Ekahni Books

If you weren’t at the Hoffman Center last night for the launch of Judy Allen’s new book, “Looking Through Water”, you missed a real treat. Judy was her same lovely, sparkling self.  Except now she was speaking to a crowd of over 50 people who showed up to support her, buy her book and ask her questions about her process as a writer, how she got published and what inspired her to write this particular book.  Franz and I were honored to be her bookseller for this event, and we couldn’t be more proud of her if we tried.  She really knocked it out of the park and I think she had fun with it, too!

As we promised during the Q & A session, here is a link to Judy’s blog about her book.  When she gets her information up on Facebook and/or Twitter, you will be able to find that information on our website here, as well.  One quick word about her website, she has a lot of links on there for how to buy her books online from big places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  But, if it is convenient for you, we would love to sell Judy’s book to you from our shop.  You save on shipping, you support local business, and we will try our best to always have signed copies on hand. I’m not 100% sure about it, but since we are buying directly from her publisher, I think Judy gets a bigger slice of the pie than she would from some larger corporation.  It’s a win-win for everyone!

Thanks again to Judy for inviting us to sell her book for her at her launch! I hope all of you will get the chance to read it. It really is something special in our community, just as Judy herself is.

I just have to share with you all our good fortune in being the bookseller chosen to sell Brian Doyle’s new book, “Mink River” at the Manzanita Writer’s Series in January.  He will be coming to the Hoffman Center on January 15th at 7:00 p.m. And I am thrilled!  First of all, “Mink River” is a truly great book.  I loved it, and I am often leery of first novels by an author, no matter how established they are in other areas.  Brian has written at least ten other non-fiction books that I know of, though… so I shouldn’t have had any doubts.  Nonetheless, I will say that I was still pleasantly surprised by “Mink River”.  But, even more importantly than that, Brian is a sweetheart of a guy and is also a wonderfully entertaining speaker.  I think that everyone who attends is going to have a fantastic evening.

I thought that you all might like to know more about Brian, so I am posting a link to a podcast from OPB here on our website so you all can listen to his recent “Think Out Loud” radio interview.  It is a great interview that touches on everything from parenthood to his reaction to 9/11 (three of his friends were murdered on that fateful day), not to mention his life and his writing.  Feel free to click over and give it a listen:  http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/northwest-passages-brian-doyle/

I suspect that everyone who lives on the Oregon Coast will recognize the town of Neawanaka.  I imagine we will all think it’s based directly on wherever we live.  It captures the feel of life here so well.  It feels so realistic.  It’s hard to believe that it isn’t your hometown he is talking about.  Brian does a fantastic job of weaving character pieces together to create a rich tapestry of the hilarious, sad, jealous and crazy ways that life really is sometimes.  But don’t just take my word for it.  Some other wonderful people have had some great things to say about Brian’s book.  Take David James Duncan, the author of “The River Why” and “The Brothers K”.  He wrote about Brian’s book: “In its sights, setting, insinuations, flora and fauna, his tale is quintessential North Coast, but in its sensibility and lilt this story is as Irish as tin whistles — and the pairing is an unprecedented delight….I’ve read no Northwest novel remotely like it and enjoyed few novels more.”  That’s fairly high praise from Mr. Duncan, given that he is somewhat of a Pacific Northwest legend in his own right.  But, I find that I can’t disagree.  The book is all that and more.  I love everything about this book… even the cover image, which will make a lot more sense once you have read it, too.

I hope that you all get to join us for the Manzanita Writers Series… it’s going to be a really wonderful evening.  So come on out and listen to a reading by a great guy with your friends and neighbors.  And don’t forget the Open Mic night afterwards where you can listen to local folks trying out their writing before a live audience.  After all, it’s winter… what else do you have to do?

Greetings!  We got a large shipment of books in this past week.  Too many to list all of them, but we will give you some highlights.  Three books on yoga, a farm to table cookbook, some children’s books, history books, fiction and much more.

Here are the highlights:

The Spiritual Quest and the Way of Yoga – The Goal, the Journey and the Milestones by Swami Adiswarananda

Inner Yoga – Selected Writings of Sri Anirvan

Practical Yoga – Restoring the Body, Mind and Spirit – A practical guide to yoga

Outstanding in the Field – A Farm to Table Cookbook by Jim Denevan

The Wisdom of Ptah-Hotep – Spiritual Treasures from the Age of the Pyramids by Christian Jacq

Escape on the Pearl – The Heroic Bid for Freedom on the Underground Railroad by Mary Kay Ricks

The Natural Paint Book – A complete guide to natural paints, recipes and finishes by Lynn Edwards and Julia Lawless

The Other by David Guterson – New book by the author of Snow Falling on Cedars

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland – a wonderful reinterpretation of The Canterbury Tales

Dora the Explorer – 18 Board books in a box

Dinosaurs in the Round – A pop up diorama

Goodnight Moon and other Sleepytime Tales – DVD – featuring performances by Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Billy Crystal, Lauren Hill, Patti LaBelle, Aaron Neville, and Susan Sarandon

Plus so much more…

Don’t forget we do special orders and we track down used, rare and out of print books as well.

Thank you for supporting local booksellers in your community.

Franz here and I hope everyone is enjoying the start of June and our occasional glimpses of the sun.  We have a couple of new books to tell you about, as well as a couple books for those taking part in this weekend’s activities. And finally, we have some very exciting news about a local favorite and it’s triumphant return to print in a new form!

First, Robert Michael Pyle is doing a workshop at Alder Creek Farm sponsored by the Lower Nehalem Community Trust and the Manzanita Writer’s Series.  We currently have 2 new copies of Pyle’s book Sky’s Time in Gray’s River and a used copy from 1974 of Watching Washington Butterflies.  Here is some info for those who might be interested: http://hoffmanblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/en-plein-air-registration.pdf

For those of you that were at the Tillamook County Water Trail Dedication this past Friday, you may be interested in The Nehalem Estuary and Adjacent Wetlands by Gareth Ferdun.  This is a great book about the history and preservation of our estuary by a local author who has spent 8 years studying this area.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures.

Retire Right – 8 Scientifically Proven Traits You Need for a Happy, Fulfilling Retirement by Frederick T. Fraunfelder, MD and James H. Gilbaugh, Jr., MD – A scientifically backed, bullet proof prescription for a successful retirement.  Signed by Dr. Gilbaugh, who is a part time resident on the North Coast.

Washington and Oregon Nature Guide by Erin McCloskey – Another wonderful guidebook from Lone Pine; this one covers mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, trees, shrubs, herbs, ferns and seaweeds. Plus it is thinner & lighter than previous editions- making for even easier carrying while hiking!

Finally, we are excited to announce we have just received some of the last hardback copies of At the Foot of the Mountain by Jane Comerford.  This book details, in words and pictures, the history of Manzanita and Neahkahnie. Believe it or not, this book was in real danger of going out of print. Luckily, Jane and Dragonfly Press were able to re-print the book and there will be new soft cover copies coming in July!  In the meantime, though, we have the last of the hard covers- so come and get ‘em!

That is all for now, but we are expecting a shipment of over 20 titles next week ranging in topics from yoga, cooking, children’s books, history and fiction.

Thanks again for supporting independent booksellers in your community.

We hope everyone is getting out and enjoying this incredible weather!  And what better way to take in some sunshine than sitting outside reading a good book?  We have a few new books to tell you about as well as a reminder to pre-order a copy of Stieg Larsson’s third book “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest” due out on May 25th.  Let’s get to that list!

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon – The complete guide to organic vegetable gardening in the Pacific Northwest. This is the 6th edition of this incredibly popular guide.

Compost, By Any Other Name, Makes Good Dirt by Leo D. Mock – Leo is from Scappoose and writes about how and what to compost as well as how to build a compost bin. (I asked him, and no, he isn’t any relation to Tom Mock – but wouldn’t it be neat if he was??)

Heat:  An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford – Bill is a highly acclaimed writer and editor for The New Yorker and this is the story of his experiences after deciding to go work for Mario Batali in his kitchen at “Babbo”.  If you enjoy reality cooking shows like “Hell’s Kitchen,” you will love this book. (One word of caution.. this book is a little more real than “reality television”.  And is even more fascinating!)

Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison – John is the older brother of Augusten Burroughs (of Running with Scissors fame) who was labelled a “social deviant” as a child. It wasn’t until he was forty that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.  This is a darkly funny memoir of his life.  (This was a “must read” recommendation from our good friend at Moxie, Angelina.

Elephants of the Tsunami by Jana Laiz – The true story of elephants rescuing humans from the tsunami in Indonesia and their subsequent survival told in children’s book form with wonderful illustrations.  (This was one of the books presented by James Roddy at the tsunami lectures at the Pine Grove. We also have Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters and Unthinkable from that same presentation.)

Lastly, don’t forget to get those pre-orders in for Stieg Larsson’s third book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  The book will be released on May 25th, and is the last book in the series which began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and was followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire.  As many of you know, we are huge fans of this series and we highly recommend it to anyone who loves excellently tight writing, seamlessly crafted complex plots, or intriguingly intense thrillers.  You won’t be disappointed! Call us at 503-368-6881 or email us at: sales@ekahnibooks.com and we will get you set up!

As always, thank you for supporting independent booksellers in your community!

Franz & Sherry Hasslacher

Join the world wide book club!

Just when you thought Twitter was only good for finding out what your favorite celebrity had for lunch today, here comes a great idea from @crowdsourcing!  Could we create a place where everyone in the world could read the same book at the same time?  Could we really create a worldwide frame of reference for millions of people? Just with the power of Twitter and a good book?  As it turns out, the answer to all of these questions is “yes”!

So, after a few weeks of good natured arguing back and forth and tons of voting from folks all over the world, the book has finally been decided upon.  And it is Neil Gaiman’s incredible bestseller “American Gods”.  Neil beat out such classics as Fahrenheit 451 and Slaughterhouse-Five to be the first ever “one book, one tweet” worldwide book club reader’s choice.  Here is a brief teaser about the book:

“Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble.  Until he learns she’s been killed in a terrible accident.  Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself.  The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.  He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming.  And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same…”

If you read Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” and “Stardust” you will understand what a serious statement I am making when I agree with others that this is Gaiman’s most ambitious book to date.  We have four copies here at the shop, so come and get’em while supplies last.

The “schedule” starts today, but you can read at your own pace.  If you want to join the discussion, which is the fun part of a book club after all, all you need is a Twitter account and the ability to follow “@1B1T2010”.  Folks will start tweeting their reactions and opinions about each chapter according to a schedule found here:

http://www.crowdsourcing.com/cs/2010/05/ready-set-read-the-one-book-one-twitter-discussion-schedule.html

I am really excited about this!  I have seen large scale book groups like this work for city-wide reads, in places like Seattle and Chicago.  But this the first time that people from all over the world have come together to read and discuss one book.  I can’t wait to see what my fellow Manza-Whee-Lems (gosh, I hope I spelled that right!) think of Neil Gaiman’s book. And if anyone needs any help signing up for Twitter, I would be happy to show them how.  It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s fun!

Alright, everybody, get ready – get set – READ!

Hello everyone!  Sherry here and I hope everyone is getting out and enjoying this gorgeous Spring day!  We’ve gotten in another shipment of books that we are very excited to tell you all about.  We have new books for writers, books of and about poetry (in celebration of Poetry Month), books on sustainable food (in advance of this month’s Manzanita Film series showing of “Food, Inc.”- more on that in a bit), and some just general fun books.  We also received a shipment of fun cards and journals to help you get your writing down on paper.  Let’s get to the list, shall we?

Books for Writers & Poets

Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir by Lisa Dale Norton – for those of you who don’t know, Ms. Norton lived here on the Oregon Coast in the 90’s and founded the Neahkahnie Institute, an arts organization that offered writing workshops exploring landscape and creativity.  This is a fantastic “hands on” resource for people who are looking to better structure and more easily write memoirs.

Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read & Write Poetry by Sage Cohen – Ms. Cohen is our Manzanita Writer’s Series writer this month, and she will be at the Hoffman Center this Saturday promoting her latest book.  In celebration of Poetry Month, we are offering her earlier work on how to write poetry.  She has some wonderful exercises in the book to get your poetic juices flowing!

Sometimes the Magic Works:Lessons From a Writing Life by Terry Brooks – in addition to being a source of inspiration and a resourceful “how to” guide, this book is also part autobiography for bestseller Mr. Brooks- how important things like daydreaming and knowing how to talk to people at book signings all are a part of “the writing life”.

Local Poets

Old Nehalem Road and Fragments of a Silent Film by Travis Champ

Finding Crossroads by Vincent Reynolds

Sackcloth and Ashes by Tricia Gates Brown

Salt:  A Collection of Poetry on the Oregon Coast by Various Authors

Books About Food

Food Rules by Michael Pollan – whether he wanted to or not, Michael Pollan has become the authority on food and sustainability in America.  This New York Times #1 bestseller brings a welcome simplicity to making daily decisions about food and answers the age old question, “What should I eat?”  (In particular, I like Rule #19- “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”)

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan – This was Mr. Pollan’s second best seller, and it just so happened to be the first book I ever read on this subject. He makes more sense than any other author I have read since when it comes to health and diet. If you haven’t yet read this book, you should.

Bringing It To The Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry – Mr. Berry is sort of like the Michael Pollan of the 1970’s and 80’s.  Most of the things that we as a nation are now “discovering” about food and sustainability, he has been writing about for decades.  This collection of essays is a bracingly good example of how when something really is the right thing to do, it has a tendency to continue being the right thing to do.

Fun Books

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells – from the bestselling author of the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood comes the story of a pink-collar heroine whose willingness to remain vulnerable in the face of adversity opens our own hearts to the possibility of love growing from sorrow.

The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho – another gem from Mr. Coelho that is a suspenseful look at the fascinating worlds of fortune and celebrity, where the commitment to luxury and success at any cost often prevents one from hearing what the heart actually desires.  A lovely parable for our times.

Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania & Other States That Never Made It by Michael J. Trinklein – this book is a fascinating glimpse into the nation that we might have become… with gorgeously rendered maps of “what might have been”. (Can you imagine living in the state of “Transylvania”? Southern Oregon could have been “Jefferson”!)

Reminder: Don’t forget to join us for the Manzanita Film Series showing of “Food, Inc.” on Saturday, April 24th, at 7 p.m. at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita. We will have representatives from Mother Nature’s,  Lower Nehalem Community Trust’s Alder Creek Farm and R-evolution Gardens to talk with folks both before and after the film about options for sustainable agriculture and food in our community.  We will be selling books about food and film at a 20% discount there as well.

I am a “house mouse”.  I know this about myself.  I like being inside when it is really cold, terribly rainy or ridiculously windy.  Hiking sounds like a really good idea to me.  I can’t say I’ve ever actually done it, though.  I prepare for severe weather alerts with blankets, hot chocolate, a good book and firewood (well, propane now, anyway).

Matt Love, on the other hand, walks in worlds that people like me don’t see. He goes out on the beach every day with his beloved dogs, whatever the weather, and he revels in it.  He witnesses incredible instances of “nature happening” all around the Coast, that in an average person’s rush and haste they might miss.  He hangs out in bars and overhears the most, shall we say, interesting conversations from characters that some of us might think twice about hanging out with.  And luckily for all of the “house mouses” of the world, he writes about them for the rest of us to read!

His prose is straightforward and to the point, much like I imagine Matt himself might be in his own life.  The book is made up of 46 brief stories written for an Open Mic Night in Newport at a place called Cafe’ Mundo.  They highlight Matt’s experiences during his first year living in Newport, culminating with the events that occurred when he pledged to go to every bar in town on Super Bowl Sunday.  His first year in Newport was a transitional one, having just left his decade-long position as the caretaker for the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  You can tell over the course of these writings how he comes to terms with what, for him, was a very great loss.  For the people who get to read this book it was, I believe, a very great gain.

If you have ever wondered how another person deals with grief, read this book.  If you are curious about just what goes on in Oregon bars, read this book. If you wonder just how there came to be so many homeless folks and transvestites in Newport, read this book.  (It won’t give you the answer, but it will help that curiosity along tremendously!)  If you want to know what it feels like when a coyote runs out in front of you on the beach on a still morning, read this book.  (Hint- it can heal a broken heart.)  If you want to know what Oregon Tavern Age (OTA) is… well, you get the idea.

In short, I liked this book a great deal.  My favorite parts were, of course, the bits about his dogs.  (If this in any way surprises you- well, then, you must never have met me.  My dog is just about all I talk about on any given day if given half a chance.) Reading this book makes you feel like you’ve met Matt, you know Matt and you like him.  That he’s a heckuva great guy.  It’s personal, meaningful and has something throughout it that almost anyone, excepting politicians and the media, can appreciate- truth.

I like to think that when this house mouse is old and gray, I will be sitting in my cozy cottage and reading good books while a storm blows in from the Pacific.  Even more than that, though, I like to think that Matt will be out walking on the beach with his dogs, raging against the dying of the light, noticing the things that I would never think to see and then sitting in some bar and writing all about it.  For people like me to read and enjoy.

~ ~ * ~ ~

So, in the tradition of my previous book reviews that I did for another site, this is where I assign a rating and sum up.  As the primary reviewer for Ekahni Books, I give “Super Sunday in Newport: Notes From My First Year In Town”…

4.5 out of 5 stars

This was a great book, and I would highly recommend it to almost anyone.  The only reason it’s missing that last half of a star is that I wished it had been longer and more fleshed out in places.  I know that it was for an Open Mic Night, and there was probably a time limit to write for, but still… some of the stories leave you wanting.

This will be the place on our website to read all about the books we are reading and reviewing for your pleasure. Our plan is to have 1-2 posts per month about books that we have discovered that are interesting, enlightening, eye-opening or (alternatively) really, really terrible. You never know what you will discover from reading about our featured books!

This page will be coming soon!