OLSSON' S CLOSES ITS DOORS
As we were putting final touches on this email, we heard that our fellow independent bookstore Olsson's has gone out of business. We want to express our sadness at the departure of a fellow independent . We will reflect with you about the changes in bookselling at a later time.
LETTER FROM BARBARA AND CARLA
Event Talks on CD
We want to remind you about the audio CD recordings of author talks at the store. Carla just returned to Daniel Mendelsohn’s talk from a year ago about his book, THE LOST: A Search for Six of Six Million. She says, “It was stimulating to listen again to Daniel’s excellent talk, more about the craft of nonfiction than about his search for his Uncle’s family, lost in the Holocaust.” These CDs make an excellent introduction to a book and they can form a wonderful listening library.
For more information about ordering CDs of P&P events, click here.
The Week That Was…
More than 700 people gathered at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue on September 23 to hear Tom Friedman speak about his new book, HOT, FLAT, AND CROWDED. He gave the audience their money’s worth with a 75-minute talk and a 15-minute question-and-answer with Franklin Foer, editor of the New Republic. He’s simply one of the best communicators we have heard. Our favorite moment was when he showed a slide of a new Chinese automobile, the advertising for which included where the car’s materials came from, along with a note—ON THE ADVERTISEMENT—“no American anything.” What a metaphor for the United States’ slippage in world opinion!
In answer to a question from the audience, Friedman said that although he had started the 2008 presidential campaign with a lot of respect for John McCain, he finds that McCain’s simplistic reliance on drilling for oil in the United States has undermined that respect.Meanwhile, back at the store, another 200 people paid homage to the great travel writer Paul Theroux when he spoke about his new book GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR.
And on the next night, the great physicist Brian Greene inspired a big audience at the store when he described ICARUS AT THE EDGE OF TIME, a fable about fathers and sons, curiosity and wisdom, and the complexity of the universe. At the same time, our children’s department had an 800-plus gathering at BCC High School with the 24-year-old wizard of fable, Christopher Paolini.
Friday evening a crowd of over 200 people gathered to watch the debates at Politics and Prose. If there was any evidence needed about the interest in the election, there it was. It was a group of young and old sitting wherever they could find a place. We expect an even larger crowd this Thursday night for the vice presidential debate.
Coming This Week To A Bookstore Near You
For the full October calendar, click here
October 210:30 a.m. CHILDREN’S EVENT with Brian Lies for BATS AT THE LIBRARY , ages 4-8.
Join us at 8 p.m. to discuss the Vice Presidential Debate, which will be televised at 9 p.m.
October 3To celebrate the Small Press Expo (see below) we are fortunate to have Lynda Barry at 7 p.m. for WHAT IT IS and
Tom Tomorrow at 9 p.m. for THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT I CAN’T BEAR TO LOOK.
October 41 p.m. The renowned law Professor Laurence Tribe, of Harvard University, looks to the debates at the Constitutional Convention to discover what he calls THE INVISIBLE CONSTITUTION.
6 p.m. In his book, A LIFE WORTH LIVING, Robert Martensen, a physician and bioethicist, explores the moral and medical dilemmas involved in health-care decisions.
October 51 p.m. While reporting for Harper’s Ken Silverstein investigated Washington lobbying, pretending he was hiring staff to promote a Central Asia dictatorship. His book is called TURKMENISCAM .
5 p.m. James Traub, who writes for The New York Times Magazine, will present THE FREEDOM AGENDA, a history of America’s democratic evangelizing overseas, including a portrait of the Bush Administration’s largely failed efforts.
October 610:30 a.m. CHILDREN’S EVENT with Loren Long, for DRUMMER BOY , ages 3-7.
7 p.m. Barton Gellman will speak about his hard-hitting new book, ANGLER: The Cheney Vice-Presidency.
October 79:30 a.m. At the Department of the Interior, Ishmael Beah will discuss his memoir of the childhood he spent in war-torn Sierra Leone, A LONG WAY GONE.
In the store at 10:30 a.m. CHILDREN’S EVENT with Nikki Giovanni for her books HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN , ages 7-12, and LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS: AN AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP , ages 6-10.
Join us in the store at 8 p.m. for informal discussion before the televised second Presidential Debate at 9 p.m.
Wednesday,
October 8
Yom Kippur Eve; no event
Yom Kippur in the synagogue, painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
October 97 p.m. The eminent writer about nutrition and food safety, Marion Nestle will discuss PET FOOD POLITICS.
8:15 p.m. At the Avalon Theatre, 5612 Connecticut Avenue, Sarah Vowell, the NPR contributor and author of Assassination Vacation, will talk about her new book, THE WORDY SHIPMATES. This is a ticketed event. Two tickets come with purchase of the book, or buy tickets separately at $6 each. Call P&P for ticket and book purchase.
Last Saturday, we had the honor of sponsoring a talk by Father Patrick Desbois for his book THE HOLOCAUST BY BULLETS. The audience was small—perhaps some of our customers were among the 400 who heard him earlier in the week at the Holocaust Museum. His talk and the question-and- answer period was stirring and I think others will be interested in Father Desbois’s book.
Father Desbois is a 50-year-old French Priest who was appointed as a liaison to France’s Jewish community a decade ago. When he was on a tour with a group visiting the town of Rava-Ruska, where his grandfather had been interned in a prison camp during the Second World War, he asked the mayor where the Jews were buried. The mayor said he didn’t know. Father Desbois by then knew that 10,000 Jews had been killed there, so it was impossible that the Mayor did not know. When he later returned to the town he found villages waiting to tell their stories. Click here for more.
Photo: Antoine Antoniol for The New York Times
Last week Shelf-Awareness, an online daily newsletter for the book industry, carried this thoughtful list of titles providing deeper insight into what's in today's headlines:
As Wall Street waits for a rescue, booksellers and librarians are highlighting titles to help consumers understand how things could go so bad and how the mess might be cleaned up. Quite a few authors anticipated the current crisis. Among the highest-rated, gilt-edged titles:
THE NEW PARADIGM FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means, by George Soros (PublicAffairs, $22.95), published in May. Glen Robbe, trade book manager at the Stanford Bookstore, Stanford, Calif., said that the store has "done very well" with the book, which is "designed for lay people who are looking to learn more than what they're getting in newspapers." THE TRILLION DOLLAR MELTDOWN: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash, by Charles R. Morris (PublicAffairs, $22.95), published in March. Praveen Madan, co-owner of the Booksmith, San Francisco, Calif., noted that "with uncanny accuracy, Charles Morris predicted the current crisis and even estimated the magnitude of it. . . . Although the book does get a bit technical in some parts, most of it is written in such a way that even people without an advance finance degree can understand the basics." THE SHOCK DOCTRINE: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, by Naomi Klein (Picador, $16), published in paperback in June. Glen Robbe of the Stanford Bookstore called this title "prescient." He called the hardcover book trailer for the book "so compelling that you can't not want to read the book after seeing it." For the rest of the list, click here
Banned Book Week
What does J.K.Rowlings’s Harry Potter series have in common with Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and many other great books? Each has been banned at some time, in some place in the United States. Come in and take a look at our display of banned books for Banned Books Week, September 27 through October 4.
Read and wear your support of books with an I Read Banned Books bracelet. Featuring miniature reproductions of the original covers of Howl, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Color Purple, and several others, these bracelets are available in a large size ($16.95) and a smaller size ($12.95).
Small Press Expo
Small Press Expo 2008 will be held the weekend of October 4-5 at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, MD. Now in its 13th year, SPX is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books and the discovery of new creative talent. More information is available at www.spxpo.com.
In conjunction with SPX, P&P is hosting two graphics authors. On Friday, October 3, at 7 p.m. Lynda Barry (WHAT IT IS) and at 9 p.m. Tom Tomorrow (THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT I CAN’T BEAR TO LOOK) will be appearing at the bookstore.
• • •
Sorry that you missed a talk?
Politics and Prose author talks are available on CD. Click here for more information and a complete list of available talks.
• • •
Wonder which authors will be on C-Span2 this weekend?
View Book TV’s Weekend Schedule
• • •
Prefer a podcast of author events?
P&P is on npr.org’s weekly podcast, Book Tour.
• • •
Contents
- Signed Book of the Week
- P&P are also invited to...
- P&P Bestsellers
- From the Children's Department
- Remainder (Bargain) Books
- Music News
- Classes
- Store Book Groups
• • •SIGNED BOOK OF THE WEEK• • •
Quantities are limited. See our full list of signed books here.
Home
by Marilynne Robinson
2008/09 - Hardcover
Signed first edition, first printing.
Farrar Straus Giroux
$24.95
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gilead pens a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations.
Thursday, October 2, 7:30 p.m.
Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Avenue, Chevy Chase
SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL
AMERICA: OUR NEXT CHAPTER (Ecco, $25.95)
Chuck Hagel, Nebraska's senior U.S. Senator, now serving his second term in the Senate, will discuss his book, America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers, which is an assessment of current U.S. policy and diplomatic relations, as well as of domestic issues and global climate change.
There is no cost for this event. Please sign up in advance by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797.Copies of these books, provided by Politics and Prose Bookstore, will be available for purchase and signing .Unless otherwise specified, these events are free and open to the public.
Tuesday, October 14, 4-6 p.m.
Grand Oaks
5901 MacArthur Blvd., Washington, DC
WILLARD WIRTZ
IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR (Beloit College Press, $24.95)
Willard Wirtz served as Secretary of Labor in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and is now the oldest living former cabinet member. He will talk about his experiences in conjunction with the publication of In the Rear View Mirror, his new collection of essays and reminiscences.Sponsored by Beloit College Press, the program includes a reception and book signing. Valet parking is also available. Please RSVP to www.willardwirtz.com.
For more about out of store events click here
••• P&P BESTSELLERS ••• (Bestsellers are always 20% off for P&P members)
Philip Roth, INDIGNATION
- Stieg, Larsson, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
- Mary Shaffer, GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
- David Wroblewski, THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE
- Jumpa Lahiri, UNACCUSTOMED EARTH
- Dennis Lehane, GIVEN DAY
- Curtis Sittenfeld, AMERICAN WIFE
- Marilynne Robinson, HOME
- José Saramago, DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS
- Francine Prose, GOLDENGROVE
- Christopher Buckley, SUPREME COURTSHIP
- Salman Rushdie, THE ENCHANTRESS OF FLORENCE
Thomas Friedman, HOT, FLAT, AND CROWDED
- Zbigniew Brzezinski, AMERICA AND THE WORLD
- Annette Gordon-Reed, THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO
- Barton Gellman, ANGLER
- Dexter Filkins, THE FOREVER WAR
- Bob Woodward, THE WAR WITHIN
- Paul Theroux, GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR
- Eric Origen, GOODNIGHT BUSH
- Sarah Lyall, ANGLO FILES
- Andrew Bacevich, THE LIMITS OF POWER
- Ron Suskind, THE WAY OF THE WORLD
- Helene Cooper, HOUSE AT SUGAR BEACH
••• FROM THE CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT •••
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through 10/8)
Scritch! Scratch! Yuk! When lice invade, they send the whole family into chaos. A little girl with curly orange hair bounces around the room, tearing at her hair and NIT- PICKIN’ (Simon & Schuster, $15.99). Gramma slops a bowl of mayonnaise on her head. Mama wraps slimy plastic around it. Gramps attacks with kerosene. Throughout the onslaught, a parallel story shows the nits as they settle in, read the newspaper, have picnics, and generally make themselves at home. Nancy Van Laan’s metered rhymes make this book a brilliant read-aloud, and George Booth’s illustrations will have you rolling—and scratching—by the time you finish. Ages 4-7. • Allie Bruce
CHILDREN’S EVENTS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
Thursday, October 2, 10:30 a.m.
BRIAN LIES
BATS AT THE LIBRARY (Houghton Mifflin, $16)
What luck! A window is ajar at the library, so in fly the bats. The old bats read and discuss books; the young ones play tag and Xerox themselves. When it’s story time, they read old favorites like “Pippi Longbat,” “Goodnight Sun,” and “Make Way for Batlings.” Ages 4-8.
Monday, October 6, 10:30 a.m.
LOREN LONG
DRUMMER BOY (Philomel, $17.99)
In this beautifully illustrated take on the Christmas classic, a child loses his new drummer-boy ornament. After a journey involving a rat, an owl’s nest, and a snowman, the drummer boy returns to the child in time to play for the baby in the manger. Ages 3-7.
Tuesday, October 7, 10:30 a.m.
NIKKI GIOVANNI
HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $19.99)
This companion to Poetry Speaks to Children is a vibrantly illustrated collection of poetry with a beat, and comes with a CD of readings by the poets and other artists. Ages 7-12.
LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS: AN AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP (Holt, $16.95)
This is the story of two great men, their uncommon friendship, and their mutual goal of racial equality in the United States. Ages 6-10.
WRITING WORKSHOP
A Teen Writing Workshop takes place the last Sunday of the month, from 2-3:15 in the Remainder Room. For more information, and to reserve a spot, please go to www.capitolletters.org.
••• REMAINDER (BARGAIN) BOOKS •••
“Remainders,” can be found in lower level of the store. These books are often onlyavailable for a short time, so come in soon to find what you want.
Some great fiction in this week. From Kate Atkinson, who made her name as an outstanding novelist before demonstrating her keen talent for mysteries (Case Histories, When Will There Be Good News?), her first novel, the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year, BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM. Narrated by Ruby Lennox, who begins her tale promptly at the moment of her conception, this is the story of both a life and a family’s life, told with plenty of wit and often dark humor. Available in paperback, $4.98.
Lisa See’s SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN has been a favorite of both book groups and solo readers. Set in 19th-century China, this is the story of Lily and Snow Flower, women subject to foot binding and other rigid codes of behavior, one of which determines their very friendship. They communicate in a special code, nu shu, which was used among Chinese women for centuries. A fascinating and tender historical novel. Available in paperback, $5.98.
Russell Banks’s most recent novel, THE RESERVE, is set in 1936. Starting in the Adirondacks, it focuses on an artist with leftist loyalties as well as a taste for the high life. His passions lead him to Europe in the unsettled years before World War II, and his personal life is equally thrown off balance when he gets involved with a wealthy, but unstable American heiress, whose father has died suddenly. Available in hardcover, $5.98.
Trevor Corson followed up his surprise hit, The Secret Life of Lobsters, with THE ZEN OF FISH: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket. (Just out in paperback, the book is now called The story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice.) Either way, Corson’s look at “the elusive art of cooking without cooking” is an informative, often surprising, account of chef, knives, and fish. Available in hardcover, $7.98.
IN THE COMPANY OF STONE: The Art of the Stone Wall is a beautiful photography book by and about Dan Snow, a waller. A traditional artisan, Snow builds walls without mortar or nails—only gravity and the stones’ natural shapes hold them together. This oversize volume contains full-color pictures of a wide range of stonework designs, along with Snow’s commentary about his work process. Whether you want to build your own walls or not, this book is an intriguing glimpse into one of the lesser- known arts. Available in paperback, $9.98.
•Laurie Greer
John Adams, Part I
Composer John Adams will be coming to Politics & Prose on November 12 to read from his new autobiography, HALLELUJAH JUNCTION (FSG). There are two new Adams operas that have just been issued, following Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, and the oratorio, El Niño. A FLOWERING TREE (Nonesuch, 2 CDs, $27.98) was written for the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna, the Mozartean celebration organized by director Peter Sellars. Adams took The Magic Flute as his inspiration, and used selections from the Indian folktale as his story and libretto. Adams himself conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Schola Cantorum of Caracas chorus.
The original production of DOCTOR ATOMIC (Opus Arte, 2 DVDs, $39.99)—Adams’s operatic portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project—is now available on DVD. Gerald Finley is Robert Oppenheimer and Jessica Rivera (who also sings in A Flowering Tree) is Kitty Oppenheimer. Director Sellars assembled the libretto from quotes from the historical characters, and selections from the Bhagavad Gita, Baudelaire, John Donne, and Muriel Rukeyser.
Duke Ellington Jazz Festival
The third annual Duke Ellington Festival is happening all over town this week (check the schedule at www.dejazzfest.org), culminating in a free, all-day outdoor concert at the Sylvan Theatre, next to the Washington Monument, featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, and Taj Mahal. Also check out clarinetist Anat Cohen at the Women’s Museum on Friday. Both Taj Mahal and McCoy Tyner have new CDs out: Taj released MAESTRO (Heads Up, $17.98), with guest spots by Ben Harper, Angelique Kidjo, and Los Lobos. Tyner’s GUITARS (Half Note, $16.98) has a great rhythm section of Ron Carter on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, with sparkling guest appearances by John Scofield, Marc Ribot, Béla Fleck, Derek Trucks, and Bill Frisell.
New
Milton Nascimento with the Jobim Trio, NOVAS BOSSAS (Blue Note, $17.98)—Nascimento has one of the world’s unique voices, and here pays tribute to the bossa nova era.
Concerts
Bassist Esperanza Spalding and vocalist Gretchen Parlato (winner of the Monk Jazz Vocal Competition in 2004) split the bill at the Clarice Smith Center at the University of Maryland this Friday, October 10, at 8 p.m. (For more information, click here)
Philip Glass Box Set
A 10-CD overview of Philip Glass’s career, GLASS BOX: A NONESUCH RETROSPECTIVE (Nonesuch, $99.98), is being released this week; a great gift for Philip Glass fans, or newcomers to his music. If you’d like to special order it, email or call me (agoldinger@politics-prose.com or 202-363-2297). If you’re a member of P&P, you can get it at a 15% discount. Listen to an interview with Glass on the occasion of the release on WNYC, here
• • •BOOK GROUPS• • •
P&P’s book groups meet monthly and are free and open to the public. Read the book and join us! Book-group titles are 20% off for attendees.
10/2: TBA • CLASSICS (1st Monday, 7:30 p.m.) • DAYTIME (3rd Wednesday, 12:30 p.m.) • EVENING FICTION (2nd Tuesday; 7:30 p.m.) • FASCINATING HISTORY (4th Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) • FUTURIST (1st Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.) • KNITTING CIRCLE (1st & 3rd Thursday, 2 p.m.; 2nd & 4th Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.) • POETRY (4th Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.) • PUBLIC AFFAIRS (4th Monday, 7:30 p.m.) • SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY (2nd Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) • SPANISH LANGUAGE (3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.) • SPIRITUALITY (3rd Sunday, 6 p.m.) • SWARTHMORE (3rd Monday, 7:30) • TRAVEL (1st Tuesday, 7 p.m.) • WOMEN’S BIOGRAPHY (2nd Monday, 7:30 p.m.)
Dates and titles are subject to change; last-minute changes may also occur. Please call (202) 364-1919 to confirm meeting times. For a complete listing of book-group meeting times and titles go to A Politics & Prose “spin-off” discussion group, held at the Kensington Row Bookshop (3786 Howard Ave, Kensington, MD): •MARYLAND PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL ACTION (3rd Monday, 7 p.m.) For more information, email rasmussen.pa@comcast.net. |
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Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532
www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
www.politics-prose.com
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Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
