Staff Recommendation: The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Set in Nazi Germany during World War II, Liesel's penchant for stealing books will affect her life and the lives of everyone she knows. When the family hides a Jew in the basement, Liesel realizes that the world is not so black and white, and that words have power beyond anything she could have imagined. Liesel's story will resonate with any booklover. Great for adults and teens!

Reviewed by: Mandy

Note: The Boulder Book Store Fiction Bookclub will meet to discuss this book on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 7pm in the Upper North Room. Please join us!

Sasha Watson
author of
Vidalia in Paris

In New York Vidalia is the shy artistic girl, with a dysfunctional mother at home. But when she wins a scholarship to study art in Paris her life flips upside down. She finds that two guys are into her, Julien and Marco. She thinks of Julien as more of a friend she can say anything to. Marco is a romantic art dealer she finds herself falling for. He's wild and seems to constantly surprise her. But when she figures out the secret to his art dealing she doesn’t know what to think. Is it worth doing something dangerous to be with him?

Author, Sasha Watson will be coming to the Boulder Book Store on Sunday, Feb. 15th to teach a writers workshop for teens. This will be from 11am to 1pm.

Sasha will also be speaking about and signing her book Vidalia in Paris on Wednesday, Feb. 18th at 6:30pm. This event is open to the public.

Cowboys, Reporters, and Activists Collide in New Novel!

Based in small-town Colorado, RON MCLARTY’s newest and highly-anticipated third novel, Art in America, is sure to strike a chord with local readers. McLarty, best known for his critically acclaimed work, The Memory of Running, seamlessly blends the complexities of modern western existence with stunning narrative grace. Enlivened by the richness and gritty reality of his characters and the sparkling ease of their dialogue, Art in America is a work that transcends the affairs of everyday life. It is a must read for anyone interested in Colorado, the politics of small-town America or that greater bond that ties us all together.

Set in the fictitious town of Creedemore, Colorado, Art in America opens to a land-rights dispute which has splintered the local community, pitting neighbor against neighbor and attracting the attention of the national media. Into this chaos comes Steven Kearney, a prolific New York author, who has been commissioned by the Creedemore Historical Society to write and direct a play dramatizing the town's history. Steven's relocation sparks a colorful fish-out-of-water story populated with cowboys, environmental activists, hordes of reporters, performance artists, eco-terrorists and bona fide outlaws. It is a tale of fracture and community, art and life, and McLarty’s poignant, often hilarious narrative convinces us to root for the residents of Creedemore as though they were our own friends and neighbors.

Ron McLarty will speak and sign Art in America (Viking, $25.95) on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm. The event will be held at the Boulder Book Store on 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80301.

Concerned About Global Warming?

From Henry Thoreau to Rachel Carson, we've always had great writers & photographers to inspire us and teach us about the environment. Now it's time to tell your story.

The Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics—along with bookstores across the country—are encouraging all aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal stories and images about global warming for publication in a new online book to be published in 2009, Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.

The deadline to submit is November 15, 2008. The winning essays and photographs will be included in the online book and in a limited edition print version of the book. We hope you'll consider submitting a story or photograph. For more information, visit http://www.ucsusa.org/americanstories/.

New Bookclub for Independent Businesses

Boulder is a hub for independent businesses, and the Pearl Street Mall is a great example of how independent businesses can work together and thrive, thanks to their community. We're starting a new bookclub this fall, specially designed for independent businesses. Our new Independent Business Bookclub seeks employees from other independent businesses, as well as any others who are interested, in joining to discuss books that address the concerns, challenges and needs of independent businesses.

This unique bookclub's first pick is Bo Burlingham's book, Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, which discusses how maverick companies have passed up the growth treadmill—and focused on greatness instead.

Some entrepreneurs have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing great customer service, making great contributions to their communities, and finding great ways to lead their lives. In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen remarkable privately held companies, in widely varying industries across the country, that have chosen to march to their own drummer. He searches for the magic ingredients that give these companies their unique "mojo" and the lessons we can learn from them.

The Independent Business Bookclub will meet to discuss Small Giants by Bo Burlingham on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at noon in the Upper North Room of Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO. Bring your lunch and join us!

Denver teens bring play about homelessness to the stage

Artlab teens to present world premiere of Throwaway/ Runaway this Saturday and Sunday at Platteforum

For most Boulder and Denver residents, walking over a flattened cardboard box etched with the word hungry is as close to experiencing homelessness as it gets. Understanding the daily struggles of living on the streets is a difficult task. Nevertheless, high school teens from Denver’s Artlab are changing that with the world premiere of the play Throwaway/ Runaway.
Written by the teens themselves, the play Throwaway/Runaway will be performed this Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22, beginning at 2:00 pm. The play will be presented at the Riverfront Plaza in downtown Denver. Admission is free.

Directed by Jose Mercado with help from Craig Volk and costume designs by Mona Lucera, Throwaway/Runaway offers a frank insight into the lives of homeless youth. The Artlab teens spent an entire summer researching homelessness as well as volunteering in a homeless shelter to correctly convey the topic matter. Much time and effort has been put into this presentation so take a trip down to Denver not only to support these teens but to also gain knowledge about this serious issue.

Artlab is a collaborative program between Platteforum and Labyrinth Arts. The unique year-round internship and apprenticeship program is for underserved teens in the Denver-Metro area.

For more information, visit http://www.platteforum.org/.
What: world premiere of Throwaway/ Runaway
When: this Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22
Where: Riverfront Plaza is at the base of the Millennium Bridge at 1600 Little Raven St., Denver
Time: 2:00 pm
Admission: Free!

- By Erika Mahoney

Erika Mahoney is a summer intern at Boulder Book Store.

Get Your Poesy On With Us During National Poetry Month

When Edna St. Vincent Millay asked, "To what purpose, April, do you return again?" she clearly did not know that April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, Boulder Book Store has lined up a slew of great poetry readings, discussions and other opportunites during the month of April. We will kick off the month with three back-to-back poetry events, then continue to celebrate "Poetry Thursdays" throughout the rest of April.

Starting things off on Tuesday, April 1, at 7:30pm is GERDA ROVETCH & LISSA ROVETCH, who will speak and sign their new book, There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat & Other Vile Little Poems. This collection of absurd verse by Gerda Rovetch, a Boulder local for 50 years, and quirky line illustrations by her daughter, Lissa Rovetch, will charm children and adults alike.

On Wednesday, April 2, at 7:30pm we will host an evening of poetry readings by poets included in IMPROV: An Anthology of Colorado Poets. Colorado is rich in poetry, and IMPROV from Green Fuse Press reflects that wealth.

Poetry Thursdays
Our first Poetry Thursday (Thursday, April 3, at 7:30pm) will feature MARILYN KRYSL (Warscape With Lovers) & JAKE ADAM YORK (A Murmuration of Starlings) in a reading and discussion entitled, "Getting Published." As established poets and key members of literary magazines, these two poets will read from their recent collections, then lead a brief discussion about publishing work in literary magazines.

A night of "Writing the West" on Thursday, April 10 at 7:30pm will feature poets ERIKA WURTH (Indian Trains), GABRIEL GOMEZ (The Outer Bands) & SHERYL LUNA (Pity the Drowned Horses) reading from their recent work.

Thursday, April 17, at 7:30pm, we will celebrate National Poem In Your Pocket Day with an evening of shared poetry. The night will feature Open Mic Poetry Readings (bring your own or someone else's), networking with the local poetry community, and great Poetry Month giveaways. Event co-sponsors Haystack Mountain and Belvedere Chocolates will provide cheese and chocolates for the evening. (Pick up your Poem-In-Your-Pocket at Boulder Book Store anytime in April.)

Wrapping up the month are two poets whose poetry careers are just unfolding. MATT NIENOW (Two Sides of the Same Thing) and ERIN LEWENAUER (Keeping Dead Things Around) will participate in readings and discussion entitled "Getting Started: Up-and-Coming Poets" on Thursday, April 24, at 7:30pm. After reading from their new collections, the poets will lead a brief discussion about publishing your first book.

All events will be held in the upstairs Ballroom of Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO. Poems-In-Your-Pocket will be available at the Book Store throughout April.

T.S. Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month"—lessen that effect through poetry!

National Poetry Month Resources:
http://www.poets.org/npm