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More Staff Faves
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New CDs
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 The
venerable veterans of the music industry have issued two of the most
critically praised albums of early 2012. Check out these new releases
from 124-year-old Columbia Records, now available for $12.98 each at
Annie Bloom's:
Bruce Springsteen
Leonard Cohen
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| March 2012: Staff Reviews & More |
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Greetings!
We have three new staff reviews for you! Also, we have some great readings coming up. Read on and find out more ....
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Staff Reviews
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That Is All
by John Hodgman
Reviewed by Brian
Hodgman continues his romp through the absurd with his third and final
book of Complete World Knowledge. Come, explore the world of wine and
sports, choice vacation spots, and the bloody and horrible end of the
world (of which you will certainly not survive) through the mind of the
world's premier deranged millionaire. Hodgman is a perfect mix of the
bizarre, the hilarious, and the nerdy (Lovecraftians, take heed). If
you're worried you'll be lost because you haven't read the first two
books of Complete World Knowledge, don't be--it wouldn't make any more
sense if you had. Highly recommended. By me, deranged bookseller Brian
Graham.
Contents May Have Shifted
by Pam Houston
Reviewed by Carol
Pam lives a frequent-flyer life while trying to escape the memory of
an abusive childhood and the failure of past relationships. She's
trying to create a future with a man who may be the one--if he can only
move past his feelings for the mother of his young daughter. The brief
snapshots of Pam's travels and her interactions with those she loves
piece together a solid work of fiction. Experience a Tibetan sky burial
and an encounter with a Tunisian night watchman willing to sell a
2,000 year-old relic for $11.00, and a relationship that makes coming
home worthwhile.
A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness
Reviewed by Kate
This book is a lot of fun. It has good world building and a really well
developed alternate-history timeline, plus I like all of the tidbits on
medieval texts and alchemy that are slipped in. I would recommend this
highly if what you are looking for is a fast, entertaining read that
features magic and which you don't have to feel too embarrassed about
reading. This book is a perfect crossover book for young adults looking
for a bit more "oomph", or a fast and fun read for adults who like a
good fantasy fix now again. While very much a first novel, I have high
hopes that Harkness's writing style will develop as this trilogy goes
on.
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Readings
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We have a bunch of great readings in late March and early April. Here's what you have to look forward to:
Portland Poets
Judith Barrington & Paul Merchant
Thursday, March 29, 7pm
Judith Barrington is a poet and memoirist who has published three
collections of poetry, a prize-winning memoir, and a text on writing
literary memoir. Her most recent poetry is collected in two new
chapbooks, Postcard From the Bottom of the Sea and Lost Lands.
Judith grew up in England and moved to the Portland in 1976. Paul
Merchant taught for many years at Warwick University before becoming
William Stafford Archivist at Lewis & Clark College. His fourth
collection of poems, Some Business of Affinity (2006), was a finalist for an Oregon Book Award.
Brian Doyle
Bin Laden's Bald Spot
Monday, April 2, 7pm
 Brian Doyle, author of Mink River, returns to Annie Bloom's to read from his new short story collection, Bin Laden's Bald Spot.
In Doyle's fiction, the odd is happening all the time, reported upon by
characters of every sort and stripe. Swirling voices and skeins of
story, laughter and rage, ferocious attention to detail and sweeping
nuttiness, tears and chortling--these stories will remind readers of
the late giant David Foster Wallace, in their straightforward accounts
of anything-but-straightforward events; of modern short story pioneer
Raymond Carver, a bit, in their blunt, unadorned dialogue; and of
Julia Whitty, a bit, in their willingness to believe what is happening,
even if it absolutely shouldn't be.
Phillip Margolin
Capitol Murder
Tuesday, April 3, 7pm
Phillip Margolin returns to Annie Bloom's to launch his new thriller!
Private investigator Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller--the heroes of
Executive Privilege and Supreme Justice--are back in Capitol Murder.
Convicted serial killer Clarence Little has escaped from death row in
Oregon, and Brad receives threatening messages in D.C., where he is
working for Senator Jack Carson. While Dana is in Oregon digging into
Carson's shady background, a terrorist cell is poised to destroy a
packed professional football stadium in one of the biggest attacks on
American soil. As the senator's personal life begins to dovetail with
the cell's evil plan, Brad and Dana will risk it all again to uncover
the truth and save their country.
Jacqueline Winspear
Elegy for Eddie
Thursday, April 12, 7pm
Annie Bloom's is thrilled to host Jacqueline Winspear, author of the
Maisie Dobbs mysteries. Dobbs is a psychologist and investigator working
in post-World War I England. Elegy for Eddie, the ninth book
in the series, finds Maisie taking on her most personal case yet, a
twisting investigation that will take her across London, from her
childhood neighborhood to the highest echelons of power.
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