“One of my favorite books of the summer so far. I’ve described it to people as a sci-fi book version of The Goonies filled with video games and tons of 80′s trivia . . . If you know me, you know I love me some Goonies, but add references to “LadyHawke” and just about every TV show I watched in my formative years, THEN layer on the quest and romance, and you’ll understand why I had so much fun reading this.”—Tegan, Queen Anne Books, Seattle. Buy Ready Player One from Queen Anne Books.
“I think I discovered the Far West and some subject matter of my earlier fiction at almost the same time,” wrote Bernard Malamud about his decade in Oregon, during which he produced some of his best-known books: The Natural, The Assistant, The Magic Barrel. It was “an interesting conjunction, in imagination,” he went on, “of Oregon and the streets of New York. One’s fantasy goes for a walk and returns with a bride.”
I first read these words a year or so after I myself had moved from New Jersey to Oregon, and at first I didn’t understand what Malamud meant by them. Not that I didn’t understand intellectually—of course he was talking about writing of one place while living in a very different one—but I didn’t yet know how your imagination could conjoin Oregon and the streets of New York; I didn’t know how your fantasy could find a bride, and how you would recognize it if it did.
At the time, I was a graduate student at Oregon State, where, from 1949 to 1961, Malamud had taught composition and literature and won his first National Book Award before returning eas. As I walked the placid sidewalks of Corvallis and (more…)
Big Congrats to Lara Hamilton, whose new store, The Book Larder: A Community Cookbook Store, will open in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle in October. The culinary store was a dream of Kim Ricketts, whose Kim Ricketts Book Events hosted a popular Cooks & Books series (We interviewed her a few years back here.) Ricketts, beloved to many in the book community, passed away earlier this year.
Hamilton, who worked with Ricketts on the series, told Seattlest that The Book Larder brings “eaters, cooks and readers into one central gathering space and offer readings and culinary classes.” Seattle Met’s Nosh Pit posted a few photos of the store-in-progress here.
The Book Larder will announce its author schedule in the next few weeks. If the line-up for Cooks & Books is any indication, it will include some big names from the foodie world. Check for updates on its Facebook page.
“Who hasn’t had a favorite item of clothing and grieved when it grew too small or wore out? The little girl in this delightful picture book becomes upset when she outgrows her favorite dress. But, with needle and thread, her mama turns it into a shirt and—as she grows larger and it grows smaller—later into a tank top, then a skirt, scarf, socks, and finally a hair ribbon. When a puppy chews the ribbon, the heroine turns the scraps into a final transformation: a collage picture that she’ll never outgrow! Charming mixed-media illustrations pair with a lively rhyming text for a winning story about reuse, resourcefulness, and creativity.”—Tiffany, Grass Roots Books & Music, Corvallis. Buy I Had a Favorite Dress from Grass Roots Books & Music.
Seattle Mystery Bookshop announced last week that its founder, Bill Farley, is retiring. For real this time. Farley opened the store in 1990 after having worked at Whodunnit in Philadelphia and being told by visiting author Aaron Elkins that Seattle needed a specialty mystery shop. He sold the now-famous—or is it infamous?—shop to long-time employee JB Dickey in 1999 but he never did manage to retire. “But now it really is time for him to kick back, play mah jong, see just how fast his yacht can go, finish all his carpentry projects, get that black belt, finish his PhD in ictheology, sign up for that Western line-dancing class, get his sky diving certificate AND his motorcycle license, and take that oft-postponed voyage to the Outer Planets,” Dickey writes in a blog post. “Which is just a way of saying he won’t have scheduled days any more after Labor Day.”
Farley’s name will stay on the masthead of the store’s newsletter, its bookmark and on the pebble-glassed door. He promises that you’ll still see him at the shop, after he’s had his split pea soup and pie at Bakeman’s. An official farewell party is in the works.
Two Magicians? Two Young Adults? Compete with their skills at the Le Cirque des Reves! (more…)
“Riding instructor Harry DeLeyer was looking for some inexpensive mounts for his students when he spotted the broken-down plow horse already loaded onto the knacker’struck. Despite the horse’s scars and blemishes, Harry liked the calm confidencethat the horse exhibited, and, against his better judgement, paid out $80 to takethe big white horse home. Snowman, as the horse was soon dubbed, had spent his life on a farm trudging behind a plow, pulling heavy loads. He settled into hisnew life at the riding school, placidly carrying the most boring students aroundthe ring. Placid, that is, until one day when circumstances drove Snowman to reveal his true nature to a stunned Harry: Snowman was a jumper. And not just any jumper, either, but the kind of horse who could be a champion. The Eighty-Dollar Champion is a wonderful story about a man and his horse who work together to overcome the prejudices of others, winning one show after another, until their story became an inspiration to the whole nation.”–Kristine, The Snow Goose, Stanwood. Buy The Eighty-Dollar Champion from your local indie.
“A memoir that deftly evokes the bygone days of colonial Kenya, from breathtaking descriptions of the African panorama to harrowing accounts of pioneer aircraft flight. Although controversy surrounds authorship of this book, no one can deny that Beryl Markam (1902-1986) lived an extraordinary life. Her story is told with stunning grace and clarity. It is one of my all-time favorites.”—Mary, Eagle Harbor Book Company, Bainbridge Island. Buy West with the Night from Eagle Harbor Book Company.
“Love in a Dish is a gorgeous little collection of the finest essays by M.F.K. Fisher. Introduced by biographer Anne Zimmerman, this is the perfect introduction to the work of Fisher or a nice supplement to an existing collection. Enjoy, laugh and try not to drool on the pages . . . that’s pretty bad form.”—Beth, Third Street Books, McMinnville, OR. Buy Love in a Dish from your local indie.
“It’s a good thing Scott Nadelson has a sense of humor; otherwise his stories could really bum you out. All eight of the stories in Aftermath begin, as you might expect, with things falling apart. Six involve romantic break ups; the other two explore parental abandonment and fallout from an accident. We sympathize with his tailspinning protagonists, whether victimized or self-destructive, because let’s face it: We’ve all been there. Nadelson’s ubiquitous setting, suburban New Jersey, certainly doesn’t liven things up here. What illuminates these stories is how seamlessly Nadelson opens a window to the workings of the human heart. It’s a messy business, sometimes comic and sometimes tragic. As well as we get to know these characters, it’s fitting that, for the most part, Nadelson leaves it to us to decide whether they leave their stories in better shape than when they entered. Available September 1.”—Tom Cantwell, author and NWBL contributor, Eugene. Buy Aftermath from an independent.
