First of all, take five - and then five again - and watch this Oscar-nominated animated short film about books, and loving them.
That's all folks. Well, almost. Check out this week's events! |
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Wednesday, Feb. 1st at 7pm RoseMarie Terenzio Fairy Tale Interrupted A tough girl from the Bronx, Terenzio found herself in the unlikely position of personal assistant, publicist and close confidante to John F. Kennedy Jr. during the last five years of his life. In this sweet, funny and touching memoir, she remembers this prince of American royalty as only she knew him, through work and friendship, from his secretly planned marriage, to his tragic death. |
| Thursday, Feb. 2nd at 7pm A Night of Poetry ft. Melanie Henderson and Becky Thompson Melanie Henderson earned an MFA from Lesley University and an MBA from Trinity University. Her work has appeared in such publications as The Southern Women’s Review, Mourning Katrina, Torch, Midwest African American Literature, and Black Arts Quarterly. Her new book of poems, which won the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, is Elegies for New York Avenue. Professor of Sociology at Simmons College, writer, and activist Becky Thompson is the author of such books as When the Center is on Fire, A Promise, A Way of Life, and A Hunger So Wide and So Deep. The winner of Rockefeller, Ford, NEH, and AAUW fellowships, her new book of poetry is Zero is the Whole I Fall into at Night. |
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Monday, Feb. 6th at 7pm David Weinberger Too Big To Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren’t The Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room. A Senior Researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center and local author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined and Everything is Miscellaneous, David Weinberger turns his attention to the wealth, or rather flood, of information in the internet age and looks at how business, science, education, and government are using networks to “know” more than ever before. |
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| Paragon Park Mark Doty David R. Godine Publ. Paperback, $18.95 |
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| It's been a long spell since Mark Doty's last collection. He's been too busy winning awards, which everybody knows is the primary reason to be a poet. Mark Doty calls the early poems in Paragon Park "the material evidence of a former self." | ||
Ghosts of Empire: Britain's Legacies in the Modern World Kwasi Kwarteng PublicAffairs Books Hardcover, $29.99 |
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| First-time author Kwasi Kwarteng is a Conservative MP, born in London to Ghanian parents. His history of Britain's imperial past is meant to act not just as a look back at the figures and decisions which crippled a global superpower, but also as a warning to the current global superpower- which he sees as falling into some of the very same destructive patterns. Here's a useful review from the Telegraph. | ||
The Snow Child Eowyn Ivey Reagan Arthur Books Hardcover, $24.99 |
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| Oh, this looks lovely. The debut novel from young Alaskan author Eowyn Ivey has been getting great buzz. Ivey's story of a mysterious child who shows up at a lonely frontier homestead amid the stunning grandeur of the Alaskan wilderness might just make the perfect remedy for those among us whose souls are suffering in a WINTER WITH NO SNOW. |
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| Why We Broke Up Daniel Handler, Maira Kalman Little Brown, $19.99 Ages 15 & up |
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| A bookseller who prefers to remain anonymous says read this book after she broke up with her boyfriend, and soaked the pages with her tears. Now she loooooves this book. Kalman and Handler dig into a box which contains all the memories of a broken relationship. Here's a great interview with Handler, where he discusses writing from the female perspective, and confirms that more books are in the works by his alter ego, Lemony Snicket. | ||
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, Ben Boos Candlewick Press, $17.99 Ages 9-12 |
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| After many largely unremarkable years spent playing for a little basketball club who one recalls mostly because of their occasional and fluky success against the world-renowned Boston Celtics of the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar picked up the pen. His contributions to the literature of African American history (which will obviously live longer than his meager statistical successes in the world of professional sports) include On the Shoulders of Giants, Black Profiles in Courage, A Season on the Reservation, and Giant Steps. With What Color is My World? he reaches out to a younger audience, introducing some of the great innovators in our country's history. Here's the only video I could find which featured Kareem. |
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Soldier Bear Bibi Dumon Tak, Philip Hopman Eerdmans Books, $13.00 Ages 9-12 |
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| OK, this one is just cool. Especially if you were like me, and you dreamed about armored bears, or panzer bjorn, after tearing through Philip Pullman. A bear cub rescued by Polish soldiers during WWII travels the world, hauls rockets, catches a spy, and keeps the boys entertained. Oh, and this is based on a true story. | ||
| The Passion Jeanette Winterson Grove Press Paperback, $14.95 |
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| Schuchi: | I was thrilled to find out that Jeanette Winterson is coming to the Booksmith this March because this is one of my favorite novels. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, this beautifully written story of two outcasts is haunting. I may have underlined a sentence on every page. | |
After the Laughter: The 2nd Book of Herakut Herakut Publikat Verlags- Und Handels Kg Hardcover, $39.95 |
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| Kate: | Breathstealing. Herakut, the artistic team of Jasmin (Hera) and Akit create huge, heartmelting, stomachgripping images that exalt and mangle the human body. Aging, youth, and animals all are made suspect and holy through these images. |
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The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael Pauline Kael Library of America Hardcover, $40 |
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| Erik: | Whether you worshipped her or wanted to strangle her, for 25 years if you cared about film, you had to read Pauline Kael. In their fourth volume of American film criticism, the Library of America gives us a magnificently collection spanning her entire career. | |
| Past Joys Ken Botto Chronicle Books, 1978 Used Paperback, $6.50 |
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| Ken Botto's brilliant book of photographs of old toys should resonate with anyone, really. His scenes, constructed of antiqued, battered, and clearly well-loved toys set against a backdrop of old postcards, convey the seriousness of play. This book took me back, that's for sure. In the text he appears to be proposing a narrative for the action; something that I can remember very clearly doing inside my own head as my shiny purple truck with the big off road wheels dodged the dandelions and rumbled through the gravel, just barely making that turn at the tree root before the ambulance could cut him off, making it to the finish line before they both are surprised by the plunge off the curb's edge and into the muddy puddle. Would anyone survive? Yes! Purple truck landed on his wheels! Ambulance? Not so lucky. | ||
Raggedy Andy Stories Johnny Gruelle The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1960 Used Hardcover, $18.50 |
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| I didn't know that the story behind the creation of Raggedy Ann was so sad. Johnny Gruell, to comfort his daughter, stricken with smallpox, sat by her bed and made up stories about her favorite doll. Those stories became the classic first Raggedy Ann and Andy tales. Oh man, I'm going to go flip through Ken Botto's book again, just to cheer myself up. | ||
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| Witches on the Road Tonight Sheri Holman Grove Atlantic, Hardcover Orig. $24, Sale $7.99 |
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| Witches on the Road Tonight lays bare the mesh of secrets and lies that bind one Appalachian family through three generations. Upon the path of years and family members that lie between a young boy on the brink of WWII and a 24 hour news anchorwoman in the present day, a haunting narrative travels; one that will certainly enthrall the reader. Here's Holman talking about some firsts as a young author. | ||
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens Jack Weatherford Crown Publ., Hardcover Orig. $26, Sale $6.99 |
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| Historian Jack Weathford uncovers the true story of how the daughters of Genghis Khan were given the keys to the greatest kingdom in the history of the world. For example: riding into battle, once while pregnant with twins, the gloriously successful Queen Manduhai forced the Chinese into "the most frantic and expensive wall-building in history." The story of these warrior queens was erased from history by censors near the end of the thirteenth century, but this book goes a long way to restoring the amazing truth. | ||
The Dead Republic Roddy Doyle Penguin, Paperback Orig. $16, Sale $3.99 |
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| The Dead Republic marks the return of one of Doyle's most beloved characters, Henry Smart. Crawling into Utah's Monument Valley to find sweet relief in death, Henry finds himself on a movie set. Hollywood, collaboration with John Ford, and a movie about his life later, Henry finds himself back home in Ireland, soon to be celebrated as a national hero. A fast-paced, epic romp through the 1940's in America and Ireland, this is one of Doyle's best, and a Booksmith staff favorite to boot. | ||
Spring is already pretty much here, right? A whole new batch of scarves just fluttered into our celebrated Card & Gift room! Lighter than air and prettier than a pancake...yes, I've thought some more about it and that is what I meant to say. Lovely (and affordable) Spring scarves are prettier than a pancake and perfect for keeping those mild, late-January breezes out of your collar. |
Take my word for it; this found note really does deserve the spotlight.
It's just that I'd get fired if I didn't censor it.
Want to spread your love of literature? Become a volunteer for World Book Night and join thousands of people as they distribute 1 million free books! The deadline to sign up is February 1st. The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, and to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time. Read this letter |
BE A SUMMER STAR! Join the Brookline SmartSummers Theater Arts Program! A fun experience in the arts for ages 5-16. Full and part day programming available for 1 to 5 weeks starting June 29. To register contact Brookline Adult & Community Education at 617-730-2700 or brooklineadulted.org. For more information, contact theaterartscamp@aol.com or click here.
The Brookline Public Library now has half-price discount passes to the Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline Village. Reserve one today at any Brookline branch. Brookline residents only, please. Keep it in the town, people. |
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I love the book I'm reading. See you next week. |
| currently reading Coming of Age in the Milky Way. currently listening to Laura Gibson. email me, if you'd like to make this a conversation. |
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Boston Magazine's Best Bookstore 2004-2006, 2008, & 2011 WBZ-TV A-List Editor's pick for Best Bookstore 2006, 2007, & 2011 Boston Phoenix's 2010 "Readers' Pick for Best Place to Buy New Books" Community Newspapers' 2009 Readers' Choice Award |
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