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BOOKPOST #78 -- FEBRUARY 2007
 Dear
Friend of Rakestraw Books,
Need Help? Just Ask Us.
Wondering if we have a
particular title available
at the store? Can't remember
the name of a book you've
recently heard about? Need
more details about a store
event on our calendar, or
would you like to make a
reservation? Can we help you
find just the right book for
yourself or for a gift?
Whatever your question, we'd
love to get you the right
answer!
To ask your question, shoot
us an email at
rakestraw_books@yahoo.com or
call us at (925) 837-7337.
The more information you
give us, the better. If
you're looking for a
particular book but can't
remember the title, tell us
everything you can remember
about it -- author, plot,
even the color of the cover
-- anything. If you're
looking for a gift, tell us
everything you can about the
recipient -- age, gender,
interests. You get the idea!
This month's issue of "Bookpost"
has lots of reviews of new
books as well as a couple
older one; news about some
fantastic author visits; and
the skinny on the current
book group picks.
Thanks for being a part of
our community here at
Rakestraw Books. Come see us
soon and, until then, Happy
Reading!
Sincerely yours,
Michael Barnard and all your
friends at Rakestraw Books
Inside this issue of
Bookpost:
- Calendar of Events for
February (and a Teaser for
March!);
- Rakestraw's Readers
Recommend the Best New Books
(and Two Old Ones);
- Book Group News -- two new
groups this month!;
- and Our Complete Schedule
of Upcoming Events.
A word to the
wise, to help ensure that
you continue to receive this
newsletter, please "white
list" this address: "Rakestraw_Books___The_Bookstore_@mail.vresp.com"
to your address book. Thank
you.
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Rafe Esquith & the Hobart
Shakespeareans Visit on
Tues., 6 February 2007 at 7
PM
 Be
Nice. Work Hard. Those
simple words, that powerful
idea, is the driving force
behind Rafe Esquith and the
children of Room 56 - the
very special group known as
the Hobart Shakespeareans.
There are no shortcuts. In a
world hell bent on quick
fixes, this may be a hard
lesson to impart to our
youth. But Rafe Esquith, one
of America's most beloved
and celebrated school
teachers, is living proof
that patience,
understanding, love and
imagination can work
miracles.
By any measure, Rafe
Esquith's fifth grade
students have been wildly
successful. Attending school
in a Los Angeles
neighborhood plagued by
guns, gangs, and drugs,
these kids, many of whom are
first generation immigrants
living in poverty and
learning English as a second
language, voluntarily come
to school at 6:30 in the
morning and study with him
until 5:00 in the afternoon.
In the exceptional classroom
known as Room 56, these
students learn Shakespeare,
play Vivaldi, score in the
top 1 percent on
standardized tests, and go
on to attend Ivy League
universities. Rafe has taken
them to perform in front of
Congress and at the Royal
Shakespeare Company and the
Globe Theatre in London. Sir
Peter Hall even hired them
to perform an unforgettable
A Midsummer Night's Dream at
the Ahmanson in Los Angeles.
For his tireless efforts,
Rafe has gained many
admirers: Sir Ian McKellan
says, "Rafe Esquith is my
only hero," and The New York
Times calls him "a genius
and a saint." He is the only
teacher to be awarded the
president's National Medal
of the Arts, and he was
named, by Queen Elizabeth,
as a Member of the British
Empire. He has also received
the Walt Disney American
Teacher Award for National
Teacher of the Year, Oprah's
Use Your Life Award, and the
Dalai Lama's Compassion in
Action Award.
Rafe and his students are
also the subject of a
highly-acclaimed PBS
documentary, "The Hobart
Shakespeareans". In his new
book, Teach Like Your Hair's
On Fire: The Methods and
Madness Inside Room 56,
publishing in January 2007,
Rafe, drawing from a
lifetime of experience, has
written nothing less than an
inspiring and
thought-provoking road map
for parents, teachers, and
anyone who cares about the
future success of our
nation's children.
Rakestraw Books is honored
to invite you to join us for
a remarkable evening with
Rafe Esquith and the Hobart
Shakespeareans on the
evening of Tuesday, 6
February 2007 at 7:00 PM.
Traveling to Danville with
Rafe are eight of his
students who, with him, will
combine Shakespeare, sign
language, and rock 'n' roll
in a complete and amazing
combination of the arts. The
students will do a series of
speeches and sketches mixed
with music, and bits from
Henry V, The Taming of the
Shrew, Hamlet, and The
Tempest, in a demonstration
of the chapter in the book
called "Will Power".
Tickets $10 in advance at
Rakestraw Books or by phone
at (925) 837-7337. Student
tickets (with valid student
ID) are $5. As available,
tickets will be sold at the
door. This event will take
place in the theater at the
Athenian School located at
2100 Mt. Diablo Scenic
Boulevard in Danville.
SPECIAL NOTE: 100% of the
ticket proceeds will be
given back to teachers in
the audience in the form of
grants. All teachers
attending the event are
invited to submit a grant
application (please click
the link below). Grant
recipients will be announced
during the event. Recipients
must be present.
Applications are due no
later than February 1, 2007.
If you have any questions,
please contact Michael at
the shop at (925) 837-7337.
Click here for our PDF of
our grant application for
this event. |
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Eoin McNamee Visits on
Monday, 12 February 2007 at
9:15 AM
 Owen
turned to Cat but she was
staring into the woods, her
face a mask of fear. Far
off, but moving closer, were
two figures, both white,
both faceless, seeming to
glide between the trees.
"The Harsh" whispered
Cati."They're here."
One day the world around
Owen shifts oddly: Time
flows backwards, and the
world and family he knew
disappear. Time can only be
set right when the Resisters
vanquish their ancient
enemies, the Harsh. Unless
they are stopped, everything
Owen knows will vanish as if
it has never been...And Owen
discovers he has a
terrifying role to play in
this battle: he is the
Navigator.
Just published to tremendous
acclaim both here and
abroad, Eoin McNamee's debut
children's novel The
Navigator is the kind of
fantasy novel that we love
here at Rakestraw Books. Big
and enthralling and totally
gripping -- it's a great
read. We are excited to
invite school classes to
come meet Eoin McNamee,
visiting from County Sligo
in Ireland, on Monday, 12
February 2007 at 9:15 AM.
Please call the shop at
(925) 837-7337 for more
information or to make
reservations.
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Ayelet Waldman Visits on
Thursday, 15 February 2007
at 7:00 PM
 With
wry candor and tender humor,
acclaimed novelist Ayelet
Waldman has crafted a
strikingly beautiful novel
-- Love and Other
Impossible Pursuits --
for our time, tackling the
absurdities of modern life
and reminding us why we love
some people no matter what.
For Emilia Greenleaf, life
is by turns a comedy of
errors and an emotional
minefield. Yes, she's a
Harvard Law grad who married
her soul mate. Yes, they
live in elegant comfort on
the Upper West Side of
Manhattan. But with her
one-and-only, Jack, came a
stepson-- a know-it-all
preschooler named William
who has become her number
one responsibility every
Wednesday afternoon. With
William, Emilia encounters a
number of impossible
pursuits-such as the pursuit
of cab drivers who speed
away when they see William's
industrial-strength car seat
and the pursuit of
lactose-free,
strawberry-flavored,
patisserie-quality cupcakes,
despite the fact that
William's allergy is a
figment of his
over-protective mother's
imagination.
As much as Emilia wants to
find common ground with
William, she becomes
completely preoccupied when
she loses her newborn
daughter. After this, the
sight of any child brings
her to tears, and Wednesdays
with William are almost
impossible. When his
unceasing questions turn to
the baby's death, Emilia is
at a total loss. Doesn't
anyone understand that
self-pity is a full-time
job? Ironically, it is only
through her blundering
attempts to bond with
William that she finally
heals herself and learns
what family really means.
Since its hardcover
publication a year ago,
Love and Other Impossible
Pursuits has been a
staff favorite. And, now
that it is published in
paperback, it's already
becoming a favorite with
local book groups. We are
inviting book groups and all
readers to join us for a
special evening with Ayelet
Waldman on Thursday, 15
February 2007 at 7:00 PM. We
will host a special
discussion for people who
have read the book and want
to talk about it starting at
6:00 PM.
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Peggy Orenstein Visits on
Thursday, 22 February 2007
at 7:00 PM
 In
a memoir with the power and
resonance of The Year of
Magical Thinking, and
the quirky humor of
Operating Instructions,
one of the nation's
preeminent writers on
women's issues spins the
astonishing story of her
six-year journey to
motherhood. Waiting for
Daisy is about loss,
love, anger and redemption.
It's about doing all the
things you swore you'd never
do to get something you
hadn't even been sure you
wanted. It's about being a
woman in a confusing,
contradictory time. It's
about testing the limits of
a loving marriage. And it's
about trying (and trying and
trying) to have a baby.
Orenstein's story begins
when she tells her new
husband that she's not sure
she ever wants to be a
mother; it ends six years
later after she's done
almost everything humanly
possible to achieve that
goal, from "fertility sex"
to escalating infertility
treatments to New Age
remedies to forays into
international adoption. Her
saga unfolds just as
professional women are
warned by the media to heed
the ticking of their
biological clocks, and just
as fertility clinics have
become a boom industry, with
over two million women a
year seeking them out.
Buffeted by one jaw-dropping
obstacle after another,
Orenstein seeks answers both
medical and spiritual in
America and Asia, along the
way visiting an old flame
who's now the father of
fifteen, and discovering in
Japan a ritual of surprising
solace. All the while she
tries to hold onto a
marriage threatened by
cycles, appointments,
procedures and
disappointments.
Waiting for Daisy is
an honest, wryly funny
report from the front, an
intimate page-turner that
illuminates the ambivalence,
obsession, and sacrifice
that characterize so many
modern women's lives. We are
delighted to invite you to
an evening with Peggy
Orenstein on Thursday, 22
February 2007 at 7:00 PM.
Please note corrected time!
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Nora Gallagher Visits on
Wednesday, 7 March 2007 at
7:00 PM
 Nora
Gallagher’s elegant debut
novel, Changing Light,
is a love story set in Los
Alamos during the summer of
1945, in the shadow of the
creation of the first atomic
bomb.
During the last summer of
the war, in the beautiful
New Mexico desert, a man and
a woman come together:
Eleanor Garrigue, a young
painter from New York, and
Leo Kavan, a neutron
physicist. The story begins
when Eleanor finds a
delirious man lying by the
river near her house. She
takes him in and cares for
him. In this novel of
secrets, we learn before
Eleanor does that Leo is
AWOL from Los Alamos after
witnessing a fatal radiation
accident that has forced him
to confront the moral
implications of his work on
the bomb. And we know, too,
what Leo does not know:
Eleanor is married, and has
fled to New Mexico to escape
her husband. As Eleanor and
Leo slowly reveal themselves
to each other, their pasts
and the present unfold in
tandem, taking us from the
heady art world in New York
to Einstein’s Berlin, from
the bomb labs in the English
countryside to the hidden
city of Los Alamos. Nora
Gallagher perfectly evokes
the veil of secrecy and
tension surrounding the
Manhattan Project, the
constant hum of fear
alongside the remarkable
fearlessness of the
scientists in the
laboratories.
As Leo and Eleanor privately
struggle with the losses the
war has pitched into their
lives, the two find
unexpected solace in each
other. Their story is all
the more poignant because it
can only flourish in a brief
interlude –- an interlude of
brilliant madness and
irrevocable change. As the
scientists engage in
literally "changing light,"
Leo and Eleanor are
connected and changed in
unexpected ways by the
brutal radiance of the war
and their fierce love.
Nora Gallagher is the author
of two memoirs Things
Seen and Unseen: A Year
Lived in Faith and
Practicing Resurrection.
Her essays, book reviews and
journalism have appeared in
many publications including
The New York Times Magazine,
DoubleTake, The Washington
Post, The Los Angeles Times
Magazine, Utne Reader, The
Village Voice, Mother Jones,
and The Los Angeles Times.
Ms. Gallagher has received
fellowships from the
Wesleyan Writers Conference,
Blue Mountain Center, New
York, (twice); the MacDowell
Colony, Peterborough, New
Hampshire(twice); and the
Mesa Refuge, Pt. Reyes,
California.
It is our privilege to
invite you to a very special
evening with Nora Gallagher
on Wednesday, 7 March 2007
at 7:00 PM. Groups
reservations are encouraged.
Visit Nora's beautiful
website by clicking here. |
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Rakestraw's Readers
Recommend -- the Best in New
Books
Eat, Pray, Love: One
Woman's Search for
Everything Across Italy,
India and Indonesia by
Elizabeth Gilbert
(Penguin, $13). By the time
she turned thirty, Elizabeth
Gilbert had everything a
modern, educated, ambitious
American woman was supposed
to want— a husband, a house
in the country, a successful
career. But in-stead of
feeling happy and fulfilled,
she was consumed with panic,
grief and confusion. She
went through a divorce, a
crushing depression, another
failed love and the complete
eradication of every-thing
she ever thought she was
supposed to be. To recover
from all of this, Gilbert
took a radical step. In
order to give herself the
time and space to find out
who she really was and what
she really wanted, she got
rid of her belongings, quit
her job, left her loved ones
behind and undertook a
year-long journey around the
world, all alone. Eat,
Pray, Love is the
absorbing chronicle of that
year. Gilbert's aim was to
visit three places where she
could examine one aspect of
her own nature, set against
the backdrop of a culture
that has traditionally done
that one thing very well. In
Italy, she studied the art
of pleasure, learning to
speak Italian and gaining
the twenty-three happiest
pounds of her life. India
was for the art of devotion,
where, with the help of a
native guru and a
surprisingly wise Texan, she
embarked on four months of
austere spiritual
exploration. Finally, in
Indonesia, she sought her
ultimate goal:
balance-namely, how to
somehow build a life of
equilibrium between worldly
enjoyment and divine
transcendence. Looking for
these answers on the island
of Bali, she became the
pupil of an elderly,
ninth-generation medicine
man and also fell in love in
the very best way --
unexpectedly. Julie has been
talking about this one for a
year and now that it's in
paperback, it's already a
bestseller for us. A must
read . . . .
Flower Confidential:
The Good, the Bad, and the
Beautiful in the Business of
Flowers by Amy Stewart
(Algonquin, $23.95). We buy
more flowers a year than we
do Big Macs, spending $6.2
billion annually. We use
them to mark our most
important events, to express
sentiments that might
otherwise go unsaid. And we
demand perfection. So it’s
no surprise that there is a
$40 billion global industry
devoted to making flowers
flawless. Amy Stewart takes
us inside the flower trade
-- from the hybridizers, who
create new varieties in the
laboratory, to the growers,
who produce flowers by the
millions (often in a
factory-like setting), to
the Dutch auctioneers, who
set the bar (and the price),
and ultimately to the
neighborhood florists
orchestrating the
mind-boggling demands of
Valentine’s and Mother’s
Day. There’s the breeder
intent on developing the
first blue rose; an
eccentric horticultural
legend who created the
world’s most popular lily; a
grower of gerberas of every
color imaginable; and the
equivalent of a Tiffany
diamond: the " Forever
Young" rose. Stewart
explores the relevance of
flowers in our lives and in
our history, and in the
process she reveals all that
has been gained -- and lost
-- by tinkering with nature.
I can't speak too highly of
this -- a simply terrific
read -- very highly
recommended.
About Alice by
Calvin Trillin (Random
House, $14.95). Calvin
Trillin's final essay about
his beloved wife Alice was
one of the best pieces I've
ever read in The New
Yorker. Now that it's in
book form, it's one to
treasure. It's wise and warm
and funny and loving --
truly a beautiful piece of
writing. As a special treat,
we have a very limited
number of signed copies
available. Call us today at
(925) 837-7337.
The Lady in the
Palazzo: At Home in Umbria
by Marlena de Blasi
(Algonquin, $23.95). For
those who fell in love with
Venice and then Tuscany
through the words of Marlena
de Blasi, The Lady in the
Palazzo is sure to be
another amorous adventure,
this time set in the remote
Italian region of Umbria. In
her third memoir about life
in Italy, Marlena de Blasi
returns with all of the
sumptuous prose and
delectable descriptions of
the place she calls home,
the food that she prepares,
and best of all, the people
she meets. Umbria, a
traditional region in Italy
that remains less affected
by foreign tastes, and
therefore less interested in
foreign people, is a
difficult place to find a
foothold when you're an
American expatriot. When
Marlena moves with her
husband to the small town of
Orvieto, she knows that the
fastest way into the hearts
and homes of her new
neighbors is through their
stomachs. Whether you're an
armchair traveler or
planning a trip yourself,
warm up to your travels this
spring by accompanying
Marlena to Italy, soaking up
the sights and smells, and
falling in love all over
again.
Slow Is Beauitful: New
Visions of Community,
Leisure, and Joie de Vivre
by Cecile Andrews (New
Society Publishers, $16.95).
We're hammered, we're
slammed, we're out of
control. Happiness is on the
decline in the most affluent
country in the world and
Americans are troubled by
the destructiveness of a
lifestyle devoted to money
and status. Yet no-one seems
to have a clue how to exit
from the Fast Lane. Slow
Is Beautiful analyzes
the subtle consumer,
political and corporate
forces stamping the joy from
our existence and provides a
vision of a more fulfilling
life through the rediscovery
of caring community,
unhurried leisure, and life
affirming joie de vivre.
Hidden Kitchens:
Stories, Recipes, and More
from NPR's The Kitchen
Sisters by Davia Nelson
and Nikki Silva (Rodale,
$15.95). Inspired by the
popular and highly acclaimed
NPR Morning Edition series,
Hidden Kitchens
explores the world of street
corner cooking, kitchen
rituals and visionaries,
legendary meals and eating
traditions -- a wild and
poignant chronicle of
American life through food.
Over a thousand listeners
called the NPR Hidden
Kitchens Hotline with
intriguing messages and hot
tips about underground
kitchens at nuclear test
sites, traveling circus
kitchens, Burgoo picnics in
Kentucky, ramp suppers in
North Carolina, hippie
kitchens, clambakes, and
more. Hidden Kitchens
interweaves stories and
characters from the radio
series with these listener
messages and over a hundred
photographs and images. Also
featured is an eclectic
collection of some 30
recipes including George
Foreman's "Grilled Sir
Loin," Czechoslovakian Moon
Cookies, Lou the Glue's
Pasta Calamari, Wild Fennel
Cakes and Francis Ford
Coppola's community
fundraiser recipe "Meatballs
for 500."
Duchess: A Novel of
Sarah Churchill by Susan
Scott (NAL, $14).
London:1673. With her family
ruined by war, penniless
thirteen-year-old Sarah
Jennings is overjoyed to be
chosen as a maid of honor at
the bawdy Restoration court
of Charles II. She soon wins
the trust of Lady Anne of
York, a lonely princess who
becomes one of her
staunchest allies. And
though Sarah's beauty stirs
the desires of jaded
aristocrats, she wants a
grander future for herself
than that of a pampered
mistress. Only one man
possesses ambition and
passions that match her own:
John Churchill, a dashing
young military hero. He
would ask for her hand—and
win her heart for a
lifetime. But Whitehall
Palace is ripe with
ever-shifting alliances and
sexual scandal, and Sarah
will need all her cleverness
to succeed. Titles, power,
and wealth are the prizes,
while an idle whisper in the
wrong ear can bring a cry of
treason, and the
executioner's ax. Will
Sarah’s loyalties-- and her
dreams -- falter when a king
is toppled from his throne
and a new queen crowned? And
will she dare risk
everything when her one true
love is tested by a
passionate, dangerous
obsession?
The Root of Wild
Madder: Chasing the History,
Mystery, and Lore of the
Persian Carpet by Brian
Murphy (Simon &
Schuster, $15). Every
Persian carpet has a story
to tell -- from the remote
villages of Afghanistan and
Iran, down the ancient trade
routes traveled for
centuries, to the bazaars of
Tehran and the markets of
the Western world.
Carpet-making is one of this
tumultuous region's few
constants, an art form that
transcends religious and
political turmoil. Part
travelogue and part
exploration into the meaning
and worth of these mystical
artifacts, The Root of
Wild Madder presents
practical information about
carpets while exploring the
artistic, religious, and
cultural complexities of
these enigmatic lands.
The Knitting Circle
by Ann Hood (Norton,
$24.95). After the sudden
loss of her only child,
Stella, Mary Baxter joins a
knitting circle in
Providence, Rhode Island, as
a way to fill the empty
hours and lonely days, not
knowing that it will change
her life. Alice, Scarlet,
Lulu, Beth, Harriet, and
Ellen welcome Mary into
their circle despite her
reluctance to open her heart
to them. Each woman teaches
Mary a new knitting
technique, and, as they do,
they reveal to her their own
personal stories of loss,
love, and hope. Eventually,
through the hours they spend
knitting and talking
together, Mary is finally
able to tell her own story
of grief, and in so doing
reclaims her love for her
husband, faces the hard
truths about her
relationship with her
mother, and finds the spark
of life again. By an
"engrossing storyteller,"
this new novel once again
"works its magic" (Sue Monk
Kidd).
The Sense of Paper
by Taylor Holden
(Bantam, $14). "Think for a
moment what paper means to
people. How ubiquitous it is
in everyday life….A material
of paradoxes, it can be used
and abused in a thousand
ways and still be the same
under its skin. It is the
embodiment of man’s
achievement, yet it is as
transient and as flimsy as
tissue…. In its strengths
and weaknesses, faults and
flaws, it is intensely
human…." A lush and
intoxicating blend of art
history, eroticism, and
suspense, Taylor Holden's
The Sense of Paper is
like no other debut novel
you’ve ever read. An
enthralling exploration of
the role of paper in art, it
is also the sumptuous story
of a woman living on the
dangerous edge of obsession,
passion, and murder.
Grand Avenues: The
Story of the French
Visionary Who Designed
Washington, D.C. by
Scott Berg (Pantheon,
$25). Grand Avenues
tells the riveting story of
Pierre Charles L'Enfant and
the creation of Washington
D.C.-- from the seeds of his
inspiration to the
fulfillment of his
extraordinary vision.
L'Enfant's story is one of
consuming passion, high
emotion, artistic genius,
and human frailty. As a boy
he studied drawing at the
most prestigious art
institute in the world. As a
young man he left his home
in Paris to volunteer in the
army of the American
colonies, where he served
under George Washington.
There he would also meet
many of the people who would
have a profound impact on
his life, including
Alexander Hamilton and James
Monroe. And it was
Washington himself who, in
1791, entrusted L'Enfant
with the planning of the
nation’s capital--and
reluctantly allowed him to
be dismissed from the
project eleven months later.
The plan for the city was
published under another
name, and for the remainder
of his life L'Enfant fought
for recognition of his
achievement. But he would
not live to see that day,
and a century would pass
before L'Enfant would be
given credit for his
brilliant design. Here is a
fascinating, little-explored
episode in American history:
the story of a visionary
artist and of the founding
of the magnificent city that
is his enduring legacy.
The Aeneid by
Virgil, translated by Robert
Fagles (Viking, $40).
Robert Fagles's translations
of both The Iliad and
The Odyssey have sold
hundreds of thousands of
copies and become the
standard translations of our
era. Now, his stunning
modern verse translation of
Virgil's The Aeneid
is poised to do the same.
This beautifully produced
edition of The Aeneid
will be eagerly sought by
readers desiring to complete
their Fagles collection—and
the attention it receives
will stimulate even greater
interest in his translations
of The Iliad and
The Odyssey. A simply
gorgeous production -- an
addition to your permanent
library.
A Tale of 12 Kitchen:
Family Cooking in Four
Countries by Jake Tilson
(Artisan, $22.95). Reading
this remarkable
cookbook-cum-scrapbook by
Jake Tilson is like
encountering a wonderful
friend you haven't seen in
years, and setting off
together on a culinary
journey through four
countries to cook and have
myriad happy experiences,
and meet scores of
fascinating people along the
way. Tilson presents his
recipes in a remarkably
original way. Subtly
embedded in his wonderful
descriptions, in tales told
in his very engaging prose,
is the reminder that
cooking, sharing and eating
meals with family and
friends is of utmost
importance in our lives.
The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd by Agatha
Christie (Black Dog,
$12). Considered to be one
of Agatha Christie’s most
controversial mysteries,
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
breaks all the rules of
traditional mystery writing.
A widow’s suicide has
stirred rumors of blackmail,
and of a secret lover named
Roger Ackroyd, who was found
stabbed to death in his
study. The case is so
unconventional that not even
crack detective Hercule
Poirot has a clue as to how
to solve it. Now available
in a handsome, attractively
priced hardcover edition.
Lady Chatterley's
Lover by D.H. Lawrence
(Penguin, $14). With her
soft brown hair, lithe
figure and big, wondering
eyes, Constance Chatterley
is possessed of a certain
vitality. Yet she is deeply
unhappy; married to an
invalid, she is almost as
inwardly paralysed as her
husband Clifford is
paralysed below the waist.
It is not until she finds
refuge in the arms of
Mellors the game-keeper, a
solitary man of a class
apart, that she feels
regenerated. Together they
move from an outer world of
chaos towards an inner world
of fulfillment. One of the
most extraordinary literary
works of the twentieth
century, Lady
Chatterley's Lover was
banned in England and the
United States after its
initial publication in 1928.
The unexpurgated edition did
not appear in America until
1959, after one of the most
spectacular legal battles in
publishing history.
A Store to Remember
by James Thomas Mullane
(Falcon Books, $50). A
Store to Remember by
James Thomas Mullane
introduces two powerful
charachters: Isaac Magnin --
the lonely, introspective
son of a Dutch professor who
courageously survived a
perilous sea voyage to
America in search of gold
and his wife, Mary Ann Cohen
-- the shy young daughter of
an Orthodox Rabbi who
threaded her way from humble
European beginnings to
become the pioneer of San
Francisco fashion. This is
their story, a story of
innovation and fortitude. It
is the history of a powerful
matriarch who trained her
children and her
grandchildren in every facet
of the retail industry.
Beginning in 1876 in a tiny
corner store-front, the
Magnin family went on to
build one of the most famous
fashion dynasties in the
world: I. Magnin & Co. which
reigned supreme for 118
years. We are to proud to be
the exclusive East Bay
distributor for this
handsomely produced volume.
Signed copies are now
available.
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Book Group News at Rakestraw
 The
Morning Group will meet on
Friday, 23 February 2007 at
10:30 AM to discuss Gabriel
Garcia Marquez's Love in
a Time of Cholera and
Memories of My Melancholy
Whores. The Evening
Group meets on Wednesday, 21
February 2007 at 7:00 PM to
discuss Measuring Time
by Helen Habila.
Julie says, "We try to read
good books you might not
pick out for yourself. And
we talk about it, and talk
about it, bringing our own
lives and that of the author
to bear on the subject at
hand. Join us!"
We're going to try launching
both new book groups again:
Our new food and wine book
group will begin on Tuesday,
20 February 2007 at 7:00 PM.
We will be discussing Brian
Doyle's The Grail: A Year
Ambling & Shambling Through
an Oregon Vineyard in
Pursuit of the Best Pinot
Noir in the World.
Please let us know if you're
interested by calling the
shop at (925) 837-7337 or
simply send an email to us
at rakestraw_books@yahoo.com.
Join us!
Our new group for high
school students will meet
late in the month -- date
and time to be determind.
Marissa Bell and Todd
Toffoli will be facilitating
this new group. For this
meeting, we will be
discussing Looking for
Alaska by John Green.
Please call the shop at
(925) 837-7337 for more
information.
Also, remember that either
Julie or Michael are happy
to talk to your book group
about books. Visits last
about an hour and your group
will come away with a couple
dozen great suggestions for
future reading. Let us know
if you are interested in
arranging for one of these
special programs!
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Complete Schedule of
Upcoming Events
National award-winning
teacher Rafe Esquith
presents his new book
Teach Like Your Hair's on
Fire: The Methods and
Madness Inside Room 56.
Esquith's presentation will
be enhanced by performances
by some of his students.
This event will take place
in the theater at the
Athenian School. Tickets are
$10. This event will take
place on Tuesday, 6 February
2007 at 7:00 PM. Please read
the article in this issue of
"Bookpost" for more
information.
Irish novelist Eoin McNamee
presents his debut
children's fantasy novel
The Navigator on Monday,
12 February 2007 at 9:15 AM.
Class reservations are
essential.
National bestseller and
Rakestraw favorite Ayelet
Waldman returns as we
celebrate the paperback
publication of Love and
Other Impossible Pursuits
on Thursday, 15 February
2007 at 7:00 PM. We will be
hosting a special discussion
for book groups that have
read the book starting at
6:00 PM. Please let us know
if you plan to attend the
discussion by calling the
shop at (925) 837-7337.
Berkeley writer Peggy
Orenstein presents her new
book Waiting for Daisy :
A Tale of Two Continents,
Three Religions, Five
Infertility Doctors, an
Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, and
One Woman's Quest to Become
a Mother on Thursday, 22
February 2007 at 7:00 PM.
Essayist Nora Gallagher
visits Rakestraw Books on
Wednesday, 7 March 2007 at
7:00 PM as we celebrate the
publication of her debut
novel Changing Light.
Many of you have loved her
earlier books Practicing
Resurrection : A Memoir of
Work, Doubt, Discernment,
and Moments of Grace and
Things Seen and Unseen :
A Year Lived in Faith.
We are delighted to bring
her to Danville.
Bestselling historian Alison
Weir makes her fiction debut
with a tale that vividly
recreates the life Lady Jane
Grey, Innocent Traitor.
We are excited to host a
special evening with her on
Thursday, 15 March 2007 at
7:00 PM.
North coast writer Amy
Stewart presents Flower
Confidential: The Good, the
Bad, and the Beautiful in
the Business of Flowers,
a penetrating and
captivating examination of
the commerical flower
industry, on Friday, 23
March 2007 at 7:00 PM. Kris
Simpson from East Bay
Flowers in Danville will be
demonstrating how to create
a beautiful arrangement of
flowers. More details to
come.
Australian novelist Max
Barry visits Rakestraw Books
on Monday, 2 April 2007 at
7:00 PM to present his
hysterical new novel, The
Company. Barry's work
has been a favorite here
since the publication of
Syrup several years ago.
It's a treat to bring him to
Rakestraw.
We are honored to invite you
to an evening with Kiran
Desai, winner of the 2006
Man Booker Prize for her
fine novel The
Inheritance of Loss.
This event will take place
on Wednesday, 4 April 2007
at 7:00 PM. Desai's first
visit to Rakestraw is one we
still look back on with
particular fondness. We are
thrilled that so many more
of you will have a chance to
meet her. This will be a
special evening. Advance
reservations are necessary.
Book groups are particularly
invited to attend.
All y'all are invited to
join us for lunch on Friday,
13 April 2007 at noon to
meet Sara Foster of Foster's
Market of North Carolina. We
will be celebrating the
publication of Casual
Cooking from Foster's Market
with a menu of southern
favorites. Reservations will
be necessary.
Writer A. M. Homes visits
Rakestraw on Monday, 16
April 2007 at noon to
present her new memoir
The Mistress's Daughter.
Lunch will be served.
Bestselling novelist, and
longtime Rakestraw favorite,
Susan Vreeland returns to
the bookshop as we celebrate
the publication of her new
novel, Luncheon of the
Boating Party. We are
planning a special garden
and picnic lunch for this
event on Saturday, 19 May
2007 at 2:00 PM. Please save
the date! More details will
be available soon.
It is our honor to invite
you to an evening with
Pulitzer Prize-winning
novelist Michael Chabon on
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 at
7:00 PM. Michael will be
reading from and signing
copies of his new novel
The Yiddish Policeman's
Union. We will be
producing one of our special
broadsides in commemoration
of this memorable event.
Reservations will be
necessary.
Please note that these
events are subject to change
but that as of this writing
all details are correct. We
encourage you to call us at
(925) 837-7337 to confirm.
In addition, you should
remember that more events
will be added to this
calendar so be sure to check
each newsletter for
additions.
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And, that's
Bookpost #78! We hope you found
it interesting, useful, and
enjoyable. Of course, if you
need more information, please
feel free to contact us by
telephone at (925) 837-7337. Or,
if you are in the lovely San
Ramon Valley, stop by the real
books-and-mortar shop at 409
Railroad Avenue, Danville,
California 94526. Or, if you
prefer not to leave your
computer, simply email us at
rakestraw_books@yahoo.com.
We look forward to seeing you
soon. Happy Reading!
Sincerely,
Michael Barnard
and the Staff of Rakestraw Books
"The Bookstore in Danville"
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