Ekahni Books

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.

Very exciting news today, folks!  Our new sign, courtesy of Aaron at Signmakers in Nehalem, is up! Woo hoo!  I must admit, I am excited all out of proportion about this sign.  For those of you who have been following us, this one little sign has taken well over a month from idea to execution, and there have been a few bumps along the way. But, now it is here, it is up, and it is beautiful – if I do say so myself! Yay! Go Team Ekahni!

So, this was me running and gunning, shooting this picture as I was crossing the street with oncoming traffic! Yikes! Though it was a little nerve-wracking, you can get a good idea what the sign looks like from a little closer.

And, last but not least, here is the up close view of our new sign.  Thanks to Terry for putting it up with short notice and on a Friday afternoon! When you have to find a good contractor willing to help out at the last minute before a weekend, Terry Fullan is the guy to talk to!  He was a huge help and even let us borrow his ladder to take down the old peeling vinyl sign on the front window. Yay Terry and thanks again, sir!

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 beautiful Spring day!  We’ve gotten in another fantastic shipment of books that we are very excited to tell you all about.  And even more exciting, we have finally  finished our new logo!  More about that in a minute…

This week, we have new books from the presentation given at the Pine Grove on tsunamis and Native American history, a new young adult (YA) book from John Green, and some just general fun books.  Let’s get to the list, shall we?

Books From The Tsunami Presentation

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes- And Why by Amanda Ripley – the NPR’s Book Tour said of this book that it is “The thinking person’s manual for getting out alive.”  And that is exactly what it is.  Personal behavior in an emergency is often the single most important factor in a person’s survival.  This book shows you how you can change your behavior and save your life.

Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters by William L. Sullivan – You might recognize Mr. Sullivan from the excellent travel & hiking guide of his that we carry here at the shop, and he has done just as good a job with this book while talking about our state’s very active disaster history.

(Note: Many of you have asked about “Elephants of the Tsunami”- after some  initial confusion from the publisher, we are hoping to see these books shipped out sometime next week.  They will be coming from back East, so it might take just a bit longer than usual.  We are working on it diligently, though!)

New From YA Author John Green

Those of you who have a young person in your home probably already know about John Green.  He and his brother Hank became massive internet celebrities with their “Brotherhood 2.0” videos on YouTube.  They used that following to build up John’s YA writing career, further Hank’s reporting on green issues and the environment, and perhaps most importantly, they built a community on the internet for young people of a nerdy persuasion to get together to discuss their lives, their books and their worlds.  Members of this community are called Nerdfighters.  Well, Nerdfighters unite (and DFTBA), because John Green’s new book (written with the equally awesome David Levithan) is out.  It is called Will Grayson, Will Grayson and it is brilliant.  One thing is certain with this book… neither of them have forgotten to be awesome.

Other Interesting New Books

Convictions: A Prosecutor’s Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins and Enron Thieves by John Kroger – Mr. Kroger is our Writer’s Series author in August and we are very happy to start selling his book early.  He is Oregon’s Attorney General, and after just glancing at this book I can see how lucky we are to have him.  This book is a truly fascinating (and very well written) look at what it is to be a federal prosecutor.  (Let me put it this way, we ordered one more than we have at the shop because I will be reading this one at home.)

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne – originally published in 2006, there has been a lot of recent interest in this book because of the film adaptation of the same name.  This is a beautifully written, deeply affecting and powerful book. It’s made for teens,  but it’s probably one that everybody should read.

Store Notes:

We got in a bumper crop of used paperbacks yesterday… so we have over one hundred new paperbacks in the shop today!  Many are classics, but there is also some romance, mystery, fiction and even some philosophy and non-fiction.  A little something for everyone and the vast majority of them are on sale for $2.00 a piece!

Alright, without any further adieu, here is our new shop logo (designed by Franz, me, and Kate Johnstone of Smite The Pellet Graphic Design- look for her on Facebook!):

We hope you like it!  (It might look a little stretched on your screen- it just depends on what kind of screen you have.)  And thanks again for supporting local independent bookstores in your community!

Hello everyone!  Franz here and I hope everyone is getting out and enjoying this beautiful day!  We got in another shipment of books that we are excited to tell you about.  We have new books for writers, books on film, cooking, fly fishing, spies, the great outdoors and some just general fun books.  Let’s get to the list, shall we?

Writing Freelance – Wonderful resource on becoming a freelance writer.

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy – Great book on focusing your writing for Science Fiction and Fantasy, which according to my wife, is an under served genre if there ever was one.

The Writing Group Book – How to create and sustain a successful writing group.  Lisa Rosenthal is the founder of The Playwrights Collective in Chicago and is a professional editor, author and playwright

Infamous Scribblers – A fascinating story about our Founding Fathers and the rowdy beginnings of American journalism

Slam Dunks and No Brainers – An interesting book about “language in your life, the media, business, politics, and like, whatever.”  (it really says, “Like, whatever.”)

Gods and Monsters – Another book for our “Film and Theater” section in support of the Manzanita Film Series, this book is the culmination of “thirty years of writing on film and culture” from one of America’s most incisive writers, Peter Biskind. (Not being confused with the excellent film starring Brendan Fraser and Ian McKellan)

Cult Movies in Sixty Seconds – “The best films in the world in less than a minute.”  That’s a pretty tall claim, but this book meets it and exceeds expectations.  Some surprising choices, too!

Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies- A wonderful look at New York and its neighborhoods seen through the movies.  Wonderful stories and pictures.

Cooking with the Wines of Oregon – A comprehensive guide to the wineries of Oregon and 100 recipes that pay tribute to their wines. If you are a locavore, or just a foodie who loves Oregon, this one is not to be missed!

Spies and Espionage – A directory containing the adventures of the most exciting spies in history.  Some would argue that being a good spy means not ending up in a book like this.  But with the end of the Cold War, lots of incredible stories have been declassified.  You will be astounded at the ingenuity and daring of some of these men and women!

The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus – Jacques Cousteau’s last book about exploring and conserving our natural world.  A graceful epitaph that really showcases how important oceans are to our continued existence on the planet.

Jack London’s Grand North – Jack London’s trip to the Klondike and his adventures

The Practical Fly Tier – No-nonsense patterns and techniques for wet and dry flies, nymphs, and streamers… catch those hard to get fish!

Simple Flies – A book on fishing flies you can tie with three materials or less- good for frugal fisherman on the go!

Bark & Ride – Imagining dogs can drive through pictures and words.. this book is just plain fun.

Childish Things – A photography/art book of traumatic events with childhood toys.  This is a quirky book of weird proportions and outlandish oddness. In short, we love it.

Peter and the Wolf – children’s book re-telling and illustrating this classic tale.  Maybe there is a little person in your life that doesn’t know this story… this book can solve that problem!

Don’t Eat This Book – Morgan Spurlock’s take on fast food and the supersizing of America… and excellent and important follow-up book to “Supersize Me”.

Whew! You made it to the end of one of our marathon posts.  Congratulations!   As a special, super secret good reader reward, if you come into the store by April 8^th and say the words “Bazooka Joe” to Franz or Sherry you get 10% off any one book on this list.

Thanks for reading and thank you for supporting local independent bookstores.

Franz and Sherry Hasslacher

Hi everybody! Sherry here and I am really excited to tell you that with the Spring Break rush, we have been able to order a lot more new books this week, and even bring in more than a few boxes of used books to fill in gaps- FINALLY!  I may get my garage back, yet!  Let’s start with Children’s Books, shall we?

New Children’s Books This Week:

“The House At Pooh Corner” by A.A. Milne – more adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie The Pooh, his friends, and Tigger, too!

“When We Were Very Young” by A.A. Milne – this was A.A. Milne’s first book of verses for children, inspired by the nursery games he played with his own son, Christopher Robin.

“Stuff on My Cat from A to Z” by Mario Garza – This is a cute picture book of cats playing with different objects from A to Z. It is a board book and should be able to hold up to whatever your toddler can dish out!

“Gaspard & Lisa’s Ready for School Words” by Anne Gutman – get your little one ready for nursery school with Gaspard & Lisa! Fun words with beautiful watercolor pictures are sure to delight even the most reluctant reader in your world!

“Classic Animal Stories-The Most Beloved Children’s Stories” - Beautiful, full color drawings accompany these classic stories. Read them to your child tonight for a bedtime story!

“Books in a Box-Baby Animals” – What a value! Eighteen little, “tiny fingers sized” board books in one box, showcasing every cute baby animal you could possibly think of!   You might have a cuteness overload with this one!

Other New Books This Week:

“Soul of the Heights- 50 Years Going to the Mountains” by Ed Cooper – This is a striking photographic love letter to mountains and their climbers from the first “climbing bum” of the Pacific Northwest.  I can’t imagine a much more beautiful book than this one.  Even if you don’t climb, this would make a gorgeous coffee table book.

“They Call Me Naughty Lola” by David Rose – Back by popular demand, this compilation of personal ads from lonely hearts columns in London is one of the most unintentionally hilarious books you might ever read. It’s a great “Writer’s Resource” because local authors have found each ad to be a good jumping off point to start interesting stories.

“Bloom’s Bouquet of Imaginary Words” By Jeffrey & Carole Bloom – Another one that is back by popular demand! Q: What is a Squarrel?  A: A dispute between arboreal rodents (a.k.a. -  a Squirrel quarrel!!).

“Poplollies & Bellibones: A Celebration of Lost Words” by Susan Sperling – this book is actually 2 books in one, it also contains “Tenderfeet & Ladyfingers”.  Have you ever wondered where the phrase “to give someone the cold shoulder” comes from? Read this book and you will know!

“Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts” by Robert Kaplan – a story of American military in the air, at sea and on the ground by the acclaimed author of “Imperial Grunts”.

“Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi – if you love books, have ever been in a book group or love to read… you need to read this book. It is as they describe it “a literary life raft on Iran’s fundamentalist sea”.  Not to be missed!

“Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men” by Donald McCaig – the story of McCaig’s search through rural Scotland for just the right sheepdog to bring home to his West Virginia farm. If you love dogs, or are interested in the bond between humans and animals, this is a book you will love.

“The Fate of Family Farming” by Ronald Jager – an examination of the important cross roads we stand at in America that will affect the way we all eat in the future.  This book may help us find our way.

Three Books by Bill Bryson:

“Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers & Editors” - from the very popular author of “Mother Tongue” comes this useful guide to the problems of the English language most commonly encountered by editors and writers.

“Shakespeare: The World As A Stage” - this is a wonderful biography of sorts on Shakespeare, written as only Bill Bryson could- with a witty patience, genial nature, gentle skepticism and a gift for storytelling unrivaled in our time.

“The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” - Bill talks about his life growing up. It’s hilarious & engaging, and if you ever fantasized about being a superhero as a child, you need to read this book. (P.S.- I was “Wonder Woman”!)

Three Books by Stephen E. Ambrose:

“Band of Brothers” - a tribute to the heroic men of Easy Company in WWII.

“Crazy Horse & Custer: The Epic Clash of Two Great Warriors at the Little Big Horn” - a tale of the uncannily parallel lives of these two warriors.

“Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier” - another look at Lewis & Clark as only Ambrose could do it.

Fresh Used Books This Week:

We have brought in over 10 boxes of used books in the last couple week or so and are filling out and reorganizing each of our used books sections, as well!  We will be adding more each week so check back often.  But just to give you an example, we brought in a whole box of sports books this week. If you like golf in particular, you are going to love the new, expanded Sports Section. As always, there is a lot to look at and explore here at Ekahni Books.  Thanks for your continued support of independent bookstores in your community and don’t forget the Manzanita Film Series showing of “The Goonies” on Saturday the 27th at 2:00 and 7 p.m. at the Hoffman Center.  We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Franz & Sherry Hasslacher

Boy,oh boy! I am SO excited about the new books we have in the shop this week!  Book club books, interesting used books and a new title that gives credence to our tag line “An Idiosyncratic Selection”- because it doesn’t get much more whacked out and unusual than this book!

We found a new source for information on what book clubs around the country are reading, and we have ordered books to reflect those choices… not just from our own book club here in Manzanita, but also from clubs all over the USA!  Here are just a few of the new titles:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

At Home In Mitford by Jan Karon

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

We also got a few interesting used titles in this week:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Forgotten Man-A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shales

You Can’t Be Neutral on A Moving Train by Howard Zinn

But, far and away, the most interesting thing we got this week (maybe even this month) is the new book by Seth Grahame-Smith.  It is called “Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter” and it is AWESOME!  You may remember Mr. Grahame-Smith’s previous NY Times Bestseller “The Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, and this is even better!  It is the true story (wink wink nudge nudge) of Abraham Lincoln’s discovery that (gasp) vampires are real, and what he does with that horrible knowledge… seek unholy revenge with his axe, of course!!  This is what Vanity Fair had to say about it: “The Lincoln biography we’ve all been waiting for. It’s also the funniest, most action-packed, and weirdly well-researched account of the Civil War you’ll probably read in a long time.” And, I normally wouldn’t do this, but you just have to see the video they made for the book, here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X58RPS665V0 (warning, it is a touch violent and bloody- small kids might be frightened).  This is a hilarious and, more importantly, well written book.  I can’t wait for other people to discover it, too!

That’s all for this week, folks.  As always, thanks again for supporting independent book stores in your community!

Franz & Sherry Hasslacher

It’s Spring Cleaning Time at Ekahni Books!!

We have marked down over 30 new books 40%.

Come check out our sales rack and pick up some new books today.

We have included a little bit of everything.

Fiction, biographies, art, children’s books, histories and more!

See you soon.

Thanks for supporting local independent bookstores.

Franz and Sherry Hasslacher