Pauls Toutonghi Reads July 25th

We hope you can join us at 7 pm on Wednesday, July 25th, to hear local author Pauls Toutonghi read from and discuss his recently published novel, Evel Knievel Days.

Toutonghi was born in 1976 to an Egyptian father and a Latvian mother. His writing has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Zoetrope: All-Story, The Boston Review, Five Chapters, One Story, Sports Illustrated, Book Magazine, The Rumpus, and numerous other periodicals. He received a Pushcart Prize for his short story, Regeneration. His first novel, Red Weather, which tells the story of a young man with Latvian immigrant parents, growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, came out from Random House in 2006

His most recent book, and the book he'll be reading from on Wednesday, is Evel Knievel Days. This coming-of-age novel introduces us to twenty-year-old Khosi Saqr, half-Egyptian, being raised by a single mother, and living in Butte, Montana. Butte is the hometown of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. Deciding that he doesn't fit in in a town of people who can't pronounce his name, he decides to take his own Knievel-like risk and go to Egypt in a search for his father -- and for his own identity. What he discovers in Cairo is much more startling than he expected it to be.

Portland/Miami author Diana Abu-Jaber had this to say about the book: "Beautifully written, Evel Knievel Days takes readers on a wry, irresistible journey. Toutonghi has written a spellbinding novel full of heart and startling humor."

Benjamin Percy, author of the Oregon-based novel The Wilding says, "This coming-of-age story spans the globe -- from an Evel Knievel festival in Butte, Montana, to the protests in Tahrir Square. Evel Knievel Days enchants the reader with its ghosts, recipes, and plucky, know-it-all hypochondriac of a narrator -- and his travels in search of his father and himself."

And the irrepressible Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain says, "Evel Knievel Days is so good, I want to dress it up in a star-spangled jumpsuit, leap it over the pyramids of Giza on a Laverda American Eagle 750cc motorcycle, and watch it stick its landing before an audience of millions in downtown Butte, Montana. This is one you shouldn't miss."

After receiving his PhD in English Literature from Cornell University, Pauls moved to Portland, where he is a professor of English at Lewis & Clark College. He and his wife have two-year-old twins. He has taught a class on the rock 'n' roll novel at the college and is a big fan of early blues, early early folk, and old country music, including songs by Kitty Wells, who passed away this week at the age of 92.

Recently, Jeff Baker wrote about Pauls in The Oregonian's "Where I Write" series. He was also recently interviewed by Dave Miller for OPB's Think Out Loud program. Alan Cheuse reviewed the book for NPR's All Things Considered. If you are unable to attend the reading, you can purchase his books from us through our website.

Coming Clean on My Addiction

I am an addict. There. I've said it. It feels so good to come clean. To be more specific, I find myself addicted to the Tour de France. I don't know how it happened: I'm not an athlete and I don't cycle -- I don't even like Lycra (and it certainly isn't a good look for me).

It started three or four years ago -- who knows how I fell down that slippery slope. But now I find myself once a year setting my alarm for 5 am (or 3:30 or 4 for the mountain stages) so I can get up and watch each day's stage, for the three-week race. I know that each stage is replayed later in the day, but my addiction requires that I get up and watch the first showing.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person. Nothing persuades me to get up at what I consider to be the wee hours of the morning, except an early morning airplane flight (something I avoid like the plague -- in fact, I avoid all flying like the plague, because it's become intolerable).

This year not only am I watching the Tour de France, but at the same time I'm reading a newly published memoir by a TdF cyclist: Racing through the Dark: Crash, Burn, Coming Clean, Coming Back, by David Millar. The book offers a vivid and arrestingly (pun intended) portrait of Millar's life in professional cycling -- including his soul-searing detour into performance-enhancing drugs, his dramatic arrest and two-year ban after admitting in 2004 that he took the banned blood-booster EPO, and his ultimate decision to return to the sport he loves to race clean. Millar wrote the book himself -- no drugs for him and no ghost writer either.

It's great to be reading a behind-the-scenes look into the sport of professional cycling while watching the Tour de France. In fact, the other day -- twelve years after winning the prologue on his Tour debut -- David Millar won one of the stages while I was watching. (Of course I was watching; I haven't missed a stage yet!)

Stage 12 was a 140-mile ride from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay-Davezieux and featured two big mountain climbs -- and I mean big mountains. (Are you kidding me? How can these guys walk, let alone talk, after cycling that long and that hard? And then do it again the next day?) It was the 35-year-old Scotsman's first TdF stage win since 2003. "I'm an ex-doper and I'm clean now, and I want to show everyone that it's possible to win clean on the Tour," Millar said.

I love everything about the Tour de France except for the contingent of hooligan spectators (reference: European soccer/football matches, where inevitably someone gets killed) who are becoming increasingly bold, obnoxious, and interfering. Just the other day, some spectator(s) tossed carpet tacks and nails onto the road, causing at least 30 punctured tires. One rider was forced to drop out of the race after breaking his collar bone when another rider crashed into him after he had stopped to help a teammate with a flat tire. In a display of the sport's code of honor, race leader Bradley Wiggins persuaded the rest of the pelaton (for the uninitiated, that's the big block of riders) to slow down and wait for the "tacked" riders to catch up.

I mean really, who needs to see drunk boys in Speedos or fat suits running along the the road and falling all over themselves as the cyclists pass by? Or the fans who wave large flags at eye level into the road. Or the fan who waved a flare too close to the cyclists and burned the arm of Wiggins. The riders (most of them, anyway) follow a code of sportsmanship during the race. I wish the fans would too.

But, I digress. Crazy, rude spectators aside, I love everything about this sport. So if I seem a little bleary-eyed when you see me in the store, just know I haven't been out carousing but instead getting up before the newspaper arrives to cheer on the cyclists. And if you too become a fan of the sport, I recommend David Millar's book.

Summer Super Sale This Weekend!!

We're so excited about the upcoming NE Broadway Summer Super Sale! At Broadway Books it starts this Friday at 10 am, when we open, and continues on Saturday and Sunday. This is the only time of the year when we sell special readers' editions of titles, and we donate the proceeds to Literary Arts for their Writers in the Schools program.The books are available at an astounding price: $4 each or 3 for $10. In most cases we only have one copy of each of these titles, so come early and often for the best selection, as we replenish the tables.

Just to make it even more exciting, we're also offering hardcover fiction at 25% off!!  That makes a hardcover book almost the same price as a paperback, without the wait! And, if you spend $100 or more at one time, we'll give you a Broadway Book's 20th Anniversary canvas book bag!!! Believe me, they are styling -- and practical. We will have a variety of other miscellaneous items on our sale tables, to make room for all of the new fun items we'll be getting in this Fall.

A new twist this year is that many merchants (including us) will be participating in the Backstage Pass program, in which you earn Backstage Passes by making purchases from participating merchants which can then be redeemed at other participating merchants. Coupons redeemed at our store will entitle the bearer to choose a free greeting card with the purchase of a book. Passes can be redeemed at participating merchants through August 31.

In addition to great bargains, the weekend includes music and dancing, food and drink, and fun activities for kids and adults. You can read details about the weekend below, and check out the NE Broadway Business Association's website to learn about specific participating businesses. We look forward to seeing you!
[Caveat: I have NO idea why the text below is formatted the way it is; I apologize for my technological inadequacies if they impair your ability to enjoy the reading of this material. sjm]
 

 2012 NE Broadway Summer Super Sale

The Northeast Broadway Business Association (NEBBA) presents our annual Summer
Super Sale July 20-22, 2012. The festive atmosphere makes it easy to enjoy one of the
city’s most diverse business districts. Visitors can take advantage of amazing opportunities -- up to
70% off of selected items on the sale weekend; additional discounts and gifts with the new Backstage Pass;
activity areas featuring free live music and a beer, wine and food garden; a health &
wellness fair; a pet fair; and a family fun zone. There’s something for everybody!

Special thanks go to our Summer Super Sale sponsors: Venture Portland, NEBBA,
Tixie, Furever pets, Great Wine Buys, Dana & Gary Griggs/Windermere Realty, Kitchen
Kaboodle, McMenamin’s on Broadway, and Minuteman Press.

Highlights of the Event Include:
FRIDAY JULY 20
KICKOFF PARTY 5:30-8:30pm
 At the Tixie Music Stage, NE Broadway and 21st Ave. (at the 2100 Building parking lot)
Last year’s evening event brought out hundreds of people to enjoy a great summer
night and we expect no less this time around! The 2012 Kickoff Party features local
favorites The Jon Koonce Band and The Knuckleheads on the Tixie Music Stage in the
2100 Building parking lot. Great Wine Buys, Broadway Grill and Brewery and Hop Haven
will be on hand to offer beer, wine and food, and the music is FREE! The party starts just
after work at 5:30pm, so grab the family, bring your friends and your dancing shoes –
everyone is welcome!

MUSIC SCHEDULE:
5:30-6:30pm – Jon Koonce Band (rock)
7-8:30pm – The Knuckleheads (rhythm & blues)

SATURDAY JULY 21
FREE SHUTTLES MAKE IT EASY TO GET AROUND
Use one of our three pedicabs or shuttle van from 11a-4pm to easily travel to the various
event sites and to all of your favorite shops and restaurants!

21st AVE. BLOCK PARTY 11:00am – 5:30pm
NE Broadway and 21st Ave. (at the 2100 Building parking lot)
There’s something for everyone at this all-day summer party! The Tixie Music Stage
will present live music of all types, while local restaurants will have food & drink for
purchase. The Health and Wellness Fair offers great info on health care and exercise,
and NE Broadway businesses and area non-profits will provide information about their
services and community involvement.

TIXIE MUSIC STAGE SCHEDULE (at 21st Ave. Block Party)
Noon-1pm – Lloyd Jones (blues)
1:30-2:30p – Tim Wilcox Quartet (jazz)
2:30-3:00p – Big Monti Amundsun (rock & blues)
3:00-4:00p – Crown Point (rock)
4:00-4:30p – Big Monti Amundsun (rock & blues)
4:30-5:30p – Jack McMahon (rock)

FAMILY FUN ZONE 11:00am – 4:00pm
NE Broadway and 12th Ave. (between Safeway and Newport Seafood Grill)
The Lloyd Center Family Fun Zone will have balloon artistry, face painting, a pop-a-shot
game, kids crafts, music and the Buffalo Wild Wings' mascot. Blazer's mascot Blaze
appears from noon-2:30! Hosted by Lloyd Center, Newport Seafood Grill, Buffalo Wild
Wings and Billy Heartbeats.

PET FAIR 11:00am – 3:00pm
NE Broadway and 19th Ave (outside of Furever Pets)

Hosted by Furever pets, the pet fair features deserving pets available for adoption from
non-profit rescue groups: Oregon Humane Society, Greyhound Pet Adoption NW,
Animal Rescue & Care Fund, & My Way Home Dog Rescue. The Feral Cat Coalition and
Fences for Fido will share the good work they do for pets in our area. To help raise
money for these organizations, there will be fun games to play, along with prizes. Local pet-related
businesses will also be there. New this year: seminars on pet nutrition and herbs
for pets. It is sure to be fun for your pets and family!

HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR
11:00am – 4:00pm NE Broadway and 21st Ave
A great collection of professionals will be on hand to help with health and wellness needs
to help you look and feel great. Find out more about exercise and nutrition, chiropractic,
massage, hair & beauty and more. Participants include Brenn's Blend, Zama Massage,
Asha Integrative Wellness, NW Women's Fitness Club and NW Personal Training,
Hallmark Opticians, Alvis Chiropractic, Lloyd Athletic Club, Phagan's School of Hair
Design, Paloma Chiropractic & Massage Therapy, Acupuncture on Broadway, Jane
Conboy - Virtual Gastric Band, and Sonus Hearing Care Professionals.

SUNDAY JULY 22
IRVINGTON FARMER’S MARKET 10:30am – 2:30pm
16th Ave. between NE Broadway & Weidler
The Irvington Farmer’s Market brings fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, cheese, many
gourmet delights, plus great hot and cold food to eat. Enjoy flamenco and other Spanish
music from Jeffrey Trapp while you shop and browse.

THE SUMMER SUPER SALE CONTINUES ON NE BROADWAY
11:00am – 5:00pm
The last sale day features merchants offering great last-minute deals up and down the
street.

FOR ALL THE UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION:
Visit www.nebroadwway.com and click on the Annual Events tab.

An Intimate Evening with Cheryl Strayed

We are beyond thrilled to be hosting Cheryl Strayed on Tuesday, August 14th, at 7 pm, for an intimate evening of reading, chatting, signing (and singing), and perhaps the partaking of a few beverages. Cheryl is the author of the novel Torch, the memoir Wild (which you might have heard of), and her newest book, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, a compilation of some of her Dear Sugar advice columns from the online magazine The Rumpus.

This will be a ticketed event: You can buy tickets at our store for $14.95 (the price of the book). On the night of the event you can exchange your ticket for a signed copy of Tiny Beautiful Things. Each person who attends the event will need a ticket. Tickets will go on sale Friday morning, July 13th, at 10 am. We're open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm, and Sundays from noon to 5 pm. We will be selling a limited number of tickets to this event, so don't delay coming in to get yours.

Sugar -- the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, who was revealed this spring to be Cheryl  -- is the person thousands turn to for advice. Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar to one place and includes never-before-published columns and an introduction by Steve Almond, the original Sugar.

Here are some quotes from Dear Sugar columns: "Acceptance is a small quiet room." "Forgiveness doesn't just sit there like a pretty boy in a bar." "Walk without a stick into the darkest wood." And my personal favorite: "Be brave enough to break your own heart." I went right to the final entry in the book, the essay that gives the book its title, and was blown away by the beauty and compassion and honesty and in-your-faceness.

We hope you can join us for this sure-to-be wonderful evening. The store will close at 5:30 pm that day and will reopen at 6 pm for people with tickets. You can call us during business hours at 503-284-1726 if you have any questions, or email us at bookbroads@qwestoffice.net.

Bondi: My New Favorite Helper

Whenever I use my cell phone in my car -- infrequently, because I think it's better to stay focused as I'm swearing at the other drivers -- I always use my bluetooth, because I want to be sure I'm within the rules of the law. My bluetooth (I call her Phyllis) tends to be a bit controlling and bossy, but other than that we get along well.

The problem I was having, however, was what to do with my phone. If I held it on my lap it would invariably slide off on to the floor, which isn't safe. And if I put it on the seat next to me it also slid around, often falling between the passenger seat and the far door, clearly out of reach. I often have a coffee mug and bottle of water in my cup holders, so that rules them out as cell phone holders. But then, Bondi came into my life.

Bondi -- mine is blue, but Bondi comes in many colors -- hangs from my rear-view mirror and holds my phone for me. It's out of the way, so I can stay focused on the road, but I can also easily see the screen for incoming calls (because Phyllis sometimes declines to announce the name of the caller, for whatever reason), while keeping my eyes facing up and forward. And now my phone doesn't slide down into that space between the driver's seat and the console, which always used to bug me.

I love my Bondi so much that I wanted to be able to share the experience with our customers, so we now have it for sale at the store. Bondi is $15 and comes in a variety of colors, including green, orange, purple, yellow, white, and black. And it's not just about using your cell phone in your car. Bondi's arms move, and the "head" twists and turns however you need it to be.You can use it to hold your iPod, or a memo pad. You can hang it on the charger plug in the wall as your phone is charging, or on the side of your computer screen. I have an extra one that I hang on an AC cord in my back room so I can easily find my phone while it's charging. You can even use it to pull back a curtain or hold a book open. Believe me, Bondi will become your new best friend -- friends, I should say, because you'll want more than one!

Strayed, Stafford, and Love - What a Lineup!

After coming off the high of our exciting 20th anniversary celebration, it's back to business at Broadway Books, and boy oh boy do we have an exciting line-up of events for everyone this week!

Tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 7, Cheryl Strayed joins us to read from and talk about her bestselling memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Wild is sitting pretty on The New York Times bestseller list, and it's receiving rave reviews everywhere. Seriously. You have to have been living in a cave not to have heard about Cheryl Strayed and her wonderful new memoir. But beyond the rave and the hype, I'm happy to tell you that it's the real deal. It's moving and powerful, an engrossing story well told and beautifully written.

Her mother, with whom Cheryl was very close, died of cancer when Cheryl was twenty-two. To say it shattered her world would be an understatement. Cheryl's life went into a downward spiral. She trashed her marriage and tried to obliterate her grief with drinking, drugs, and sex. But then she decided that she needed to find a way to become the girl that she had once been. The one her mother raised. So she decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Oregon/Washington border. Eleven hundred miles. Alone. This decision from a woman who hadn't backpacked a day in her life.

She went into the trip thinking it would be sort of a rejuvenating trek through the outdoors, giving her an opportunity to commune with nature and think transcendent thoughts. Of course, it was anything but. Carrying -- or attempting to -- an overloaded backpack she nicknamed Monster, Cheryl faced bears, snakes, hunger, loneliness, intense heat and record snowfalls, and a physical pounding that included feet that had essentially turned to pulp by the end of her journey.

But despite the pain and obstacles and her fears, she persevered. Because her only other option was to quit. And she refused to take that option. On the trail or in life.

The book is heartbreaking but never maudlin, told with gut-wrenching candor.  One of my favorite of the many reviews of this book is the one by Dwight Garner of The New York Times, who said the book "pretty much obliterated me." He went on to describe Wild as a book "as loose and sexy and dark as an early Lucinda Williams song. It’s got a punk spirit and makes an earthy and American sound."

On Thursday we have another spectacular evening for you as we welcome back our monthly Comma Reading Series, curated by Kirsten Rian. This month Comma offers you Kim Stafford and Matt Love.

Kim Stafford is a writer and teacher living in Portland. He is the founding director of the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis & Clark College and is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose. He teaches frequently at the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology and the Fishtrap Gathering. His book 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: A Memoir, is forthcoming from Trinity University Press. At our reading on Thursday he'll be reading from his poetry book Prairie Prescription, published by Limberlost Press.

Matt Love grew up in Oregon City and is the publisher of Nestucca Spit Press and the author/editor of eight books about Oregon. He is the winner of the Oregon Literary Arts' Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award for his contributions to Oregon history and literature. He teaches English, photography, creative writing, and journalism at Newport High School. On Thursday Matt will be presenting his newly published book, Sometimes a Great Movie: Paul Newman, Ken Kesey and the Filming of the Great Oregon Novel, about the filming of Kesey's book Sometimes a Great Notion in the central Oregon coast region in 1970. Besides telling the story of the filming and the interactions with the local community, the book presents more than a hundred photographs.

We hope you can join us on Tuesday for Cheryl and on Thursday for Kim and Matt -- two marvelous evenings.

A Treasure Trove of New Books!

Unpacking boxes of books is a daily ritual when you work in a bookstore. Sometimes it's a chore; other times it's a joy -- a little like Christmas morning. Yesterday was one of the latter types, a ginormously wonderful collection of hot-off-the-press just-released eagerly awaited books. Here's just a taste of the new books that went on sale yesterday:

• Are You My Mother: A Comic Drama, the new graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel of Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For fame. Her newest explores her complicated relationship with her mother.
• The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, the fourth volume in the fascinating and meticulous series of Johnson biographies by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Robert Caro.
• Just out in paperback is Then Again, by Diane Keaton, her unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. [Hmmm, isn't Mother's Day just around the corner???]
• Also just out in paperback is In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson's take on an American family living in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. The book is both harrowing and gripping, "like slipping slowly into a nightmare."
• I was thrilled to unpack the new novel from Simon Mawer, author of the Booker-shortlisted (and one of my favorites) novel The Glass Room. His newest is Trapeze, a blend of fact and fiction that tells the story of a young woman trained as a spy during WWII.
• Not to leave out the younger readers, it was a big day as the newest from Rick Riordan hit the shelves: Serpents Shadow, Book Three in The Kane Chronicles, with Carter and Sade Kane exploring the world of Egyptian gods and mythology.
• Another favorite for the younger readers (say, 8 to 12) are the Big Nate books. Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? published in paperback yesterday.

Many more terrific books hit our shelves yesterday. Come in and see for yourself! We've also got a table with ideas for Mother's Day (May 13th) and for graduates, as well as cards for both.