Events

Jazz guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing at Pannikin Coffee and Tea from 8-10pm.  Come join the fun!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

Come listen to the music of guitarist George Svoboda from 8-10pm!  All are welcome!  

www.georgesvoboda.com

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell*

Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock
III as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking
clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a
dragon.

Cressida Cowell is the good friend and confidante of Hiccup Horrendous
Haddock III, Viking warrior and hero of The Heroic Misadventures. When
she is not visiting with Hiccup to document his latest memoir, she lives
in the UK. She is also the author of The Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? and numerous other picture books.

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Red Pizzas for a Blue Count by Geronimo Stilton*

Who Is Geronimo Stilton? That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true
passion is writing tales of adventure. Here on Mouse Island, my books
are all best-sellers! What's that? You've never read one? Well, my books
are full of fun. They are whisker-licking good stories, and that's a
promise!

Red Pizzas for a Blue Count

When Trap got mouse-napped in
Transratania, it was up to Thea and me to rescue him. Little did I know
that Transratania is the land of vampire mice! Oh, would I ever make it
back to my nice, safe mousehole alive?

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee*

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and
injustice in the deep South -- and the heroism of one man in the face
of blind and violent hatred

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird
has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than
thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously
popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the
twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping,
heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South
poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and
savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a
crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man
unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

About the author:

Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama and is best known for her Putltzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her only major work. In 1999, it was voted "Best Novel of the Century" in a poll by Library Journal.
Ms. Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her
contribution to literature in 2007. She attended
Huntington College and studied law at the University of Alabama. She
has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Pulitzer Prize,
and many other accolades.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

 A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage*

"A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity
from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine,
spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Beer was first made in the Fertile
Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. was so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt
that it was used to pay wages. In ancient Greece wine became the main
export of her vast seaborne trade, helping spread Greek culture abroad.
Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration, fortifying
seamen on long voyages and oiling the pernicious slave trade. Although
coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in
Europe during the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of
intellectual exchange. And hundreds of years after the Chinese began
drinking tea, it became especially popular in Britain, with far-reaching
effects on British foreign policy. Finally, though carbonated drinks
were invented in 18th-century Europe they became a 20th-century
phenomenon, and Coca-Cola in particular is the leading symbol of
globalization."

Receive 10% off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon*

The wildly popular gothic novel- now
in a stunning new package

"A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept,"
begins Carlos Ruiz Zafon's astounding novel of postwar Barcelona. But
more than four years after its initial paperback publication, the secret
is out-the novel remains a favorite of booksellers and readers alike.

About the AuthorCarlos Ruiz Zafón lives in Barcelona with this wife. Lucia
Graves is the author and translator of many works and has overseen
Spanish-language editions of the poetry of her father, Robert Graves.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Book Works Author Event featuring Jennifer Ouellette! Thursday, September 16th, at 7:00pm.

"Were you traumatized by high school calculus? Does the mere mention
of integrals and derivatives make you queasy?

Jennifer Ouellette feels your pain. She never took math in college,
mostly because she — like most people — assumed that she wouldn’t need
it in real life. But then the
English-major-turned-award-winning-science-writer had a change of heart
and decided to revisit the equations and formulas that had haunted her
for years. And she’s here to tell you that the mysteries of calculus
aren’t nearly so scary when they’re faced head on.

The Calculus Diaries is the fun and fascinating account of
her year spent confronting her math phobia head on. With wit and verve,
Ouellette shows how she learned to apply calculus to everything from gas
mileage, diet, and the rides at Disneyland, to shooting craps in Vegas,
and warding off zombies famished for tasty fresh brains. Along the way,
she proves that even the mathematically challenged can learn the
fundamentals of the universal language."

For more information about the book and Jennifer CLICK HERE

Chef by Jaspreet Singh*

Kirpal Singh is riding the slow train to Kashmir. With India passing by
his window, he reflects on his destination, which is also his past: a
military camp to which he has not returned for fourteen years. Kirpal,
called Kip, is shy and not yet twenty when he arrives for the first
time at General Kumar's camp, nestled in the shadow of the Siachen
Glacier. At twenty thousand feet, the glacier makes a forbidding
battlefield; its crevasses claimed the body of Kip's father. Kip
becomes an apprentice under the camp's chef, Kishen, a fiery mentor who
guides him toward the heady spheres of food and women. In this place of
contradictions, erratic violence, and extreme temperatures, Kip learns
to prepare local dishes and delicacies from around the globe. Even as
months pass, Kip, a Sikh, feels secure in his allegiance to India,
firmly on the right side of this interminable conflict. Then, one muggy
day, a Pakistani "terrorist" with long, flowing hair is swept up on the
banks of the river and changes everything. Mesmeric, mournful, and
intensely lyrical, Chef is a brave and compassionate debut
about hope, love, and memory set against the devastatingly beautiful,
war-scarred backdrop of occupied Kashmir.

Jaspreet Singh is a former research scientist who holds a Ph.D.
in chemical engineering from McGill University. His debut collection of
short stories, Seventeen Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir won the 2004 McAuslan First Book Prize, and his stories have appeared in The Walrus and Zoetrope. Born in Punjab and brought up in Kashmir, Singh now lives in British Columbia. 

Awards and Praise for Chef:

Winner of the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
Shortlisted for
the Hugh Maclennan Prize for Ficttion, the Canadian Authors Association
Literary Award, and the City of Calgary W. O. Mitchell Book PrizeLonglisted for the 2010 International Impac Dublin Literary Award

Chef is a brave and compassionate debut about hope, love, and
memory set against the devastatingly beautiful, war-scarred backdrop of
occupied Kashmir. "The Siachen exists . . . in a no man's land where
India, Pakistan, and China each claim primacy . . . This is the world
in which Kip finds himself in the two interwoven narratives of Chef . . . [But] he finds his true calling amid the redolent spices of the kitchen . . . [An] exotic locale and savory backdrop."—The New York Times Book Review

"[Singh] writes lyrically about that majestic, impossibly beautiful,
and quixotic place, wedged between India and Pakistan, and doomed, it
seems, to be forever caught up in their ongoing conflict, fueled by
centuries-old sectarian violence...The rippling effects of religious
and cultural prejudice infuse this whole, complex story, leaving no
character in Singh’s poetic, thought-provoking tale untouched." - Booklist

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Jazz pianist Chase Morrin will be playing from 8-10pm at Pannikin Coffee and Tea!  Come join in the fun!

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins*

Wilkie Collins’s
spellbinding tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired a hugely
popular genre–the detective mystery. Hinging on the theft of an enormous
diamond originally stolen from an Indian shrine, this riveting novel
features the innovative Sergeant Cuff, the hilarious house steward
Gabriel Betteridge, a lovesick housemaid, and a mysterious band of
Indian jugglers.

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Guitarist Billy Watson will be playing from 8-10pm!  Come join us for great music and fun.

http://www.billywatson.com/

 
This September, the Younger and Older Girls' Book Clubs will be reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart* together!

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"

When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children
enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you,
dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end
just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a
secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children
could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the
Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that
there are no rules.

As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest
imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support.
But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass
the most important test of all?

Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

About the authors:

Trenton Lee Stewart, graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and author of the adult novel Flood Summer, lives in Arkansas with his wife and two sons. This is his debut children's novel.

Carson Ellis received her BFA from the University of Montana and has
established a loyal following for her artistic collaborations with the
band the Decemberists. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough Landscape by Harm De Blij

 "The world is not as mobile or as interconnected as we like to think. As
Harm de Blij argues in The Power of Place, in crucial ways--from the
uneven distribution of natural resources to the unequal availability of
opportunity--geography continues to hold billions of people in its grip.
We are all born into natural and cultural environments that shape what
we become, individually and collectively. From our "mother tongue" to
our father's faith, from medical risks to natural hazards, where we
start our journey has much to do with our destiny. Hundreds of millions
of farmers in the river basins of Asia and Africa, and tens of millions
of shepherds in isolated mountain valleys from the Andes to Kashmir, all
live their lives much as their distant ancestors did, remote from the
forces of globalization. Incorporating a series of persuasive maps, De
Blij describes the tremendously varied environments across the planet
and shows how migrations between them are comparatively rare. De Blij
also looks at the ways we are redefining place so as to make its power
even more potent than it has been, with troubling implications."

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell*

"In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her
vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts
at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her
great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from
Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than
sixty-one years.

Iris’s grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But
Esme’s papers prove she is Kitty’s sister, and Iris can see the shadow
of her dead father in Esme’s face. 

Esme has been labeled harmless—sane enough to coexist with the rest
of the world. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member
never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring
life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes
her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

A gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the
freedom brought by truth, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox will
haunt you long past its final page."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Come join us from 8-10pm for the music of jazz guitarist Joseph Angelastro!  All welcome!

http://www.myspace.com/josephangelastro

Co-Author Thomas Reifer will be coming to The Book Works on Thursday, October 7th to discuss The Torturer in the Mirror.

"Look in the mirror: Do you see a torturer there?"—Former attorney general Ramsey Clark

The torturer used to be the other. He was a man whose job it was to
impose pain and extract information. Today we think of torture in a
different way. Today, anyone, man or woman, who joins the army or writes
a law that legitimizes torture can be a torturer. Today, anyone who
looks in the mirror could be a torturer.

The Torturer in the Mirror shows us how when one of us
tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. These three sharp essays
by former attorney general Ramsey Clark, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana,
and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer, expose how
psychologically insidious torture practices are, how deep a mark they
leave, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers
accountable.

Ramsey Clark was the US attorney general during the Johnson administration and is founder of the International Action Center.

Haifa Zangana is an Iraqi political commentator and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Thomas Ehrlich Reifer is an associate professor of sociology at the University of San Diego and an associate fellow of the Transnational Institute.

For information on Thomas:

Click Here

Come listen to the music of guitarist George Svoboda from 8-10pm!  All are welcome!

www.georgesvoboda.com

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage*

"More than simply sustenance, food historically has been a kind of
technology, changing the course of human progress by helping to build
empires, promote industrialization, and decide the outcomes of wars. Tom
Standage draws on archaeology, anthropology, and economics to reveal
how food has helped shape and transform societies around the world, from
the emergence of farming in China by 7500 b.c. to the use of sugar cane
and corn to make ethanol today. An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying account of human history."

Receive 10% off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

American Rust by Philipp Meyer*

"Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel
town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the
desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that
arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the
story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility,
inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the
factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits
suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life
beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good,
accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school
football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of
violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great
Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American
heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the
future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak
realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love
and friendship to redeem us."

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

"What causes a child to grow up gay or straight? In this book,
neuroscientist Simon LeVay summarizes a wealth of scientific evidence
that points to one inescapable conclusion: Sexual orientation results
primarily from an interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the cells
of the developing body and brain.
LeVay helped create this field in
1991 with a much-publicized study in Science, where he reported on a
difference in the brain structure between gay and straight men. Since
then, an entire scientific discipline has sprung up around the quest for
a biological explanation of sexual orientation. In this book, LeVay
provides a clear explanation of where the science stands today, taking
the reader on a whirlwind tour of laboratories that specialize in
genetics, endocrinology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology,
evolutionary psychology, and family demographics. He describes, for
instance, how researchers have manipulated the sex hormone levels of
animals during development, causing them to mate preferentially with
animals of their own gender. LeVay also reports on the prevalence of
homosexual behavior among wild animals, ranging from Graylag geese to
the Bonobo chimpanzee.
Although many details remain unresolved, the
general conclusion is quite clear: A person's sexual orientation arises
in large part from biological processes that are already underway before
birth. LeVay also makes it clear that these lines of research have a
lot of potential because--far from seeking to discover "what went wrong"
in the lives of gay people, attempting to develop "cures" for
homosexuality, or returning to traditional explanations that center on
parent-child relationships, various forms of "training," or early sexual
experiences--our modern scientists are increasingly seeing sexual
variety as something to be valued, celebrated, and welcomed into
society."

For more information on Simon: http://www.simonlevay.com/

Come join us for an evening of music!  Jazz pianist Chase Morrin will be playing from 8-10pm. 

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

On Tuesday, October 19th, at 7:00pm The Book Works will host Dr. Gary Small as a special author in our Brain-Mind Speaker Series once again for his new book The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head! Don't miss this great opportunity to probe through the human brain!

"During his career, Dr. Gary Small has witnessed some of the strangest of human behaviors, and, for the first time, he opens the doors to his office for all to see. Combining elements of Sherlock Holmes and House, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head is a spellbinding record of the doctor's most bewildering cases, from naked headstands and hysterical blindness to shrinking penises and self-amputations. It is also an illuminating journey into the mind of a practicing psychiatrist and his life in medicine as it evolves over time- a behind-the-scenes look at the field and a variety of mental diseases as they've never been seen before.

Often funny, sometimes tragic, and always compelling, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head moves from the halls of a crowded inner-city Boston emergency room to the luxurious suites of a multimillion-dollar mountaintop ski chalet and introduces a strange cast of true-life characters and conditions. Whether it is a sociopath leading two lives with two wives or a hysterical pregnancy, the potential of the mind is always in question. Throughout, Dr. Small sheds light on the human condition in both healthy and disturbed individuals, and provides touching moments sure to resonate with every reader."

For more information on Dr. Gary Small or his previous books, visit his website:

http://www.drgarysmall.com/

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe*

Between 1841 and 1844, Edgar Allan Poe invented the genre of detective
fiction with three mesmerizing stories of a young French eccentric named
C. Auguste Dupin. Introducing to literature the concept of applying
reason to solving crime, these tales brought Poe fame and fortune to
live on. Years later, Dorothy Sayers would describe “The Murders in the
Rue Morgue” as “almost a complete manual of detective theory and
practice.” Indeed, Poe’s short mysteries inspired the creation of
countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today, the Dupin
stories still stand out as unique, utterly engrossing page-turners.

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

Jazz guitarists Tony Taravella and Mark Lopez will be playing from 8-10pm at Pannikin Coffee and Tea.  Come join us for an evening of music!

http://tonytaravella.com/

http://www.myspace.com/marklopezguitarist

"As the California borderland newspaper where they work prepares to
close, three reporters are oddly given assignments to return to stories
they've covered beforeeach one surprisingly personal. The first
assignment takes reporter Aaron Klinsman and photographer Rita Valdez to
an abandoned motel room where the mirrors are draped with towels, bits
of black tape cover the doorknobs, and the perfect trace of a woman's
body is imprinted on the bed sheets. From this sexually charged
beginningon land his family used to ownKlinsman, Rita, and their
colleague, Oscar Medem understand that they are supposed to uncover
something. They just don't know what.

Following the moonlit paths
their assignments reveal through the bars, factories and complex
streets of Tijuana and Otay, haunted by the femicides that have spread
westward from Juarez, the reporters become more intimately entwined.
Tracing the images they uncover, and those they cause and leave behind,
they soon realize that every move they make is under surveillance.
Beyond this, it seems their private lives and even their memories are
being reconstructed by others.

Panopticon is a novel of dreamlike
appearances and almost supernatural memories, a world of hidden
watchers that evokes the dark recognition of just how little we can
protect even our most private moments. It is a shadowy, erotic novel
only slightly speculative that opens into the world we all now occupy."

For more information on David: http://www.davidbajo.com/

The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant*

"Orange Prize winner and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2008,
Linda Grant has created an enchanting portrait of a woman who, having
endured unbearable loss, finds solace in the family secrets her
estranged uncle reveals. In vivid and supple prose, Grant subtly
constructs a powerful story of family, love, and the hold the past has
on the present.

Vivien Kovacs, a sensitive, bookish girl grows up
sealed off from the world by her timid Hungarian refugee parents, who
conceal the details of their history and shy away from any encounter
with the outside world. She learns how to navigate British society from
an eccentric cast of neighbors -- including a fading ballerina, a
cartoonist, and a sad woman who wanders the city and teaches Vivien to
be beautiful. She loses herself in books and reinvents herself according
to her favorite characters, but it is through clothes that she
ultimately defines herself.

Against her father's wishes, she
forges a relationship with her uncle, a notorious criminal and slum
landlord, who, in his old age, wants to share his life story. As he
exposes the truth about her family's past Vivien learns how to be
comfortable in her own skin and how to be alive in the world.

Grant
is a spectacularly humanizing writer whose morally complex characters
explore the line between selfishness and self-preservation."

Receive 10% off your reading group book from
the Book Works. We request that groups who meet at The Book Works
purchase their selection from us. Thank you.

*Author will NOT be present.

Guitarist Billy Watson will be playing from 8-10pm!  Come join us for a great evening of music.

http://www.billywatson.com/

A Brave Vessel by Hobson Woodward*

"Merging maritime adventure and early colonial history, A Brave Vessel
charts a little-known chapter of the past that offers a window on the
inspiration for one of Shakespeare's greatest works. In 1609, aspiring
writer William Strachey set sail for the New World aboard the Sea Venture,
only to wreck on the shores of Bermuda. Strachey's meticulous account
of the tragedy, the castaways' time in Bermuda, and their arrival in a
devastated Jamestown, remains among the most vivid writings of the early
colonial period. Though Strachey had literary aspirations, only in the
hands of another William would his tale make history as The Tempest-a fascinating connection across time and literature that Hobson Woodward brings vividly to life."

Receive 10% off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville*

A stunning follow-up to her Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning book,
"The Secret River," Grenville's "The Lieutenant" is a gripping story
about friendship, self-discovery, and the power of language, set along
the unspoiled shores of 1788 New South Wales.

Reviews:

“Grenville’s portrait of the obtuse yet engaging Rooke and her
descriptions of this strange territory are marvelously evocative. . . .
The fragility of the encounters [between Rooke and Tagaran] further
heightens the suspense that Grenville so deftly sustains. Tragedy looms,
of course, just outside the delicate frame of this elegiac novel, but
Grenville allows us to marvel at ‘one universe in the act of
encountering another’ even as we dread the inevitable result.”—Anna
Mundow, The Boston Globe

“[A] richly imagined portrait of a
deeply introspective, and quite remarkable, man.”—Alison McCulloch, The
New York Times Book Review

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Wednesday, November 10th at 7:00pm Aniruddh D. Patel will be at The Book Works to talk about his recently published book Music, Language, and the Brain

"In the first comprehensive study of the relationship between music and
language from the standpoint of cognitive neuroscience, Aniruddh D.
Patel challenges the widespread belief that music and language are
processed independently. Since Plato's time, the relationship between
music and language has attracted interest and debate from a wide range
of thinkers. Recently, scientific research on this topic has been
growing rapidly, as scholars from diverse disciplines, including
linguistics, cognitive science, music cognition, and neuroscience are
drawn to the music-language interface as one way to explore the extent
to which different mental abilities are processed by separate brain
mechanisms. Accordingly, the relevant data and theories have been spread
across a range of disciplines. This volume provides the first
synthesis, arguing that music and language share deep and critical
connections, and that comparative research provides a powerful way to
study the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying these uniquely
human abilities."

For some podcasts he's done with the Library of Congress, Click Here

Dr. Patel’s work focuses on music and the brain. A primary area of
interest is the relationship between music and language, and on how the
comparative study of these uniquely human abilities can shed light on
their underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms. Another research area
concerns rhythm and the processes by which humans extract rhythmic
information from auditory signals. In addition, Dr. Patel conducts
research on how the auditory cortex processes sound sequences, using
magnetoencephalography (MEG) to explore brain dynamics during the
perception of musical sequences.

For more information on Dr. Patel, Click Here

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee translated by Robert van Gulik*

Authentic 18th-century Chinese detective novels. Dee and associates
solve 3 interlocked cases: "The Case of the Double Murder at Dawn," "The
Case of the Strange Corpse," and "The Case of the Poisoned Bride."

Receive 10% off your reading group
book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups who meet at The Book
Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL
NOT be present.

The Book Works is delighted to announce that we are hosting the Official Launch of The Neighbors are Watching by Debra Ginsberg

Thursday, November 18th at 7:00pm

STAY TUNED as we will be announcing prizes and other events in conjunction with the regular author event!

"A pregnant teenager shows up, literally, on her biological father's doorstep, and the neighbors can't stop talking. Joe Montana is a handsome restaurant manager who failed to tell his wife that he fathered a baby with an ex-girlfriend seventeen years ago. Diana's bombshell arrival in their quiet cul-de-sac sets off a chain reaction of secrets and lies that threaten to engulf the neighborhood along with the approaching flames from the Santa Ana-fueled California wildfire.
A woman scorned, a former reality TV star, and a suburban housewife with her own checkered past--these are just a few of the warring neighbors who will be forced to band together when Diana disappears in the aftermath of the wildfire evacuation, leaving her newborn baby--and many unanswered questions--behind."

Debra Ginsberg is the author of the memoirs, Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress, Raising Blaze: A Mother and Son's Long, Strange Journey Into Autism, and About My Sisters and the novels Blind Submission and THE GRIFT. Agraduate of Reed College, she has contributed to NPR's All Things Considered, is a regular reviewer for Shelf Awareness, and works as a freelance editor. She lives in Southern California.

For more information on Debra, visit her website HERE

Come join us for the music of jazz pianist Chase Morrin from 8-10pm.  All are welcome!

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

Mendel's Dwarf by Simon Mawer*

"Like his great, great uncle, the early geneticist Gregor Mendel, Dr.
Benedict Lambert is struggling to unlock the secrets of heredity. But
Benedict's mission is particularly urgent and particularly personal, for
he is afflicted with achondroplasia -- he's a dwarf. He's also a man
desperate for love. And when he finds it in the form of Jean -- simple
and shy -- he stumbles upon an opportunity to correct the injustice of
his own capricious genes. As intelligent as it is entertaining, this
witty and surprisingly erotic novel reveals the beauty and drama of
scientific inquiry as it informs us of the simple passions against which
even the most brilliant mind is rendered powerless."

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Come join us for an evening of music with guitarist George Svoboda from 8-10pm!  All are welcome!

www.georgesvoboda.com

The King and the Cowboy by David Fromkin*

"In this character-driven study, acclaimed historian and bestselling
author David Fromkin reveals how two colorful figures-Theodore Roosevelt
and Edward the Seventh- assumed leadership of the English-speaking
world at the beginning of the twentieth century. As human beings, the
two men could hardly have been more different. Edward, a lover of fine
food, drink, beautiful women, and the pleasure-seeking culture of Paris,
had previously been regarded as nothing more than a playboy. Across the
Atlantic, Theodore Roosevelt, the aristocrat from Manhattan and
self-made cowboy, would rise above his critics to become one of the
nation's most beloved presidents. Together, they wrote the agenda for
the North Atlantic democracies of the twentieth century."

Receive 10% off
your reading group book from The Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Works purchase their selection from us. Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.

Come join us for an evening of music with jazz pianist Chase Morrin from 8-10pm! 

http://www.chasemorrin.com/

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese*

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a
beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their
mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a
preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the
twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.
 
Moving
from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone
is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary
miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Abraham Verghese is Professor and Senior Associate Chair for the
Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of
Medicine. He was the founding director of the Center for Medical
Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science
Center, San Antonio, where he is now an adjunct professor. He is the
author of My Own Country, a 1994 NBCC Finalist and a
Time Best Book of the Year, and The Tennis Partner,
a New York Times Notable Book. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’
Workshop, he has published essays and short stories that have appeared
in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire,
Granta, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He lives in Palo
Alto, California.

Receive 10%
off
your reading group book fromThe Book Works. We request that all groups
who meet at The Book Workspurchase their selection from us.Thanks.

*Author WILL NOT be present.