The show is free, Edith has new material, and you’ll get to see a local news camera team in action. Let’s hope no one does anything too stupid. I guess Channel 13 can always edit out the baying of my beagles. Hope to see you here Friday at 10:45am.

Edith was recently featured in the local newspapers. I think the story came out last Thursday. If you missed it, here’s a link:

Edith in the Courier

The new Poet Laureate of Texas has been announced and it’s Dave Parsons! Dave teaches at Montgomery College and is on the board of Writers In Performance. Good Books In The Woods carries Dave’s book “Color of Mourning.” He also has a new book out called “Feathering Deep.” Congratulations Dave!
C.K. Williams – Montgomery College – Tomorrow 3pm

Tomorrow is the Writers In Performance Walt Whitman Birthday Celebration. It starts at 3pm with poet C.K. Williams appearing at Montgomery College’s Library. C.K. is a leading authority on the life of Walt Whitman and he’s also a fine poet in his own right. Williams has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. He teaches creative writing at Princeton University and is the Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets. You can’t get a more impressive resume. I’ll be there selling his books, both his book on Whitman and his own books of poetry.

Tomorrow night at the Corner Pub in Conroe at 7pm is the Annual Gathering of Poets. CK Williams and 20 published poets (including our own Dave Parsons) will be reading their favorite Whitman poems as well as their own poetry. It’s one of Writers In Performances’ most popular events. Come on out and have a drink with us and listen to some great poetry.
Guest Reviewer!!!!!!!!

Paula Campbell Teague is the first person to contribute a review to the Newsletter! Yeah, Paula! Paula actually read the book and wrote an upbeat, thoughtful, and informative review. It’ll be a little weird reading something upbeat, thoughtful, and informative in this newsletter, but give it a try.

The Lover’s Dictionary

by David Levithan

2011

This well written book is a fast read. Written in the form of dictionary entries, the author uses definitions to show us the tale of his love affair. At first, I wasn’t sure about what was going on. I thought the definitions were short vignettes of different love affairs but then I realized it was all the same couple. As soon as I discovered that, I slowed down and savored the words. After I finished it, I read it again. Delicious.

I especially liked the authors pairing of word and meaning which is duplicated throughout the book. Joy and pain echo in the short definitions. You will see some part of yourself in its pages. Blemish … healthy …. placid ….traverse …. It’s all there – the language of love.

From the book:

cadence, n.

I have never lived anywhere but New York or New England, but there are times when I’m talking to you and I hit a Southern vowel, or a word gets caught in a Southern truncation, and I know it’s because I’m swimming in your cadences, that you permeate my very language.

Reading this book of simple short prose created a complex reaction to me as a reader. It sparseness allowed me to fill in the blanks. That was refreshing.

Thanks for reading,

Jay Rohfritch
Good Books In The Woods
25915 Oak Ridge Drive

The Woodlands, TX 77380

281-298-2497

The Lover’s Dictionary

by David Levithan

2011

This well written book is a fast read. Written in the form of dictionary entries, the author uses definitions to show us the tale of his love affair. At first, I wasn’t sure about what was going on. I thought the definitions were short vignettes of different love affairs but then I realized it was all the same couple. As soon as I discovered that, I slowed down and savored the words. After I finished it, I read it again. Delicious.

I especially liked the authors pairing of word and meaning which is duplicated throughout the book. Joy and pain echo in the short definitions. You will see some part of yourself in its pages. Blemish … healthy …. placid ….traverse …. It’s all there – the language of love.

From the book:

cadence, n.

I have never lived anywhere but New York or New England, but there are times when I’m talking to you and I hit a Southern vowel, or a word gets caught in a Southern truncation, and I know it’s because I’m swimming in your cadences, that you permeate my very language.

Reading this book of simple short prose created a complex reaction to me as a reader. It sparseness allowed me to fill in the blanks. That was refreshing.

Tomorrow night at the Corner Pub in Conroe at 7pm is the Annual Gathering of Poets. CK Williams and 20 published poets (including our own Dave Parsons) will be reading their favorite Whitman poems as well as their own poetry. It’s one of Writers In Performances’ most popular events. Come on out and have a drink with us and listen to some great poetry.

Good Books In The Woods is lowering our prices for Mystery and Romance novels. The price change applies to reading copies and not collectibles. Until further notice our new prices are:

$5 = Any hardback in the Mystery section.
$4 = Any trade paperback in the Mystery section.
$3 = Any mass market paperback in the Mystery section.

$2 = Any hardback in the Romance section.
$2 = Any trade paperback in the Romance section.
$3 = Any mass market paperback in the Romance section.

Mystery and Romance in the collectible parts of the store (red cabinet and far back rooms) are not part of the new pricing.

Non Fiction Book Club – Thursday, May 5th, 7pm

The next meeting for the Non Fiction Book Club is Thursday, May 5th at 7pm at Good Books In The Woods. The book is “The Great Mortality” by John Kelly. It’s “An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time.” That’s quite an impressive subtitle. I have now finished the book. It was ok. See, what happens is people die. And then some more people die. And then some more. And then some more. In town after town, city after city, it’s the same story. No one knows how many people died, but it’s probably about 50%. The filth and lack of hygiene in the 1300s is astounding. Guess where this author says the plague came from? Fleas from wild rats in Mongolia. Freaking Mongolia. The author has a bad habit of describing the plague bacteria as if it was a human general of brilliance that planned its attack with Sun Tzu style foresight and Genghis Khan like speed. That got annoying fast.
Women’s Wednesday Morning Book Club – Wednesday, May 11th at 10am

The next meeting of the Women’s Wednesday Morning Book Club is May 11th at 10:00am at Good Books In The Woods. The book is “Isabel’s Daughter” by Judith Hendricks. I haven’t read it so I’ll have to rely on the critics. Seems like decent reviews. Mostly thumbs up. No thumbs down, one sideways thumb, but only one 2 thumbs up. Lots of 1 thumbs up. Who came up with this thumb crap anyway? Siskel and Ebert? Here’s the book summary that must have been written by the publisher:

“After a childhood spent in an institution and a series of foster homes, Avery James has trained herself not to wonder about the mother who gave her up. But her safe, predictable life changes one night at a party in the home of a wealthy Santa Fe art dealer when she stumbles upon the portrait of a woman who is the mirror image of herself.

Avery has found her mother, Isabel Colinas, an artist who died eight years earlier in a tragic accident. Slowly but inevitably, she is compelled to discover all she can about the woman. Searching for Isabel — in her work, in the stories of friends, rivals, and lovers, in Isabel’s own journal, and in what’s left of Querencia, the old miner’s cabin that was her haven — Avery is drawn into complex relationships with the people who knew her mother. And the unexpected reappearance of Will Cameron, the boy Avery loved in high school, further complicates matters. As she draws together the threads of her mother’s artistic heritage, her grandmother’s skills as a curandera, or healer, and her own talent for cooking, Avery learns that, while discovering Isabel provides a certain resolution in her life, it’s discovering herself that brings lasting happiness.

Beautifully observed and insightful, with Isabel’s Daughter Judith Ryan Hendricks delivers a moving portrait of familial love — a bond that transcends time and place.”
Fiction Book Club – Tuesday, May 24th, 7pm

The next meeting of the Fiction Book Club is Tuesday, April 26th at 7:00pm at Good Books In The Woods. The book is “Jacob’s Room” by Virginia Woolf. It’s an expiremental novella about a character seen from many different perspectives. I think. I haven’t read it. I just read the Wikipedia entry and didn’t understand a word. I mean, the words were in English and I know what each word means individually, but taken together they make no sense at all. Looks like a complicated book.
Jay’s Reviews – Ralph style

This is the section where I review books I haven’t read. No one answered my plea for reviewing help. So you’re all stuck with me. Hahahahahahahaha. I’ll try to be a bit more positive today than I was last time.

The book for today is “Midnight Lemonade” by Ann Goethe. That can’t be bad – right? Let’s find out. It’s the author’s first novel. It’s about “Can a woman give equally to her children, her lover, and herself, or must she make a choice between them?” Seriously, that’s what this novel is about? I can answer that right now. It depends how much sleep she needs. Eight hours a night – gonna have to prioritize. Two hours a night – she can have it all. See how easy that is?

Let’s see how the novel begins….”Any girl who kisses boys is giving her husband a sucked-out orange when she marries.” Wonderful. The main character was apparently raised by sociopathic nuns in a convent school in the South. That’ll mess you up. She then marries a man 12 years he senior, has kids, and answers the above question with a resounding NO. She then takes off with a new lover. I think. The jacket flap just says she leaves for a passion she has never known. Could be needlework or quilting for all I know.

This just has to be a great book. I recommend somebody buy it fast. It’s on the $5 table in the main room.

Jay’s Reviews

In this section, I’ll review a book I’ve actually recently read that is for sale in the store. Today I’ll review a novel, actually it’s two novels in one book. It is “Western Roundup Number 3″ by Elmore Leonard. A customer told me recently that Leonard’s western novels were awesome. He especially recommended “Valdez is Coming” and “Hombre.” I searched our Western section and didn’t find either, but hidden away in our Mystery section was “Western Roundup 3″ containing only two stories – “Valdez is Coming” and “Hombre.” I read them both fairly quickly and enjoyed both.

“Valdez is Coming” is the simpler of the two books, but it’s the one I enjoyed the most. The main character is a 40 year old part-time constable who kills an innocent man on the orders of the local cattle baron. When Valdez tries to get the cattle baron and other town notables to donate money to the dead man’s widow, Valdez ends up crucified (minus the nails – he’s tied to the wood beams) and pushed out into the desert to die. That’s after the cattle baron has his men place Valdez against a wall and outline him with bullets. Valdez turns out to be a tough guy to kill. He also turns out to be an ex-military scout with experience fighting Apaches. Valdez decides to ask the cattle baron once more for money for the widow. My favorite Valdez quote “Just a little war, if he wants it.” On the surface, it’s a good western with plenty of action. Below the surface it’s a meditation on race and nobility with Leonard’s characteristic curt dialogue.

“Hombre” is a bit more complicated. The “Hombre” is part Mexican, part white, and Apache by choice and temperment. He has blue eyes and was played by Paul Newman in the movie. He’s the strong, silent type. He’s generally uncommunicative, and when he does speak, it’s in Leonard’s short, but dense dialogue. The normal moral compass of good guys and bad guys is mostly missing in “Hombre.” Hombre’s companions are mostly bad, the guys they’re fighting are mostly bad. Hombre himself has a sense of honor and justice that set him apart. He also seems rather fatalistic. There is one young woman in the story who shares Hombre’s need for justice, but she is idealistic, where Hombre is deeply cynical. Leonard takes his time revealing the Hombre’s true character and his mysteriousness is central to the story. There’s much more to think about in “Hombre” than in your typical western. Perhaps I’ll end up liking it more than “Valdez is Coming” once some time has passed.

Your Reviews
No one answered my pleas for help so I’ve got nothing to put here. So submit your reviews to jay@goodbooksinthewoods.com.
Collector’s Corner

In this section, I’ll be highlighting some of the collectibles we have for sale that I think are especially interesting. Sometimes they’ll be really expensive, sometimes just sorta expensive, sometimes cheap – but always what I consider interesting.

Today’s item is “Lives of the Most Eminent Painters” by Giorgio Vasari. Vasari originally wrote his work in 1568 and made forty wood cut portraits of the artists he profiles. This edition is from the Limited Editions Club and was printed in 1966. It is two volumes in slipcase. It is illustrated with thirty-two full color representative works of the painters, the forty woodcut portraits by Vasari, and five more woodcuts by Fritz Kredel. Kredel signed the second volume on the limitation page.

Translated into English by Foster and revised by Marilyn Lavin. The artists profiled include: Botticelli, Perugino, Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Corregio, and many others. More than 35 artists are profiled.

We have copy number 570 out of 1,500. Near Fine books in Near Fine slipcase.

Price – $215 for the set

Happy Mother’s Day!

Thanks for reading,

Jay Rohfritch
Good Books In The Woods
25915 Oak Ridge Drive

The Woodlands, TX 77380

281-298-2497

Today’s item is “Lives of the Most Eminent Painters” by Giorgio Vasari. Vasari originally wrote his work in 1568 and made forty wood cut portraits of the artists he profiles. This edition is from the Limited Editions Club and was printed in 1966. It is two volumes in slipcase. It is illustrated with thirty-two full color representative works of the painters, the forty woodcut portraits by Vasari, and five more woodcuts by Fritz Kredel. Kredel signed the second volume on the limitation page.

Translated into English by Foster and revised by Marilyn Lavin. The artists profiled include: Botticelli, Perugino, Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Corregio, and many others. More than 35 artists are profiled.

We have copy number 570 out of 1,500. Near Fine books in Near Fine slipcase.

Price – $215 for the set

$5 = Any hardback in the Mystery section.
$4 = Any trade paperback in the Mystery section.
$3 = Any mass market paperback in the Mystery section.

$2 = Any hardback in the Romance section.
$2 = Any trade paperback in the Romance section.
$3 = Any mass market paperback in the Romance section.

Mystery and Romance in the collectible parts of the store (red cabinet and far back rooms) are not part of the new pricing.

“Valdez is Coming” is the simpler of the two books, but it’s the one I enjoyed the most. The main character is a 40 year old part-time constable who kills an innocent man on the orders of the local cattle baron. When Valdez tries to get the cattle baron and other town notables to donate money to the dead man’s widow, Valdez ends up crucified (minus the nails – he’s tied to the wood beams) and pushed out into the desert to die. That’s after the cattle baron has his men place Valdez against a wall and outline him with bullets. Valdez turns out to be a tough guy to kill. He also turns out to be an ex-military scout with experience fighting Apaches. Valdez decides to ask the cattle baron once more for money for the widow. My favorite Valdez quote “Just a little war, if he wants it.” On the surface, it’s a good western with plenty of action. Below the surface it’s a meditation on race and nobility with Leonard’s characteristic curt dialogue.

“Hombre” is a bit more complicated. The “Hombre” is part Mexican, part white, and Apache by choice and temperment. He has blue eyes and was played by Paul Newman in the movie. He’s the strong, silent type. He’s generally uncommunicative, and when he does speak, it’s in Leonard’s short, but dense dialogue. The normal moral compass of good guys and bad guys is mostly missing in “Hombre.” Hombre’s companions are mostly bad, the guys they’re fighting are mostly bad. Hombre himself has a sense of honor and justice that set him apart. He also seems rather fatalistic. There is one young woman in the story who shares Hombre’s need for justice, but she is idealistic, where Hombre is deeply cynical. Leonard takes his time revealing the Hombre’s true character and his mysteriousness is central to the story. There’s much more to think about in “Hombre” than in your typical western. Perhaps I’ll end up liking it more than “Valdez is Coming” once some time has passed.

The book for today is “Midnight Lemonade” by Ann Goethe. That can’t be bad – right? Let’s find out. It’s the author’s first novel. It’s about “Can a woman give equally to her children, her lover, and herself, or must she make a choice between them?” Seriously, that’s what this novel is about? I can answer that right now. It depends how much sleep she needs. Eight hours a night – gonna have to prioritize. Two hours a night – she can have it all. See how easy that is?

Let’s see how the novel begins….”Any girl who kisses boys is giving her husband a sucked-out orange when she marries.” Wonderful. The main character was apparently raised by sociopathic nuns in a convent school in the South. That’ll mess you up. She then marries a man 12 years he senior, has kids, and answers the above question with a resounding NO. She then takes off with a new lover. I think. The jacket flap just says she leaves for a passion she has never known. Could be needlework or quilting for all I know.

This just has to be a great book. I recommend somebody buy it fast. It’s on the $5 table in the main room.