Newsletter Vol. 4 Issue 10	May 15, 2008

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Profesor, Carnegie Mellon with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion, 2008, 224 pp., hbk., new $21.95.)

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch

If you need a quick graduation gift, this is it!

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them.

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave-"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"-wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have ... and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Randy Pausch is a Professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently living in Virginia with his wife and three children.

For more information visit www.theLastLecture.com

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (Ballantine, 2008, 400 pp., pbk., new $14.00.)

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current.

So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives.

In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America's greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney's profound influence on Wright.

Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan's Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah's is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel's stunning conclusion.

Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story.

Laika by Nick Abadzis(First Second, 2007, 208 pp., pbk., new $9.95.)

Earth's First Cosmonaut

Laika was the abandoned puppy who grew up to become Earth's first space traveler. This is her story in graphic novel style.

Nick Abadzis masterfully blends fact and fiction as he recounts Laika's journey - from the streets of Moscow to the Soviet space program, and then to her fateful final journey on Sputnik 2. Moving words and powerful pictures relate the history of this momentous event and the political landscape surrounding it, through the life of this small, curly-tailed dog. Poignant and authentic, Laika's story speaks straight to the heart.

A Man, A Can, A Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make!
by David Joachim and the Editors of Men's Health (Rodale Books, 2002, 43 pp., brdbk., used $7.95; orig. $15.95)

Easy Step-by-Step Recipes!

'50s-Style Creamed Chicken

How to make it: Cook the onion in the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, until tender. Dump in the chicken and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the soup and mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the sour cream over low heat. Heat through and serve over the cooked noodles. Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 354 calories, 5 g fat (12% of calories), 1 g saturated fat, 22 g protein, 54 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 599 mg sodium. When it's not just you and the TV ... top with chopped fresh parsley.

10-oz can chunk chicken breast, drained and flaked
11-oz can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
6-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
12-oz bag "no yolk" egg noodles, cooked according to the package directions
Also: 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 cup fat-free sour cream

Book Facts

Serving Size: 50 recipes
Main ingredients per recipe: About 5
Avg. prep time per recipe: 30 min.
Breakfasts: 4
Sandwiches: 8
Munchies: 9
Dinners: 25
Desserts: 4
Special cooking and nutrition tips: 15
Easy-to-clean pages: 43

Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black by Gregory Howard Williams

Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
by Gregory Howard Williams (Dutton, 1995, 304 pp., hbk., used price $8.95; reg. $22.95)

Gregory Howard Williams and his younger brother, Mike, grew up believing they were white and that their dark-skinned father was of Italian descent. Then their parents' marriage disentegrated, their mother departed, and their father's business ventures sank into a sea of liquor. Pursued by debt and personal demons, "Tony" Williams took his two boys to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, where he was known as "Buster," and where there was no escape from the truth he had hidden for so long.

The truth was as plain as the color of Buster's family. Gregory and Mike Williams were the sons of a brilliant and charming but troubled black man who fled the burden of race until need drove him back to his roots. Suddenly Gregory and Mike discovered they were black as well, strangers in a segregated world about which they knew nothing, forced to learn the strategies of survival amid the poverty, prejudice, and agnoizing absurdities of a time and place where racism flourished.

In this extraordinary and powerful memoir, Gregory Howard Williams recounts his remarkable journey along the color line and illuminates the contrasts between the black and white worlds: one of privilege, opportunity, and comfort, the other of deprivation, repression, and struggle.

Williams tells the story, too, of the divergent paths he and his brother eventually took, one defying the odds and the advice of teachers and counselors to become a lawyer, and the other succumbing to the lure of fun, flash, and the quick buck.

Life on the Color Line is a uniquely important book. It is a compelling drama of a man straddling two worlds and two heritages, and a wonderfully inspiring testament of purpose, perseverance, and human triumph.

Bound To Be Read Books honors the East Atlanta Community Association (EACA) Discount Card.

We Feature Good Used, New & Discount Books

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We're located just 2 miles from downtown!

DIRECTIONS:

-Take I-20 East from downtown.

-Take Moreland Avenue (South), Exit #60-A.

-Turn left on McPherson (1st light) and right on Flat Shoals Avenue;

OR left on Glenwood Avenue (2nd light) and left on Flat Shoals Avenue.

PARKING:

Plenty of FREE street parking available, as well as FREE lots behind the store and across the street.

STORE HOURS:

info@boundtobereadbooks.com

Dear Jeff,

Spring brings prom night, graduation, garden parties, weddings, concerts and all the anticipation of the summer to come. Beach reads, hammock time and travel reading are just around the corner!

Now is a great time to stock up on your summer books, and buying used is a great way to save money! Whether you're planning to invest in a tank of gas for the drive to the beach, or just staying put in the backyard hammock this summer, Bound To Be Read Books is ready to help save you some money.

Get ready for summer! Get ready to read more and pay less!

See you soon!

-Jeff

East Atlanta Village Farmers Market starts Thursday, Mary 1st at 4:00 P.M. until dusk every Thursday through November.

EAV Farmers Market

The East Atlanta Village Farmers Market continues TODAY and every Thursday from 4:00 p.m until dusk in the Village Hardware parking lot at 1231 Glenwood Avenue.

This year, we're teaming with the Farmers Market to feature a monthly "Farmer's Market Book Club" selection. Each month we'll feature a different title highlighting local foods or sustainability.

The Book Club sleection for June is The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Mention the Farmers Market Book Club and get 20% off this title!

For more information about the Farmers Market, please visit www.Farmeav.com.

Book Club with David Fulmer Tonight!

Award-winning author David Fulmer joins the book club tonight to discuss his historic mystery of Atlanta, The Dying Crapshooter's Blues (Harvest Books, 2008).

Don't miss this opportunity to meet one of the finest mystery writers of our generation. David will share where his inspiration came from, and how he wrote the book. David will take questions afterwards.

Next month's book club selection is a bit of a change of pace! Did you know that Julia Child didn't know how to cook when her husband moved her to France for his job? Our June book club selection is My Life in France (Anchor Books, 2007, 368 pp., pbk., sale price $11.96) by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme (her nephew).

Julia Child singlehandedly created a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, but as she reveals in this bestselling memoir, she was not always a master chef.

Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia's unforgettable story unfolds with the spirit so key to her success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of the most endearing American personalities of the last fifty years.

"Lively, infectious. . . . Her elegant but unfussy prose pulls the reader into her stories." -Chicago Sun-Times

The book club meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. No membership is required. This is a free event open to all. Come join us!

For more information, please call (404) 522-0877, or email info@boundtobereadbooks.com.

Free Marketing Seminar and Wine Reception

Saturday, May 24, 6:00 PM

Independent business owners, salespeople, retailers and entrepreneurs will want to hear Rudolf Waldner present a seminar on Marketing from the Trenches: Your Guide to Retail Success.

With wine and cheese being provided by Toscano & Sons Italian Market, Waldner promises a fun and beneficial seminar in a relaxed business-reception atmosphere.

This corporate trainer, lecturer, and marketer has a proven track record in retail sales and management, and will share his popular Trench Marketing Program. His overwhelming zest for life, insatiable wanderlust, positive outlook, and sense of humor add broad appeal to Rudy's marketing program and training seminars.

Join us for this FREE event, Saturday, May 24th, with the reception starting at 6:00 p.m.

Inside the Writers Studio

Join us Thursday, May 29th at 7:00 p.m. as we welcome bestselling novelist Joshilyn Jackson for an author event that isn't like your mother's author event. Yes, we're going Inside the Writers Studio to find out about Joshilyn's life before publishing, the sordid truth about life as a published author, what her favorite curse word is, and if she has ever had a catfight with Joan Collins ... or if she's ever met Joan Collins' cat.

We'll take questions from the audience about Joshilyn's three novels: gods in Alabama, Between, Georgia; and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. We'll also ask Joshilyn to discuss her favorite books and authors, as well as who her literary influences are.

Open-Mic Night

Bound To Be Read Books teams up again with Living Our Dreams Unlimited for open-mic night on Saturday, May 31st at 7:30 p.m.

Phillipe Washington has performed in the music and film industries for over 20-years, working with Prince, NPG, and Jessie Johnson. Evolving into hip-hop and spoken word, Phillipe relocated to Atlanta in 1994, delivering poetry with dramatic and cutting edge style. For the last 9 years Phillipe has recorded 2 albums including "Evolution into Revolution" (A one man play) and "Spiritual Orgasm". He has also appeared in several films shot in Atlanta. Check out Phillipe at MySpace.com.

Host Adrian Cosby is a singer, playwright, actor and president of Living Our Dreams, Unlimited, which is a theatre company that also recruits amateur artists around Atlanta for performance venues.

Besides our featured artist, we invite performers of all genres to sign up and cut loose at Open Mic Night! Sign-up begins at 7:00 PM.

Sustainability Spotlight

Home Safe Home: Creating a Healthy Home Environment by Reducing Exposure to Toxic Household Products (Tarcher Penguin, 2004, 480 pp., pbk., new $19.95) by Debra Lynn Dadd.

The ultimate reference of its kind, Home Safe Home is written by the leading authority on eliminating toxics in the home. It offers more than four hundred tips, including do-it-yourself formulas for inexpensive, safe products to replace the harmful substances we are exposed to in our own households. If you suffer from unexplained headaches, fatigue, or depression, or if you worry about the link between increased use of toxic chemicals and the rising rate of cancer, the many suggestions in this book can make your life virtually toxic-free!

Here are some of the many useful facts you'll learn:

- You can make a window cleaner from vinegar and water that is safe, more effective, and less expensive than any product on the market.

- A mineral powder, which costs pennies per use, is the safest way to get whites their whitest.

- Simply changing your type of sheets and pillows may cure insomnia.

VERB, an audio literary magazine by America's top writers

Hit the Road with VERB

Verb: An Audioquarterly's unique format-a magazine on audio CD-is only one of the reasons this innovative publication has become one of the most talked about literary journals on the scene today. Named one of the best magazines of the year by Library Journal, Verb offers new fiction, poetry, and music in fresh ways-often blurring the lines among them.

In a bold new presentation, Verb offers some of the best voices in literature reading their own work-occasionally with original musical accompaniment-allowing listeners to hear the work as the authors intended it to be read. Each issue arrives as a double compact disc with two and a half hours of poems, fiction and music.

Recent issues have featured new work from Thisbe Nissen, N.M. Kelby, Elizabeth Dewberry, Rod Smith, Ron Rash, Jack Pendarvis, and Julianna Baggott. And Joseph Rogers' story, "Let Me Go, Give Me Your Hand," was presented with the first annual Verb fiction prize in Vol. 2, Issue 2.

Highlights from earlier issues:
The first appearance of E.O. Smonk, the scabrous protagonist of Tom Franklin's eponymous hit novel.
A six-song suite of spoken songs by hit songwriter Peter Case.
Lannan Prize winner Stuart Dybek's musical premier, "My Malaria."
Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler's hilarious reading of Alvin's Wild Ride, an unfinished novel.

First Line Fun

Can you guess which books the following first lines are from? The answers will be in the next newsletter.

First Line #1

"When they came south of Grant County Boyd was not much more than a baby and the newly formed county they'd named Hidalgo was itself little older than the child."

First Line #2

"No one remembers her beginnings."

First Line #3

"My dearest love, I hope you're sitting down as you read this, for I have strange news." First Line #4

"Conjure Woman walked in a steady step, her white wrap dress and white head turban glowing under the moon." First Line #5

"When my mother died she left the farm to my brother, Cassis, the fortune in the wine cellar to my sister, Reine-Claude, and to me, the youngest, her album and two-liter jar containing a single black Périgord truffle, large as a tennis ball, suspended in sunflower oil, that, when uncorked, still releases the rich dank perfume of the forest floor."

Answers to First Line Fun from the LAST newsletter:

First Line #1

"The hours of Walker and Daughter: Knitters were clearly displayed in multicolored letters on a white sandwich board placed just so at the top of the stair landing."

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (2007)

First Line #2

"Back when it happened, back in 1972, there wasn't an adult in the county who didn't know every detail of the crime."

Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts (2004)

First Line #3

"I could hear a roll of muffled drums."

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (2001)

First Line #4

"This would be '82."

Good Faith by Jane Smiley (2003)

First Line #5

"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game."