I don’t remember March. April is a blur. There was a birthday in May. Just not much time or energy for anything beyond Covid juggling. "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls," said Pablo Picasso. Dust... or saturated, encrusted Covid mud. No live music, no museums, no theater… what to do? Read! For many weeks, I couldn’t read much of anything, but now I am back. I just finished a very well-written, ponderous book called
Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time
.
It raises many good questions about where we are and how we got here, including an exploration of the origins of the human notion of time, forays into Native American mythologies and a back and forth with owls - both “real” and metaphorical.
James Baldwin: “I imagine that one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, that they will be forced to deal with pain.” I would venture that the truth of this applies to other emotions as well. There is a thin veneer of habit between judgment, arrogance, and stress and the underlying pain. I feel it in my own life these days – somehow the Covid nightmare has served to pierce the flotation device of emotion and left the underlying rawness, the pain. And maybe, just maybe, this is good. It is so real. It forces a paring back to essentials, to meanings perhaps forgotten in the speed and ambition. A good launching point for new beginnings or for the hard work of recovery or addressing racism or inequality or climate change. Or just giving ourselves a break.
Happy Reading,
Chris Morrow
PS - There is a great new book about James Baldwin and his lessons for today:
Begin Again
by Eddie Glaude Jr.
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Meet Jeff Kinney author of the beloved Diary of a Wimpy Kid series on his Awesome Friendly Socially-Distanced Adventure Bus Tour!
Jeff Kinney is coming to Northshire Bookstore's Manchester location on a socially-distanced Awesome Friendly Adventure Tour on Monday, August 10th at 1pm! Get a chance to meet Jeff from a distance as he joins us from his Awesome, Friendly Tour Bus by purchasing a ticket that includes a free signed copy of Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure and a photo opportunity.
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Virtual Events from Northshire Bookstore
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We are thrilled welcome to Megha Majumdar author of the instant
New York Times
Bestseller, Northshire staff favorite, and the "it" book of the summer
A Burning
in conversation with Nothshire events manager Dafydd Wood. For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise--to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies--and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.
This event will take place via zoom, and is ticketed on a pay-what-you-can basis.
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Join our booksellers for a special evening of book recommendations & conversations.
Northshire's adult book buyer Stan Hynds and Saratoga booksellers Cassidy Washburn and Kirstin Swartz will tell you about their recent favorite books. This is a great event to find new reads for yourself (or your book group) - and catch up with your friendly neighborhood book community!
This event will take place via zoom.
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J.R. Ward will celebrate her new book,
The Jackal
with her fans!
The #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Sinner
brings another hot adventure of true love and ultimate sacrifice in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world. Ward is the author of more than thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than fifteen million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-six different countries. Your event ticket includes a new hardcover copy of
The Jackal
signed, personalized, and mailed to your home, a souvenir dagger letter opener, and online access to the event for your household.
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To support Northshire's event program, Northshire Live virtual events are ticketed on a pay-what-you-can basis. Tickets are non-refundable. Tickets are free for those who purchase the event book from Northshire Bookstore, and for those who cannot pay at this time. Both free and paid tickets must be purchased via Eventbrite. Select events are ticketed with a copy of the event book included.
Click here for tickets.
For more information about any Northshire Live event, you can contact Rachel & Dafydd at
events@northshire.com
.
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Part memoir and part joyful romp through the fields of imagination, the story behind a beloved pseudonymous Twitter account reveals how a writer deep in grief rebuilt a life worth living.
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt
is two stories: that of the reclusive real-life writer who created a fictional character out of loneliness and thin air, and that of the magical Duchess Goldblatt herself, a bright light in the darkness of social media. Fans around the world are drawn to Her Grace’s voice, her wit, her life-affirming love for all humanity, and the fun and friendship of the community that’s sprung up around her.
"With sparkling wit and generosity to spare, the author has created a standout memoir. The fictional Duchess Goldblatt has captured countless hearts in the Twitter-verse but one need not subscribe (I don't) to connect with her. Pain and beauty go hand in hand, like the flesh and blood author and her completely made-up counterpart. The Duchess is hard to describe. She certainly loves humanity. I could say she wears glass slippers, holds her head up high, has that sparkle at her feet, twinkle in her eye. But that might be Lyle Lovett talking. He's a real-life character in this wonderful book about a woman putting her life back together." ~ Reviewed by Stan Hynds
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The 16th novel by #1 bestselling author Louise Penny finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in the City of Light
On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man’s life.
When a strange key is found in Stephen’s possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.
It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.
A gruesome discovery in Stephen’s Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.
Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.
For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.
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New Fiction on our Shelves
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New Nonfiction on our Shelves
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New Paperbacks on our Shelves
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From our own Shires Press
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COVID-19 is a public health emergency and economic crisis of unparalleled scale. Lives are cut short prematurely, the dreams of small business owners hang in the balance, and unemployment rises to levels unseen in a century or more. It is natural that we want this nightmare to end and that we yearn for a return to normal. But normal wasn't working. The economy of December 2019 created wealth for a privileged few while leaving millions to suffer from chronic hunger. Long before the acute shock of coronavirus we were charging headlong into climate crisis.
In
A World Made New
Dr Edward Cameron asks us to resist the temptation to re-establish a pattern of environmental destruction, social injustice and economic inequality and instead "reinvent" - turn this moment of crisis into an opportunity to build a 21st century economy and society - one that is low-carbon, resilient and inclusive. He offers design principles and practical recommendations to shape the unprecedented rescue packages that will inject tens of trillions of dollars into the economy over the coming 24 months.
This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the full impact of COVID and is yearning for ideas on how to build a world made new.
“This is an extraordinary synthesis of good ideas for responding to the linked public health and climate emergencies societies now face. Cameron grounds prescriptions for action with a deep concern for social equity and justice, and he is totally convincing that a return to the old status quo is unworthy of us. Unlike much of the writing on these subjects, the book reflects extensive and helpful awareness of what is going on internationally.”
—James Gustave Speth, author of
America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy
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New Releases from our Children's Department
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Manchester Center, VT
open to the public and for curbside delivery
Daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
4869 Main Street
Manchester Center, VT 05255
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Saratoga Springs, NY
open to the public, for curbside pickup,
and for home delivery with 9 Miles East
Daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
424 Broadway St.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
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Thank you for supporting Independent Bookselling!
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Follow us on Social Media - Manchester Center, VT
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