new book: <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780545176163" target="_blank">Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure,</a> </b></i>published by Orchard Books ($36.99). In this explosive, interactive, pop-off-the-page book about the Star Wars franchise, Reinhart has created a new 3-D experience packed with great features such as pop-ups, working light sabers, pull tabs, and
other interactive features. The book explores the characters, stories, vehicles, droids,
and more -- a stunning
book that will impress all fans and provide a whole new
perspective to the universe.</div>
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<i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780761169437" target="_blank">Star Wars Origami: 36 Amazing Paper-Folding Projects from a Galaxy Far, Far Away</a>..., </b></i>by Chris Alexander (Workman Publishing; $16.95). This is probably my favorite of the bunch: a book that combines the Star Wars universe with a hands-on activity book -- what could be cooler than that? A front section introduces origami definitions and basic folds. Bound in the back is the book's unique folding paper, two sheets for each figure, enabling users to create ships, droids, weapons, and many many Star Wars characters, such as Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Yoda, and R2-D2. The creations range in difficulty from easy to tricky, and will provide hours of entertainment for the Star Wars followers in your universe.</div>
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Everything old is new again, right? LEGO seems to be all the rage right now -- again. And the Star Wars franchise has hopped on that wagon too. We've got both the <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780756686970" target="_blank"><i><b>LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia</b></i></a> ($18.99) and <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780756655297" target="_blank">LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary</a> </b></i>($21.99), both from Dorling Kindersley.</div>
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Not <i>everything</i> is made of LEGO. We have the <i><b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780756682538" target="_blank">Star Wars Character Encyclopedia</a> </b></i>also from Dorling Kindersley ($16.99). This book is <i>the</i> definitive illustrated guide to Luke Skywalker, Jabba the Hut, and many more favorite characters from the Star Wars galaxy, with stat boxes, expert text, incredible movie stills, and more than 200 profiles. This is book is a must have for Star Wars fans. </div>
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For the younger Star Wars fans in your world, we have <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780545418782" target="_blank"><i><b>Star Wars 1, 2, 3</b></i>,</a> a boardbook that uses Star Wars' most popular heroes, villains, vehicles, droids, and aliens to teach fundamental counting skills; and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780545479523" target="_blank"><i><b>Star Wars: Phonics Boxed Set</b></i></a>, which includes ten books and two workbooks that use full-color images of Star Wars characters to teach reading -- particularly good for reluctant readers. </div>
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As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank"> Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store, and we're always happy to help you find just the right gift. See you soon! </div>
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Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-47052192148216104782012-12-12T16:32:00.002-08:002012-12-12T16:32:35.300-08:00Day 12: Pedal Power!<span class="swb"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichxFE7oxUe3Xm15hEUje0FuhMVx5khKDlaZ35Ld-8KtahpNBYFO1kqkRpn5Hi82xleTWYNK0shYrn3xzR-4vVmPHjouki-CFubg7M-YfpK4NCuMJVwRJ5Qs2Qk2WNZ8IA7Rwx8TEnqtPP/s1600/cycling+sojourner.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichxFE7oxUe3Xm15hEUje0FuhMVx5khKDlaZ35Ld-8KtahpNBYFO1kqkRpn5Hi82xleTWYNK0shYrn3xzR-4vVmPHjouki-CFubg7M-YfpK4NCuMJVwRJ5Qs2Qk2WNZ8IA7Rwx8TEnqtPP/s1600/cycling+sojourner.jpeg" /></a><span class="swb"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">It's Day 12 (12-12-12!!) in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>, and today we're going to hop in the saddle! We
Portlanders love our bikes. Both local and national publishers have
figured this out, so now we have a selection of recent biking-related books that will
appeal to the bikers on your shopping list.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781934620182" target="_blank"><i>OregonCycling Sojourner: A Guide to the Best Multi-Day Tours in Oregon</i></a> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(Into Action Publications,
$17.95) by Ellee Thalheimer, is a guide for adventurous souls who long to hit
the Oregon road with their bikes for extended periods of time. This guide
features 8 multi-day bike tours in every part of the state, including complete
camping and lodging info, 12 breweries, 3 scenic bikeways, and 14 mountain
passes. All levels of cycle touring are included, and tours for every season
are recommended, as well as tours for every budget. “<i>Cycling Sojourner</i>
is like bike touring with a witty fellow bike nerd who is full of enough lively
anecdotes to keep you entertained but enough information to keep you from
getting lost” – Russ Roca and Laura Crawford</span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594856525" target="_blank">BikingPortland: 55 Rides from the Willamette Valley to Vancouver</a> </span></b></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(The Mountaineers Books,
$18.95) is by Owen Wozniak, who has lived and cycled in Portland for ten years.
As a project manager at the Trust for Public Land, he works to protect natural
places for people to enjoy. This is his third guidebook. The 55 rides outlined
in the guide range from the city’s urban core east to the base of Mount Hood,
west to the Tualatin Valley and Coast Range foothills, down the Willamette
Valley and north across the Columbia River. The rides vary in length from 3 to 56
miles, and in difficulty from easy through moderate to challenging. Each ride
is clearly mapped out and described with elevation profiles, mileage logs,
public transportation access, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBveNnrgaT3FShJhhARZGtd2FC7M4iAsZS4AfeeuI91ekHNHvgX0dOksDXPWCMYMSmCRSSQ-qfk_LmKYmODfWdlKvLWPS2S5QgoZ8zjZYHyq8SJ5U8JktiQa-8ICd6_KtlQpa0CwZhh8o/s1600/hop_in_the_saddle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBveNnrgaT3FShJhhARZGtd2FC7M4iAsZS4AfeeuI91ekHNHvgX0dOksDXPWCMYMSmCRSSQ-qfk_LmKYmODfWdlKvLWPS2S5QgoZ8zjZYHyq8SJ5U8JktiQa-8ICd6_KtlQpa0CwZhh8o/s1600/hop_in_the_saddle.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Also
published by Into Action Publications, and perhaps our secret favorite book on
this list, is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781621066033" target="_blank"><i><b>Hop in the Saddle</b></i></a> ($9.95), a cleverly named guidebook to
Portland’s craft beer scene, by bike. This book is also by Elle Thalheimer,
with the help of Lucy Burningham and Laura Cary. This little red beauty covers
20 breweries, 8 bottleshops, and 31 bars and restaurants. Each of these beer
spots is a local treasure such as Amnesia Brewing, Hair of the Dog, Grain and
Gristle, etc. NOT included are the national chain locations, common in every
city. There are 5 Portland Beer Routes (and 5 Bike Nerd Extended Routes) to get
you to your destinations, with plenty of things to see along the way. Beervana
indeed. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>Where
to Bike Portland</i> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(BA Press, $27.95) is by Anne Lee, the Deputy Director of Portland’s
Community Cycling Center. This spiral-bound guide outlines 72 great rides,
including 26 rides for kids. Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photos and
detailed maps, it’s a handsome and useful book whose rides include many in the
inner city, but stretch as far afield as Vernonia, Clark County, Wilsonville,
and Troutdale. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594856501" target="_blank"><i>75Classic Rides Oregon: The Best Road Biking Routes</i></a> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(The Mountaineers Books,
$24.95) by Jim Moore includes routes all over the state varying in length from
3 to 359 miles, including 4 multiday tours and variations for longer or shorter
rides, or connections to other routes. Expert advice on preparation, safety on
the road, and riding techniques are accompanied by a handy at-a-glance chart to
help you select your ideal ride, and downloadable turn-by-turn cue sheets.
There are 6 rides on the coast, 13 in the Portland metro area, 11 in the
Willamette Valley, 8 in southern Oregon, 11 in the Mount Hood/Columbia Gorge
area, 7 in the Cascades, 4 in central Oregon, 11 in eastern Oregon, plus the 4
multiday trips. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
Although it’s not a <i>local </i>guidebook, we include <b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781584799894" target="_blank"><i>Fifty Places to Bike BeforeYou Die</i></a> </b>(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $24.95) by Chris Santella for two
reasons: Chris lives in Portland (in our neighborhood, actually), and it’s a
biker’s dream book. Within these pages you will find essays by fifty biking
experts, who share the world’s greatest biking destinations. Each essay is
accompanied by a beautiful photograph of such exotic locales as Western
Tasmania, Costa Rica, Botswana, Spain, Taiwan, Argentina, and many more. OK, OK,
there are three Oregon destinations: Crater Lake, Chief Joseph Country, and
Greater Portland. But this is really an armchair traveler book for bikers who
love to imagine biking around the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Enjoy
your bike and stay safe! Don't forget -- we have many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available in our store. We look forward to seeing you soon!</span></div>
</span>
Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-77153511714322588402012-12-11T16:59:00.004-08:002012-12-11T19:02:13.556-08:00Day 11: It's All in the PastWelcome to Day 11 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. I love reading books on historical subjects. Do you? Here's just a sampling of what's on the top of our history list these days.<br />
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For me it's always a happy celebration when we get a new book by Timothy Egan, one of my all-time-favorite narrative nonfiction writers -- and judging by the awards he's received (including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award) I'm not alone in that assessment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSK9bwA3TKEwJdM7S8mPQU9exHfjhHG98oPOxyVFpd50pXanbOboncf-cVRM7W3llbx160w8uxnMq1jAV63Xicvl-J4rYMYt5h6oz4w5yzqvRwviY2C9gzGnuKR7OimpXbmindIYuONwc/s1600/short+nights+shadow+catcher.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSK9bwA3TKEwJdM7S8mPQU9exHfjhHG98oPOxyVFpd50pXanbOboncf-cVRM7W3llbx160w8uxnMq1jAV63Xicvl-J4rYMYt5h6oz4w5yzqvRwviY2C9gzGnuKR7OimpXbmindIYuONwc/s1600/short+nights+shadow+catcher.jpeg" /></a></div>
Hot off the press is Egan's new book about Edward Curtis, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780618969029" target="_blank"><i>Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis</i>,</a> published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ($28). Edward Curtis was charismatic, handsome, a passionate mountaineer, and a
famous photographer, the Annie Leibovitz of his time. He was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up
to pursue his Great Idea: to capture on film the continent's original
inhabitants before the old ways disappeared.<br />
<br />
He spent the next three decades traveling from the Havasupai at the bottom
of the Grand Canyon to the Acoma on a high mesa in New Mexico to the
Salish in the rugged Northwest rain forest, documenting the stories and
rituals of more than eighty tribes. It took tremendous perseverance --
ten years alone to persuade the Hopi to allow him into their Snake Dance
ceremony. And the undertaking changed him profoundly: from detached
observer to outraged advocate. Eventually Curtis took more than 40,000
photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings, and is credited with
making the first narrative documentary film.<br />
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Reviewers have called the book "a darned good yarn," "a rollicking page turner," "a story for the ages" -- at its essence a book about the extreme personal cost of outsized ambition. An interesting subject in the hands of one of our most talented narrative nonfiction storytellers; what more could you want?<br />
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Ross King is known for his deep scholarly research presented in a narrative that appeals to both academics and general readers, primarily tackling topics in the worlds of art and architecture. Some of his previous books include <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780142000151" target="_blank"><i>Brunelleschi's Dom</i>e</a>, <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780142003695" target="_blank">Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling</a>, </i>and <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802715166" target="_blank">The Judgment of Paris</a>. </i>Now he brings us a fascinating look at an artist's life in <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802717054" target="_blank"><i>Leonardo and the Last Supper</i></a> (Walker and Company; $28).<br />
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Leonardo da Vinci was at his lowest point, both professionally and personally, in 1495 when he began work on The Last Supper, the masterpiece that would forever define him. King paints a complex portrait of the artist, and explores dozens of stories that are embedded in the painting, bringing to life a fascinating period in European history and presenting a portrait of one of the world's greatest geniuses through the lens of his most famous work. As one reviewer says, "the book is meticulously researched, gracefully written and fascinating to read.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVs03V8PYzZFuxexarGlCarc8Xvq86hb9mytOnWtAUMsV0Fcmyw7V88NXdcemUO5NKi0nn4j6F1Fq3WT0yQAq_V50rrMJY1ps20ho6KMPKsyUNrfHPWYsVop7fTEiowgDjSRlBh-2uhJ1/s1600/1775.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVs03V8PYzZFuxexarGlCarc8Xvq86hb9mytOnWtAUMsV0Fcmyw7V88NXdcemUO5NKi0nn4j6F1Fq3WT0yQAq_V50rrMJY1ps20ho6KMPKsyUNrfHPWYsVop7fTEiowgDjSRlBh-2uhJ1/s1600/1775.jpeg" /></a></div>
Moving back to this side of the pond, we have the new book by Kevin Phillips, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780670025121" target="_blank"><i>1775: A Good Year for Revolution</i></a>. In this new book, the iconoclastic historian and bestselling author attempts to puncture the myth that 1776 was the watershed year of the American
Revolution, arguing that the great events and confrontations of 1775 are instead the true beginning of the revolution. Along the way, Phillips explores the ethnic, religious, demographic, political, and economic roots of the revolution. (Penguin Viking; $26)<br />
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Another nuanced study of a complex period is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307377241" target="_blank"><i>38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End, </i></a>by Scott W. Berg (Pantheon; $27.95). While Union and Confederate armies clashed at Bull Run and Antietam, another epochal but largely forgotten war was being waged along the Minnesota frontier, as the Dakotas clashed with settlers and federal troops, culminating in the hanging of 38 Dakota warriors—the largest government-sanctioned execution in American history.<br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307382467" target="_blank"><i>The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo</i></a> (Crown; $27) tells the little-known story of General Alex Dumas, the man his son (the novelist Alexandre Dumas) used as inspiration to create some of the best loved heroes of literature. This is Tom Reiss's first book since<span class="productDetailTitle"> <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780812972764" target="_blank"><i>The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life,</i></a> a highly lauded book that is p</span><span class="text">art history, part cultural biography, and part
literary mystery, as it traces the life of Lev Nussimbaum, a
Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince and became a
bestselling author in Nazi Germany. </span><br />
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<span class="text">Finally, I must give one more shout out to one of my favorite books of narrative nonfiction of the past few years, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780679763888" target="_blank"><i>The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration</i></a>, by Isabel Wilkerson, a fascinating story beautifully told. [Wilkerson will speak in Portland on April 16, 2013, as part of the Mark O. Hatfield Distinguished Historians Forum. Also on tap for this year's series are Michael Duffy (<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781439127704" target="_blank"><i>The Presidents Club</i></a>), Erik Larson (<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307408853" target="_blank"><i>In the Garden of Beasts</i></a> and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780375725609" target="_blank"><i>The Devil in the White City</i></a>), and David Eisenhower (Eisenhower: At War)]. </span><br />
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<span class="text">As always, you'll find many more gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store. See you soon! </span> <b>
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Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-44454647058744459562012-12-10T17:33:00.001-08:002012-12-10T17:37:52.955-08:00Day 10: What to Get the Kids??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhfaLkBILEw5cxgIDch-eCHsNFQVSsmY8i9bq4hRN92digjmx5Pc52VCea00ycA7s9opJ_84OPuvLkHZeFHAVeZORcWYcTSpvt3zWWZHHUS1BUwa4RvipI8sM-HHrYX5vY-KYeQOgrnDY/s1600/recycled+robots.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhfaLkBILEw5cxgIDch-eCHsNFQVSsmY8i9bq4hRN92digjmx5Pc52VCea00ycA7s9opJ_84OPuvLkHZeFHAVeZORcWYcTSpvt3zWWZHHUS1BUwa4RvipI8sM-HHrYX5vY-KYeQOgrnDY/s1600/recycled+robots.jpeg" /></a></div>
It's Day 10 in our <b>24 Days of Books,</b> and today we're talking about books for younger readers, around 8 to 12 (although these are just rough guides, because every kid is different AND lots of older readers -- me, for instance -- like to read good middle grade books). So take the age range with a grain of salt.<br />
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The first "book" I want to tell you about is a book plus a whole lot more: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780761154662" target="_blank"><i>Recycled Robots: 10 Robot Projects,</i></a> by Robert Malone and published by Workman Publishing ($24.95) -- an irresistible book and kit that shows how to make ten different
moving robots out of the most ordinary things from around the
house such as an empty salt container, a drinking straw, a candy tin, a cereal box, cardboard tubes, old dolls or action figures, and assorted Lego or Tinker Toy parts. <br />
<br />
The kit includes a full book of instructions, along with a battery-powered motor, two windup walkers, some googly eyes (it just wouldn't be complete without googly eyes), and much more. What kid won't love being the inventor, designer, and engineer of his or her own amazing, moving robots??<br />
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Another perennial bestseller along similar lines is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780761158820" target="_blank"><i>Papertoy Monsters: 50 Cool Papertoys You Can Make Yourself</i></a>, also published by Workman ($16.95). The book offers 50 fiendishly original die-cut designs that are ready to pop out, fold, and glue -- and each character comes with its own backstory. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqT256yvHRLNS9Om-KVII5pX2ZJbkOwe5vI0rCaxGZi6Kb1GQxqhOjEETEXLpdanE4DKYaVR7QfJm1E31GRJxvwwHPM6Idp3bqkEOidAUmxi3QUXS8a9a3sJ_WB3HIx0PrMX1UOVy-neZ/s1600/under+wildwood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqT256yvHRLNS9Om-KVII5pX2ZJbkOwe5vI0rCaxGZi6Kb1GQxqhOjEETEXLpdanE4DKYaVR7QfJm1E31GRJxvwwHPM6Idp3bqkEOidAUmxi3QUXS8a9a3sJ_WB3HIx0PrMX1UOVy-neZ/s200/under+wildwood.jpeg" width="152" /></a></div>
No discussion of books for middle readers would be complete without a mention of the Wildwood Chronicles series by local writer and singer Colin Meloy and his wife and illustrator Carson Ellis. Book Two in the bestselling adventure series set in the Impassable Wilderness, a dense, tangled forest on the edge of Portland (hmmm...could it be Forest Park???), <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062024718" target="_blank"><i>Under Wildwood</i></a>, has just been published in hardcover ($17.99) and Book One, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062024701" target="_blank"><i>Wildwood</i></a> ($8.99), is now out in paperback.<br />
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One of the most popular writers for the younger crowd is Rick Riordan, a former middle school teacher with two sons who writes wonderful books that are based on Greek mythology (the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, followed by the Heroes of Olympus series) and Roman mythology (the Kane Chronicles series). Riordan is also the mastermind behind the 39 Clues series. I've been hard-pressed to find a kid who doesn't like his books.<br />
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One of my favorite new middle reader series is the Books of Beginning trilogy, by John Stephens. The first book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780375872716" target="_blank"><i>The Emerald Atlas</i></a>, has recently been published in paperback ($7.99), and the second book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780375868719" target="_blank"><i>The Fire Chronicle</i></a>, recently came out in hardcover ($17.99). “Irreverent humor and swashbuckling adventure collide in a fetching fantasy," says one reviewer of this tale of three siblings: Kate, Michael, and Emma. While the <i>New York Times </i>called it "A new Narnia for the tween set," perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials series. The author was a writer for The Gilmore Girls, a TV series known for its witty, snappy dialogue, which definitely comes out in this series.<br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781250010193" target="_blank"><i>The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making,</i></a> and its sequel <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780312649623" target="_blank"><i>The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There</i></a>, written by Catherynne Valente and illustrated by Juan Ana, tells the story of twelve-year-old September, who lives an ordinary life in Omaha until her help is needed in Fairyland. Described as offering the charm of <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> and the soul of <i>The Golden Compass</i>, with "a glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale, done with heart and wisdom." The author creates "a world as bizarre and enchanting as any Wonderland or Oz and a heroine
as curious, resourceful and brave as any Alice or Dorothy." Heck, I would buy the books for the titles alone!<br />
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If you have a middle grader in your life who hasn't yet read <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780394820378" target="_blank"><i>The Phantom Tollbooth</i></a>, then straightaway that's the book I'd recommend. <br />
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Lemony Snicket, the mystery man behind <i>The Series of Unfortunate Events</i>, is back with a new book: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316123082" target="_blank"><i>Who Could That Be at This Hour?</i></a>. The book is full of Snicket's characteristic wordplay and droll wit, with gothic wackiness and literary allusions a-plenty.<br />
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I would also give a shout out to <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780545284134" target="_blank"><i>The False Prince</i></a>, by Jennifer Nielsen, the first book in a new trilogy. <br />
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And yes there is a new Wimpy Kid book for the holidays, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781419705847" target="_blank"><i>The Third Wheel: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 7.</i></a> I don't think there's much more I can say about that.<br />
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As always, you can find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store. Of course we're happy to help you find just the right book for the younger reader on your shopping list. See you soon!<br />
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<br />Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-36534439277487346842012-12-09T17:01:00.002-08:002012-12-09T17:01:40.473-08:00Day 9: I Might be Hallucinating....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Day 9 of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Although I do not read hard science, I am a fan of science in general and am quick to acknowledge my love for the facts and especially the speculations that science brings into our lives, to say nothing of the profound truths that are made evident to us by the various scientific disciplines. As a bookseller and a reader, I am always appreciative of a scientist who can write for the general public and explore/explain parts of this world (which is to say, parts of THE world – and beyond) without talking down to us. Of these authors, my consistent favorite over many years has been Oliver Sacks.<br />
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Dr. Sacks, a neurologist known to many from his long articles in <i>The New Yorker </i>and elsewhere, is perhaps the most elegant and eloquent writer in his field. He has become known to millions of readers for his great empathy for patients, as well as his crystal-clear explanations of their medical conditions and the circumstances of their lives. My first encounter with his work was <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780684853949" target="_blank"><i>The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat</i></a>, which was a collection of fascinating pieces about various patients with cognitive disorders. A later book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780679756972" target="_blank"><i>An Anthropologist on Mars</i></a>, was similar in format and included what may be his most famous patient profile, that of Temple Grandin, an extremely high-functioning autistic woman who has since become quite famous for her groundbreaking work with large animals and her own lectures on cattle as well as autism. (A very good made-for-TV movie of her life, starring Claire Danes, is worth watching if you have not seen it.) Another of his books, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780375704055" target="_blank"><i>Awakenings,</i></a> was made into an Oscar-nominated film of the same name that starred Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.<br />
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Dr. Sacks was written many books about his work (as well as a memoir, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780375704048" target="_blank"><i>Uncle Tungsten</i></a>, which details his very accomplished and scientific family). Most of his books use individual patients and friends as illustrations of particular phenomena, and from these beginnings he launches into larger discussions. He has dealt at length with blindness, Parkinson’s disease, music and its effects on the human brain, migraine headaches, and many more topics. He often uses his own personal experiences to augment the discussions, which is unusual for scientific writers. He has written about people afflicted with face-blindness (the inability to recognize people by their faces) by confessing to this affliction himself, for instance. How lucky we are to have such an articulate scientist who is also able to personalize a topic so well!<br />
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This season, Knopf has published Dr. Sacks’ book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307957245" target="_blank"><i>Hallucinations</i></a><i> </i>($26.95). Many people think that hallucinations happen only to “crazy” people. Wrong, of course. They happen to people who are suffering from sensory deprivation (this is what a “vision quest” is). They happen to people who are ill, or injured, or having migraine headaches. They happen to those who are intoxicated. They happen when certain drugs are ingested. They often happen for no reason at all, to perfectly normal and healthy people. They happen to you and they happen to me.<br />
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Most of us think of hallucinations as visual. But they can also affect other senses. People can hallucinate sounds (did you ever hear someone call your name in an empty room?). We can hallucinate smells! I suspect each of us has had the eerie feeling that someone was following us, and turned around to see nobody there. There are tactile hallucinations, such as the sensation of bugs crawling on your skin. These are all common neurologically based imaginings.<br />
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As a young doctor in California in the 1960s, Oliver Sacks had a personal as well as professional interest in psychedelic drugs. He also suffered from migraines. These interests and experiences are brought to bear here, in an extremely literate and compassionate look at his own and his patients’ experimentation with drugs and subsequent mind-wanderings. This is part of the book, but certainly not all.<br />
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Because he is one of the world’s most curious people, Dr. Sacks’ new book covers a lot of ground. There are chapters that deal with visual hallucinations of blind people as well as various sorts of hallucinations by epileptics and narcoleptics. Discussions of people who have “left their own body” and people who “hear voices." So much more! This book tells us about the organization and structure of our brains, how hallucinations have influenced every culture’s folklore and art and religion, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.<br />
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And BONUS: most of the footnotes are little works of art. I love this book. <br />
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<span id="goog_114539938"></span><span id="goog_114539939"></span>While I'm on the topic of science books, I just have to mention a few more that would make great gifts. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers is known for publishing a strikingly beautiful and informative series of science books -- first a book on the <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781579128951" target="_blank">elements of the periodic table</a>, followed by a book on the <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781579128852" target="_blank">solar system</a>. This year they offer us another exquisitely unusual book on skulls. Yes, I said skulls. <span class="productDetailTitle"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781579129125" target="_blank"><i>Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection,</i></a> with text by Simon Winchester and photographs by Nick Mann. </span>At the center of <i>Skulls</i> is a stunning,
never-before-seen visual array of the skulls of more
than 300 animals that walk, swim, and fly. The skulls are from the
collection of Alan Dudley, a British collector and owner of what is
probably the largest and most complete private collection of skulls in
the world. Every skull is beautifully photographed to show several
angles and to give the reader the most intimate view possible. Each
includes a short explanatory paragraph and a data box with information
on the animal's taxonomy, behavior, and diet, as well as a photograph of the animal itself ($29.95)<br />
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A northwest-oriented science book that would make a great gift is <span class="productDetailTitle"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781570618291" target="_blank"><i>David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work: An Illustrated Exploration Across Two Centuries in the Pacific Northwest</i></a>, published by Sasquatch Books ($27.95).</span><b></b><span class="text"> During a meteoric career that
spanned from 1825 to 1834, David Douglas made the first systematic
collections of flora and fauna over many parts of the greater Pacific
Northwest. Despite his early death, colleagues in Great Britain attached
the Douglas name to more than 80 different species, including the
iconic timber tree of the region. This book is a colorfully illustrated collection of essays by Jack Nisbet that examines various
aspects of Douglas's career, </span><br />
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And finally, one I just can't resist telling you about is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316208192" target="_blank"><i>Mad Science: Einstein's Fridge, Dewar's Flask, Mach's Speed, and 362 Other Inventions and Discoveries that Made Our world</i></a>, by Randy Alfred (Little Brown and Company; $19.99), which offers <span class="text">365 days of inventions, discoveries, science, and technology, from the editors of <i>Wired</i> Magazine. This well-packaged collection of </span>intriguing anecdotes will appeal to
hardcore techies and curious laypeople alike.<br />
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As always, you can find many more gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available in our store. See you soon! <br />
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Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-77637576858906965572012-12-08T17:04:00.003-08:002012-12-08T17:04:30.456-08:00Day 8: I Think it's Shorts WeatherWelcome to Day 8 of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Many of you are big fans of short stories -- me too! So today I thought I'd talk about a few of the fabulous new collections published recently. Inevitably I will miss some great ones, but this is a good start -- any one one of these would make a terrific gift.<br />
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If you ever get a chance to see northwest author Sherman Alexie in person, do it. He is the most amazing speaker: smart, funny, smart, opinionated, smart, provocative -- did I mention smart?? But if you can't see him in person, for goodness sakes read his books. [By the way, the Multnomah County Library system picked two of Alexie's books for the 2013 <a href="http://www.multcolib.org/reads/" target="_blank">Everybody Reads</a> program: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316013697" target="_blank"><i>The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian </i></a>(winner of the National Book Award for Young Readers) and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802141170" target="_blank"><i>Ten Little Indians</i></a>, a collection of short stories.<br />
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Alexie's newest book is another collection of short stories, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802120397" target="_blank"><i>Blasphemy,</i></a> in which he unites fifteen beloved classics with fifteen new stories in one
sweeping anthology for both devoted fans and first-time readers. In a starred review, <i>Publishers Weekly</i> had this to say: "Alexie hammers away at ever-simmering issues, like racism,
addiction, and infidelity, using a no-holds-barred approach and
seamlessly shattering the boundary between character and reader. But
while these glimpses into a harried and conflicted humanity prod our
consciousness, there’s plenty of bawdiness and Alexie’s signature wicked
humor throughout to balance out the weight."<br />
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Alexie, who currently lives in Seattle, is a bold and irreverent observer of life among Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. <i>Blasphemy</i> is published by Grove Press ($27).<br />
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Alexie is good, but you can't talk about short stories without talking about Canadian author Alice Munro, who thank goodness has a new story collection out this year: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307596888" target="_blank"><i>Dear Life</i></a>, published by Knopf ($26.95). As in all of her writing, in each story she illuminates the moment a life is forever altered
by a chance encounter or an action not taken, or by a simple twist of
fate that turns a person out of his or her accustomed path and into a
new way of being or thinking.The book ends with four pieces set in the area where she grew up, and in the time
of her own childhood: stories “autobiographical in feeling, though not,
sometimes, entirely so in fact.” Munro has an unparalleled gift for storytelling, meaning this collection is not something you should miss -- and that would make a wonderful gift.<br />
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My favorite story collection of the year is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451643367" target="_blank"><i>Birds of a Lesser Paradise</i></a>, a debut collection by Megan Mayhew Bergman. Bergman’s powerful and heartwarming collection captures the surprising
moments when the pull of our biology becomes evident, when love or fear
collides with good sense, or when our attachment to an animal or wild
place can’t be denied. I started reading the first story and after just a few pages I was hooked, and knew I had happened upon a short story writer that I hope to be taking pleasure in for many years to come. Author Jill McCorkle called Bergman "a brilliantly gifted writer who recognizes and highlights life's
fragilities in a way that will leave your heart aching while also
finding those bits of hilarity and absurdity that bring uniqueness to
each and every creature.” The paperback edition of the book has just been published by Scribner ($15).<br />
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This year we were blessed with a debut book from a Portland author, Natalie Serber, who gave us <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547634524" target="_blank"><i>Shout Her Lovely Name</i></a>, a collection that explores the relationships between mothers and daughters -- described by one reviewer as "equal parts love and sandpaper." (Yes, that <i>does</i> sound familiar.) The collection is heart-felt, insightful, and yes even funny. Author Antonya Nelson says, "Coming of age is a painful and beautiful experience in Natalie Serber's
hands. These are funny and poignant pieces, building a book that feels
novelistic in sweep, yet true to the precision and direct aim of the
short story." (Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt; $24)<br />
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A discussion of wonderful short story collections of the year would be incomplete without including the much-lauded author Junot Diaz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award for his novel <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594483295" target="_blank"><i>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.</i></a> His new collection of short stories, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594487361" target="_blank"><i>This is How You Lose Her</i></a>, explores the haunting, impossible power of love – obsessive love, illicit love, fading love, maternal love. In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in this collection lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. According to NPR, "The dark ferocity of each of these stories and the types of love it
portrays is reason enough to celebrate this book. But the collection is
also a major contribution to the short story form... It is an
engrossing, ambitious book for readers who demand of their fiction both
emotional precision and linguistic daring." The book was named a finalist for this year's National Book Award. (Riverhead; $26.95)<br />
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As always, you can find many more holiday gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available in our store. See you soon!Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-80613140692693627792012-12-07T09:07:00.001-08:002012-12-10T11:15:47.402-08:00Day 7: Books About Books!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Day 7 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Today we present books about books for the true book lover on your list. These seven books will appeal anyone who believes in the importance of story in our lives, and to those who love physical books and bookstores you can actually walk into and browse, pulling books off the shelves.<br />
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The books that we choose to keep -- let alone read -- can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316200905" target="_blank"><i>My Ideal Bookshelf</i></a> is both a coffee table book of art and a fascinating glimpse into the books that matter the most to a wide variety of leading cultural figures. With text edited by Thessaly La Force and art by Jane Mount, the book devotes a two-page spread to each person, with one devoted to commentary about the books and the facing page presenting a charming original painting of that person's imaginary shelf.<br />
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Some contributors present a neat, tidy shelf with minimal books, such as author Francine Prose, whose shelf contains Chekhov, Chekhov, and some more Chekhov -- and Max and the monster dolls from Where the Wild Things Are. While others are all over the map, such as actor/writer/artist/filmmaker James Franco, who conjures up a higgly piggly pile of novels, short stories and plays. This gorgeous, hardover book ($24.99) is published by Little Brown and Company.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781579129101" target="_blank"><i>My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read and Shop,</i></a> edited by Ronald Rice, more than eighty well-known writers pay enthusiastic and heartfelt tribute to bookstores and booksellers, waxing poetic on the brick-and-mortar stores they love and often call their second homes -- Edith Pearlman and Nancy Pearl, Ivan Doig and Abraham Verghese, and even our very own Chuck Palahniuk, all talking about bookstores. What could be better than that?<br />
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As I mentioned in yesterday's post, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781442457027" target="_blank"><i>The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore </i></a>by William Joyce is a picture book that will knock your socks off. This book inspired the Academy Award-winning short film of the same name and reminds us that in today’s world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it’s still the story that we truly celebrate. As <i>Publishers Weekly</i> describes it, the book tells the store of "a dreamy bibliophile named Morris Lessmore, who loses his cherished book
collection to a cataclysmic storm that’s half Katrina (Joyce is from
Louisiana) and half Wizard of Oz....[Eventually], Morris finds an
abandoned library whose books are alive and whose covers beat like the
wings of birds. They flutter around him protectively, watch as he starts
writing again, and care for him as he ages." The book is a charming must-have for any booklover, regardless of age.<br />
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A quirky little novel that is both thoughtful and gleeful, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780374214913" target="_blank"><i>Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore </i></a>by Robin Sloan is simultaneously a mystery and an ode to bookstores and "old" knowledge (versus "Google" knowledge), mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall independent bookstore in San Francisco. Can tangible books and new media exist happily side by side? With a plot "as tight as nesting boxes, or whatever their digital equivalent," the book has been described as clever, whimsical, beguiling, and big-hearted. Author Nick Harkaway calls it "the love child of Erin Morgenstern's <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307744432" target="_blank"><i>The Night Circus</i></a> and Neal Stepheson's <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062191496" target="_blank"><i>Reamde</i></a>. How can you resist with a description like that?<br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781590515662" target="_blank"><i>Monsieur Proust’s Library</i></a> by Anka Muhlstein is an erudite and entertaining introduction to the life and work of Marcel Proust through the books he read<i>, </i>providing not only a friendly introduction to the momentous <i>In Search
of Lost Time</i> but also exciting highlights of some of the finest work
in French literature.<br />
<i></i><br />
What are some of your favorite books you've been given? Often, the gift of a book becomes part of the story of your life. <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451688795" target="_blank"><i>The Books They Gave Me: True Stories of Life, Love</i>,<i> and Lit</i> </a>by Jen
Adams is a mixtape of stories behind books given and received. Some of
the stories are poignant, some snarky, some romantic, some
disastrous—but all are illuminating. Romantic, funny and cathartic, this is a collection of people
falling in love, regretting mistakes, and finding hope through books<i> -- </i>above all an uplifting testament to the power of literature. <br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781604332858" target="_blank"><i>The Little Book of Books</i></a> by Jennifer Worick is a pocket-sized, leather-bound collection of book-related quotes, facts, and categories of book to explore, from “Magical Reads” to “Good Books for Bad Days” to “Literary Love” -- a book <span class="text">you will want to have handy whenever
you visit a bookstore or library. </span>Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-5755803345903859202012-12-06T11:16:00.000-08:002012-12-06T14:47:55.036-08:00Day 6: Picture This, Kids!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's Day 6 of our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Holy cats, how does the time move so fast in December?? This post is one of the hardest I write each year, yet one of the posts I enjoy the most: children's picture books. I'm a huge fan of picture books -- a love generated and nurtured by my mom, an elementary school librarian for many years.<br />
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The hard part about writing this post is choosing which books to highlight from the many, many wonderful and well-deserving books that would make ideal gifts for the youngsters in your life. Besides picture books, we also have lots of board books and early readers and nonfiction books for kids and pop-up books and oh the list goes on and on. Come see us and we'll help you find just the right gifts. (We'll also be talking about books for older young readers in a later post.)<br />
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One of my current favorite picture books authors is Jon Klassen. Last year's book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780763655983" target="_blank"><i>I Want My Hat Back</i></a>, made me laugh out loud, with its understated and wry dialogue. The illustrations (which Klassen also does) are simple and charming.<br />
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Klassen is back with another hat-centered picture-book charmer: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780763655990" target="_blank"><i>This is Not My Hat</i></a>. Again using spare but gorgeous illustrations paired with darkly comic minimal dialogue, Klassen delivers another winner that will truly tickle your kid's funny bone. Both hat books are published by Candlewick Press. <br />
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Klassen is the illustrator for two other picture books I'm fond of: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780763651077" target="_blank"><i>House Held Up by Trees</i></a>, written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet Ted Klooser, and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780061953385" target="_blank"><i>Extra Yarn</i></a>, written by Mac Barnett. And as long as I'm mentioning Mac Barnett, his newest picture book <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781423113348" target="_blank"><i>Chloe and the Lion</i></a> (illustrated by Adam Rex), presents a hilarious tale of the importance of working together and pairing your talents, rather than fighting over whose are more valuable. (I <i>loved</i> it!)<br />
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It's always a great year when one of my all-time-favorite picture book authors/illustrators comes out with a new book: Ian Falconer, the man behind the wonderful Olivia series. In <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781442450271" target="_blank"><i>Olivia and the Fairy Princesses</i></a>, our strong-willed, opinionated piglet goes on a hilarious quest for individuality in a world too full of ruffly, sparkly princesses. The book is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Atheneum has also recently issued a <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781442482999" target="_blank">full boxed set</a> of all seven Olivia picture books. Wow. If I didn't already own all seven I'd be snapping this set up in a heartbeat. Maybe I still will. What a wonderful gift this would make -- the kind of set that can be passed along through the generations, as Olivia is certainly a classic worth keeping.<br />
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Another very sweet new series comes from northwest native (she grew up in my hometown of Walla Walla) <a href="http://www.deborahunderwoodbooks.com/Deborah-Underwood-About-Me.html" target="_blank">Deborah Underwood</a> (who now lives in the Bay Area) and illustrated by Renata Liwska: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547215679" target="_blank"><i>The Quiet Book,</i></a> <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547390086" target="_blank"><i>The Loud Book</i></a>, and now <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780547558639" target="_blank"><i>The Christmas Quiet Book</i></a><i>, </i>celebrating the quiet sounds of the holiday season. The series is published by Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt. (Guess which book parents buy more of between <i>The Quiet Book</i> and <i>The Loud Book</i>???)<br />
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780399161032" target="_blank"><i>This Moose Belongs to Me</i></a>, a new picture book written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, is the story of a boy and his moose (doesn't everyone have a pet moose?), in which the moose is more than a little resistant to the rules the boy tries to impose on him. This book is sure to set off a fit of giggles. (And it's featured in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books</a> guide this year.) Jeffers' absurdly funny book from last year, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780399257377" target="_blank"><i>Stuck</i></a> -- in which a boy gets his kite stuck in a tree and attempts to knock it down -- is one of my favorites.<br />
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Another picture book I love is being covered in another blog about book-related books, but I'll just mention it briefly here: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781442457027" target="_blank"><i>The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore</i></a>, by William Joyce. It definitely scores a WOW in my book.<br />
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As always, you can find many more wonderful gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books</a> guide, available at the store. See you soon!<br />
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<br />Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-17089236804667330762012-12-05T15:33:00.002-08:002012-12-05T15:33:31.994-08:00Day 5: Thick, Chewy Political Biographies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Day 5 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Each Fall season seems to bring us an amazing array of biographies of fascinating people, and this year is no exception. Today we'll tell you about a few wonderful new political biographies that would make great gifts.<br />
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Jon Meacham won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his biography of Andrew Jackson, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780812973464" target="_blank"><i>American Lion</i></a>. This year he explores the complexities of one of our early presidents in <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781400067664" target="_blank"><i>Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.</i></a> The book brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times, presenting Jefferson the politician
and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the
wars of his era. Philosophers think; politicians maneuver. Jefferson's
genius was that he was both and could do both, often simultaneously.
Such is the art of power. Meacham writes, "The closest thing to a constant in his life was his need for power and control. He tended to mask these drives so effectively...the most astute observers of his life and work had trouble detecting them." The book also delves into his contradictions, including his hypocrisy on the issue of slavery. <br />
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Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743270755" target="_blank"><i>Team of Rivals</i></a> (the basis for the new movie "Lincoln") writes, "This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas
Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly
fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as
if he might still be alive today." Stacy Schiff, author of <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316001946" target="_blank"><i> Cleopatra: A life</i></a>, describes the book as "a thrilling and affecting portrait of our first philospher-politician," and says that the author "resolves the bundle of contradictions that was Thomas
Jefferson by probing his love of progress and thirst for power. Here was
a man endlessly, artfully intent on making the world something it had
not been before."And Walter Isaacson, author of last year's bestselling biography of <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451648539" target="_blank">Steve Jobs</a>, writes "In addition to being a brilliant biography, this book is a guide to the
use of power. Jon Meacham shows how Jefferson's deft ability to
compromise and improvise made him a transformational leader." This hardcover book, published by Random House, is $35.<br />
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Another biography of a fascinating life was just named one of this year's top five nonfiction titles by the <i>New York Times</i>. <i>T<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594203763" target="_blank">he Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times</a></i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594203763" target="_blank"> </a><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594203763" target="_blank">of Joseph P. Kennedy</a>, </i>by David Nasaw, tells the story of the man who launched the twentieth century's most famous political dynasty. The only biographer granted unrestricted access to the Joseph P. Kennedy
papers in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Nasaw tracks Kennedy's
astonishing passage from East Boston outsider to supreme Washington
insider. His career accomplishments included banker, World War I shipyard manager, Hollywood studio head, broker,
Wall Street operator, New Deal presidential adviser, founding
chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the first Irish American ambassador to London.<br />
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Nasaw says he is drawn to writing about big American moguls, such as William Randolph Heart and Andrew Carnegie, subjects of his previous biographies, in large part because we think we know who they are, and there’s been a
lot written about them, but most of the people who’ve written about them have done
so with the purpose either to condemn or celebrate. He says "what you really have to do is start all over again from the beginning... throwing out every preconception, every anecdote, every comment
that X has made to Y<i>... </i>and just starting from the beginning."<br />
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Kennedy was so committed to being a good father that he involved
himself heavily in his children’s lives – and not necessarily in a bad
way; they welcomed that involvement.The boys headed off in different political directions from their father, but he loved them and
pushed them forward -- despite, as Kennedy says, "[my boys] disagree with me on everything." Sadly, Kennedy outlived four of his nine children.<br />
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A significant portion of the book explores Kennedy's relationship with Franklin Roosevelt, whom he alternately revered and reviled. "The two could not have been more different...but they had one
critical trait in common. Each was a consummate charmer and regularly
deployed his charm as a tool or a weapon to get what he wanted." This hardcover book ($40) is published by Penguin Press. <br />
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Another biography on this year's list of the<i> New York Times</i> top five nonfiction titles is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780679405078" target="_blank"><i>The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson</i></a>, the fourth book in Robert Caro's much-lauded series about Johnson<i>.</i> (The series now exceeds 3000 pages -- who <i>knew </i>there was so much to say about him?) This book follows Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most
triumphant periods of his career and gives us for the first time the
story of the assassination from the viewpoint of Johnson himself.
With his consistent mix of prodigious reserach, depth of insight, and mix of political and psychological analysis, Caro reveals what it was like to suddenly become
president in a time of great crisis -- an assumption of presidential power
unprecedented in American history -- and tells how Johnson stepped, unprepared, into the
presidency and within weeks forced through Congress bills on the budget
and civil rights that it had determined to let die. This is Johnson's finest
hour, before his aspirations and his accomplishments were overshadowed and eroded by the trap of the Vietnam War.<br />
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Caro has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, twice won the National Book
Critics Circle Award for Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, as well as just about every other major literary honor for his in-depth biographies. This hardcover book -- all 700+ pages -- is published by Knopf and sells for $35.<br />
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From another bestselling historian, H.W. Brands, comes a biography of Civil War general and two-time president Ulysses Grant. <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780385532419" target="_blank"><i>The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace </i></a>tells the story of how Grant saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House,
holding the country together at two critical turning points in our
history. One reviewer called the book an "authoritative, action-packed, and well-rounded biography of a very human Ulysses S. Grant." Published by Doubleday Books, the book is $35.<br />
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Spanning the years 1940 to1965, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316547703" target="_blank"><i>The Last Lion</i></a>, a biography of Winston Churchill, picks up shortly after Churchill became Prime Minister, when his tiny island nation
stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The third volume in his Chuchill series, the book offers the detailed research, sharp analysis, and sparkling prose, presenting a revelatory portrait of this brilliant, flawed, and dynamic leader. (Little Brown and Company; $40)<br />
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Another wonderful biography that has recently been published in paperback is <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780345408778" target="_blank">Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman</a> </i>by Robert K. Massie.<i> </i>The Pulitzer Prize–winning author<i> </i>returns
with another masterpiece of narrative biography<i>: </i>the extraordinary
story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most
remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. (Random House; $20)<br />
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As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Book guide</a>, available at our store. See you soon!<br />
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<br />Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-4559962693039055462012-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:002012-12-04T15:50:20.865-08:00Day 4: We're Cooking with Local Friends<span class="swb"></span><br />
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<span class="swb"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Welcome to Day 4 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. Today we're cookin'! This
year’s crop of cookbooks is so large and varied that we’ve split it up into
two posts. In today's post we'll talk about our favorite cookbooks by local authors.</span></span><br />
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<span class="swb"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Julie
Richardson, co-author with Cory Schreiber of the fabulous <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781580089760" target="_blank"><i>Rustic FruitDesserts</i></a>, has written another winner with her newest cookbook, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781607741022" target="_blank"><i>VintageCakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt,Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today’s Sweet Tooth</i></a> (Ten Speed Press, $24).
Julie spends most of her days baking cakes and other goodies for Baker &
Spice, her bakery in southwest Portland, so this book is a perfectly baked
project for her. Every recipe in this charmingly retro book is a walk down
memory lane, from the plainest to the fanciest. After sifting through hundreds
of cookbooks and recipes looking for classic American cake recipes, Julie
selected the most inventive and delicious, tried and true recipes she could
find. She then retooled them using the best ingredients and up-to-date techniques.
The result? Gobsmackingly scrumptious cakes of all kinds that taste even better
than you remember. Stroll with me through some of the offerings: Carrot Cake
with Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Roll, Harvey
Wallbanger Cake, Mississippi Mud Cupcakes, Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake, Blueberry
Cornmeal Skillet Cake, Nectarine Oat Upside-Down Cake, White Chocolate Rhubarb
Downside-Up Cake. You get the idea. These comfort food desserts are just about
the best thing you can do with your oven.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Ken
Forkish is known to all of us as a master baker, especially of bread and pizza.
There are some days when nothing will do but a pie from Ken’s Artisan Pizza.
And of course every day is a good one that includes a loaf from Ken’s Artisan
Bakery. A Silicon Valley refugee, Ken has studied his craft at the San
Francisco Baking Institute, the CIA Greystone, Toscana Saporita in Italy, and
l<i>'</i>Institut Paul Bocuse in France. It’s our incredibly good fortune that he
landed in our city to set up shop! His new book is called <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781607742739" target="_blank"><i><b>Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza </b></i></a>(Ten Speed Press, $35).
It’s all about the dough for Ken. Whether you are a total beginner or a serious
baker, this book has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints.
Rustic boules. Neapolitan-style pizzas. Focaccias. And there’s much more than
recipes here. Ken offers the reader a complete baking education, with a
thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools, techniques and ingredients
that set artisan bread apart. This is an indispensable resource for bakers who
want to make their daily bread <i>exceptional</i> bread. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780762778102" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Portland, Oregon Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the City of Roses</span></i></a><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">by Laurie Wolf (Lyons Press,
$24.95) celebrates our best restaurants and eateries with recipes and
photographs. The recipes are accompanied by profiles (photos and essays) of
restaurants and the chefs who make them sing. No wonder the <i>New York Times</i>
has fallen in love with Portland’s food culture! Here are the best recipes from
Andina, Clyde Common, Little Bird, Lincoln, Laurelhurst Market, Pine State
Biscuits, Blue Hour, Ate-Oh-Ate, Nostrana and many more fabulous places. Within
these pages, we get to meet our local food superstars: Andy Ricker of Pok Pok
and Ping, Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, Lisa Schroeder of Mother’s Bistro and
Bar, Naomi Pomeroy of Beast, Adam Sappington of Country Cat, Greg Higgins,
Vitaly Paley, and more. Throughout the book you will also find short essays on
such topics as local farmer’s markets, Burgerville (California can keep their
In-N-Out Burgers), truffle hunting, the ubiquitous food carts, and more. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781603425667" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Dishing Up Oregon: 145 Recipes that Celebrate Farm-to-Table Flavors</span></i></a><b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">($19.95)<b> </b>by Ashley
Gartland is part of the Dishing Up America Series being produced by Storey
Publishing that celebrates the cooking of each state. Similar in format to the
book described above, this volume widens its focus to include many restaurants
from across Oregon. Besides many Portland metro restaurants, Ashley profiles dozens
of food providers (including fruit and nut farmers, creameries, vintners and
brewers, fish vendors, and others as well as restaurateurs) from the Willamette
Valley, the Oregon coast, central and southern Oregon, and the Columbia Gorge.
Also available: <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781612120287" target="_blank"><i>Dishing Up Washington: 150 Recipes that Capture Authentic Regional Flavors</i></a><b> </b>($19.95) by Jess Thomson. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Everyone
I know in Portland who cooks has something in common: a bulging file of recipes
cut from the pages of the <i>Oregonian</i>. These treasured clippings are
recipes for often used, much-loved family favorites. They are also
disintegrating under drops of sauce and splatters of grease and – hello people,
they are printed on the flimsiest paper imaginable! So it is with great relief
that we can now welcome into our kitchens <i>The Oregonian Cookbook: Best
Recipes from Foodday</i>, edited by Katherine Miller. This tasty collection of
more than 350 recipes culled from Foodday’s extensive archives celebrates the
30<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the paper’s popular weekly food section, and
includes a chapter devoted to our best chefs, a tribute to James Beard, a
resource guide that directs the reader where to find specialty markets and
artisinal purveyors, and bonus tips and techniques from the Foodday test
kitchen. But the bulk of it is the recipes. You will find many old friends here
– the recipes that readers have loved best over the years. The book comes in
<a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780971355569" target="_blank">paperback ($22.95)</a> and <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780971355552" target="_blank">hardcover ($29.95)</a>. </span></div>
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<span class="swb"></span><span class="swb"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">That’s
all we have room for (or time for – because we need to get cooking). Check this
space later in the month for some of our favorite new cookbooks by
non-Oregonians. As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Book guide,</a> available at our store. See you soon!</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-13949641510421166022012-12-04T09:15:00.003-08:002012-12-04T09:18:47.793-08:00Goodreads Choice Awards for 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After more than a million votes were cast, Goodreads has announced the winners of its <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2012" target="_blank">Goodreads Choice Awards for 2012</a>, the only major book awards decided by readers. Here are the winners in each category:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Fiction: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780316228534" target="_blank">The Casual Vacancy</a>, </i>by J.K. Rowling</li>
<li><b>Mystery/Thriller: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307588364" target="_blank">Gone Girl</a>, </i>by Gillian Flynn</li>
<li><b>Historical Fiction: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451681734" target="_blank">The Light Between Oceans</a>, </i>by M.L. Stedman</li>
<li><b>Fantasy: </b><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451658910" target="_blank"><i>The Wind Through the Keyhole</i></a>, by Stephen King</li>
<li><b>Paranormal Fantasy: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780670023486" target="_blank">Shadow of Night</a>, </i>by Deborah Harkness</li>
<li><b>Science Fiction: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062067753" target="_blank">The Long Earth</a>, </i>by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter</li>
<li><b>Romance: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780345803504" target="_blank">Fifty Shades Freed</a>, </i>by E.L. James</li>
<li><b>Horror: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780345504982" target="_blank">The Twelve</a>, </i>by Justin Cronin</li>
<li><b>Memoir/Autobiography: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307592736" target="_blank">Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail</a>, </i>by Cheryl Strayed</li>
<li><b>History/Biography: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780812979794" target="_blank">Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch</a>, </i>by Sally Bedell Smith</li>
<li><b>Nonfiction: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780307352149" target="_blank">Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking</a>, </i>by Susan Cain</li>
<li><b>Food/Cookbooks: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780061997181" target="_blank">The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier,</a> </i>by Ree Drummond</li>
<li><b>Humor: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780399159015" target="_blank">Let's Pretend this Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir,</a> </i>by Jenny Lawson</li>
<li><b>Graphic Novel//Comics: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781607065593" target="_blank">The Walking Dead, Vol 16, A Larger World</a>, </i>by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Charlie Adlard</li>
<li><b>Poetry: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781594204777" target="_blank">A Thousand Mornings</a>, </i>by Mary Oliver</li>
<li><b>Young Adult: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780525478812" target="_blank">The Fault in Our Stars</a>, </i>by John Green</li>
<li><b>YA Fantasy/SciFi: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780062024046" target="_blank">Insurgent</a>, </i>by Veronica Roth</li>
<li><b>Middle Grade: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781423140603" target="_blank">The Mark of Athena</a>, </i>by Rick Riordan</li>
<li><b>Picture Book: </b><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781442450271" target="_blank">Olivia and the Fairy Princesses</a>, </i>by Ian Falconer</li>
</ul>
Goodreads, launched in 2007, is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in
the world. The site has more than 12,000,000 members who have added more than
420,000,000 books to their shelves, providing a home for casual readers and
bona fide bookworms alike. Goodreads' mission is to help people find and share books they love. What's not to like about that?Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-23158968116536423682012-12-03T15:11:00.000-08:002012-12-03T15:14:57.274-08:00Day 3: Far from the Tree<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to Day 3 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b>. We had originally intended to discuss this
book<span style="font-size: small;"> -- </span><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743236713" target="_blank"><i>Far </i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743236713" target="_blank"><i>from the Tree: Parents, Children</i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743236713" target="_blank"><i>, and the Search for Ident</i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743236713" target="_blank"><i></i></a><i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780743236713" target="_blank">ity</a> </i>by Andrew Solomon --</span></span></span> under the heading “Nonfiction Sleepers.” It certainly qualified: <span style="font-size: small;">a</span> well<span style="font-size: small;">-</span>researched
social commentary, an excellent read, and a thoroughly under-appreciated
book. However, Solomon’s book was just named one of the top five nonfiction books of 2012 by
the <i>New York Times</i><span style="font-size: small;">,</span> so it is officially no longer “asleep.”<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">T</span>he book </span> is simply amazing. The author set about to document the lives of
families with one or more “exceptional children.” <span style="font-size: small;">In this book</span>, “exceptional” includes any individual affected
by a spectrum of physical, mental, social, and psychological differences -- deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism,<span style="font-size: small;"> children who are prodigies, <span style="font-size: small;">or</span> who become criminals, or who are transg<span style="font-size: small;">endered, or many other differences</span></span>. After interviewing more than three hun<span style="font-size: small;">dred</span> families, many of
them multiple times, over a ten<span style="font-size: small;">-</span>year period, Solomon came to a profound
appreciation for these children and their families.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">H<span style="font-size: small;">e found that many families grow closer through caring for a challenging chi<span style="font-size: small;">ld<span style="font-size: small;"> and that </span>most discover supportive communities of others similarly affected. His proposition is that it is in fact <span style="font-size: small;">diversity that unites us all. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book will hold great appeal for a</span>ny parents who ha<span style="font-size: small;">ve</span> ever looked at their child
and thought, “Where did this come from<span style="font-size: small;">?"</span> <span style="font-size: small;">S</span>ocial workers, psychologists,
pastors, educators, corrections officers, nonprofit managers, or political policy
makers <span style="font-size: small;">can also </span>benefit from this book’s careful documentation of the meaning of
family when one or more children present special challenges. The author has had his own struggles with
being “different and weaves his<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">personal</span></span> story into the narrative to give <span style="font-size: small;">readers</span> an even deeper
appreciation for families in our culture where “different” is the reality.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andrew Solomon's book <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780684854670" target="_blank"><i>Noonday Demon: A</i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780684854670" target="_blank"><i>n Atlas of Depression</i></a> was a finalist for the Pulitzer Pri<span style="font-size: small;">ze and won<span style="font-size: small;"> the 2001 National <span style="font-size: small;">B</span>ook Award. He is a <span style="font-size: small;">Lecturer in Psychiatry at Cornell University and <span style="font-size: small;">Special Adviser on LGBT Affairs to Yale University's Department of Psychiatry. <i>Far from the Tree</i><span style="font-size: small;"> -- almost a thousand pages long -- is available in hard<span style="font-size: small;">cover for $37.50 and is publi<span style="font-size: small;">shed by the Scribner imprint of Simon &<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Schuster.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="text">As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store. See you soon! </span>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
<br />Bookbroadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16461870119688778365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4252524648696692901.post-89689639691915007722012-12-02T16:45:00.000-08:002012-12-02T16:45:40.859-08:00Day 2 of 24 Days of Books: War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to Day 2 in our <b>24 Days of Books</b> series. Today's theme is war. That might seem like an odd theme for holiday gift-giving, but there is an unusually strong crop of recently published novels with war themes that are powerful and well written and could be just the right gifts for someone.<br />
<br />
<i>The Yellow Birds</i> is a debut novel about a soldier coming of age and about the psychological aftermath of war. In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and
eighteen-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches
a bloody battle for the city. Bound together since basic training when
Bartle makes a promise to Murphy's mom to bring him safely home, the two have been
dropped into a war neither is prepared for. The nonlinear, fractured narrative, which jumps around in time and location, mirrors the chaos and brutality of war.<br />
<br />
The novel was a finalist for The National Book Award and was this week named one of this year's top five fiction titles by the <i>New York Times</i>. One <i>NYT</i> review called the book "a first novel as compact and powerful as a footlocker full of ammo." Another described it as a book "that stands with Tim O’Brien’s enduring Vietnam book, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780618706419" target="_blank"><i>The Things They Carried</i></a>, as a classic of contemporary war fiction."<br />
<br />
At the age of 17, Kevin Powers enlisted in the Army and eventually
served as a machine-gunner in Iraq. In 2004 and 2005 he served with the
U.S. Army in Mosul and Tal Afar,
Iraq. After his honorable discharge he studied English at Virginia Commonwealth University and received an M.F.A. in Poetry from the Michener
Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. <br />
<br />
Says Powers: "About a year, two years, after I got home I started trying to
deal with my own questions about my experience. I started initially
writing poems about the war. I've been writing poems and stories since I
was about 13. And I just started accumulating material and I realized
that I needed a larger canvas to say what I wanted to say, which was to
try to answer the question that people were asking me, which was what
was it like over there."<br />
<br />
<i>The Yellow Birds</i> is a thoughtful, powerful, lyrical war story. It is published by Little Brown and Company and is available for $24.99 in hardcover. <br />
<br />
Another war-themed book that was a finalist for this year's National Book Award is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780060885618" target="_blank"><i>Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk</i></a>, by Ben Fountain. The story takes place over the course of a single day at the annual Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game. The seven surviving members of the Bravo Squad -- America's most sought-after heroes from the Iraqi war after a three-minute-and-forty-three-second intense firefight is caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew -- are slated to be honored at halftime of the game, along with a musical performance by Destiny's Child.<br />
<br />
The novel presents little in the way of actual war scenes but instead focuses on the American reaction to war and war heroes. After watching a Dallas Cowboys halftime show, the author found it to be a "surreal and patently insane -- to me, anyway -- mash-up of
militarism, pop culture, American triumphalism and soft-core porn....I wondered what it would do to your head, to have been over there
immersed in daily life-or-death situations, then you return to the U.S.
and get plunked down in the middle of this very artificial situation." The book has been described as both wickedly funny and heartbreaking, the Catch-22 of the war in Iraq. <br />
<br />
This is Ben Fountain's first novel, following a collection of stories, <i><a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780060885601" target="_blank">Brief Encounters with Che Guevara</a>.</i> He has received the PEN/Hemingway Award, a Whiting Writers' Award, an O. Henry Prize, and two
Pushcart Prizes,
among other honors and awards.<i> </i>The paperback edition of the book ($14.99) has just been released from Harper Collins' Ecco imprint.<br />
<br />
Another recently published war-related book that delves into the juxtaposition of the comedy and horror of war is <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802120328" target="_blank"><i>Fobbit</i></a>, by David Abrams. <b></b><span class="text">In the satirical tradition of
"Catch-22" and "M*A*S*H, " Abrams takes readers into the chaotic world
of Baghdad's Forward Operating Base Triumph. Darkly humorous and based
on the author's own experiences in Iraq, this debut novel
shows a behind-the-scenes portrait of the real Iraq war. </span><br />
<span class="text"><br /></span>
<span class="text">In a review in <i>Publisher's Weekly</i>, the book is described as </span>"a harrowing satire of the Iraq War and an instant classic....Abrams's prose is spot-on and often deadpan funny....This novel nails the comedy and the pathos, the boredom and the dread, crafting the Iraq War's answer to <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781451626650" target="_blank"><i>Catch-22</i></a>." The book is available in paperback from Grove Press for $15.<br />
<br />
<span class="text">Abrams, who now lives in Montana,</span><span class="text"> served in the U.S. Army for twenty years and was deployed
to Iraq in 2005 as part of a public affairs team. He was named the
Department of Defense's Military Journalist of the Year in 1994.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">And while we're on the subject of excellent, recent, war-themed novels, let's not forget last year's book<i> </i>about the Vietnam War, <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780802145314" target="_blank"><i>Matterhorn</i></a>, by Karl Marlantes, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who grew up in Seaside, Oregon, and now lives in Western Washington. The book, also published by Grove Press, is available for $15.95 in paperback.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">As always, you'll find many more great gift ideas in our <a href="http://www.broadwaybooks.net/" target="_blank">Holiday Books guide</a>, available at our store. See you soon! </span>
<br />
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