Present-a-Bull Books and December Events

Yikes! It's December already! ...or it will be in a few hours...It's time to make our lists, check them twice. Here's hoping we've been both naughty and nice.   At this time of they year I enjoy letting folks know about quirky, under the radar titles that might be the perfect present for those quirky people on your lists. What follows is a half-dozen of these "not the usual suspects" titles, with excerpts from reviews. (All of these books are on our list of "Holiday Sale Titles,"  20% off through Christmas).     The Smell of Fresh Rain: The Unexpected Pleasures of Our Most Elusive Sense by Barney Shaw  --From the review of the British edition in "The Bookbag:" "This is a fascinating, engrossing adventure guided by passionate and thoughtful insights from Shaw which will keep you riveted throughout. A must have for those of you who have ever looked past the end of your nose and wondered about it's olfactory brilliance. His guidance and advice around how to develop one's sense of smell is clear and relatable and ensures you are left sniffing the world around you long after you finish the final page."   Into the Mystic: The Visionary and Ecstatic Roots of 1960's Rock and Roll by Christopher Hill --Sarah White in Foreword Reviews "Christopher Hill links the ecstatic, trippy, profound music of the great performers of the 1960s to the mystical traditions of gospel, folklore, and esoteric religious groups, in Into the Mystic, which goes beyond love songs and far-out beats. The book will make lovers of '60s rock want to run to their record players to hear these albums again with fresh ears. Those who aren't as well versed in the era will be tempted to make playlists of the mentioned tracks to see if they can grasp the stories' threads. Multiple, comprehensive explorations of albums and songs help as Hill makes his argument: the music of the 1960s was inextricably tied to storytelling traditions, spiritual journeying, and the kind of exploration that has always been essential to human communities."   Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang --Arianna Huffington in the New York Times  "Rest is not something that the world gives us," Pang writes. "It's never been a gift. It's never been something you do when you've finished everything else. If you want rest, you have to take it. You have to resist the lure of busyness, make time for rest, take it seriously, and protect it from a world that is intent on stealing it." And you can start by putting down your phone - better yet, put it in another room - and picking up this much-needed book.   Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker --Mark O'Connell in The Guardian: "Walker's title is misleading - as he himself states in the early pages, it suggests that there might be only one reason why we sleep. In fact, he presents sleep as a panacea for a bewildering array of conditions that would otherwise cause the slow deterioration of body and mind. In one playful passage, he describes it as though he were marketing a new pharmaceutical:   ..."Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory, makes you more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You'll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested? "   The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization by Martin Puchner --from BookPage  "If you love literature then you are likely to find Martin Puchner's The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization enthralling. . . . Puchner is a generous, natural teacher who brings these works and their origins to vivid life. . . . Education and enthusiasm combine seamlessly in Puchner's sweeping narrative, which comprises history, biography, technology and ideas. And while it is a cliché to say he brings literature to life, he does exactly that, connecting the dots of civilization in new and interesting ways. The Written World is perfect reading for a long chilly night, and it will leave you thinking in new ways about the wondrous thing called literature that, perhaps, we sometimes take for granted."   Wise Trees by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel --from NPR  "Not long ago, two Americans caused a scene in a Mozambique village. Locals were mystified by the tourists spending several days photographing a single tree. "Sometimes we have to explain to people what we're doing but often they just think, 'Okay these guys are nuts,'" says New York photographer Len Jenshel. The idea for this book was born on a night in 2012. The couple was photographing cherry blossoms after dusk in Japan. Cook got a call that her father in the United States was dying. They watched pale white petals from the trees float away in the wind. "We looked at this amazing ritual of life and renewal, which happens every spring," says Cook. "And somehow, when we came back from that trip, we started thinking about the wisdom that we get from trees." The trees featured in their book offer shade and solace. Some give guidance, like a tree Native Americans once used as a reminder to leave one river and cross to a different waterway.Others are seen as a source of healing, like sacred trees in India. And a few have been silent witnesses to humanity's darkest times. The book features images taken in 11 countries as well as the United States.
December Events MARC MOSKOVITZ and R. LARRY TODD Sunday, December 3, 3:00 p.m. -- 5:00 p.m. Bone Hall, Duke Music Building, 9 Brodie Gym Drive Please note time and location In conjunction with North Carolina Cello Society, co-authors Larry Todd and Marc Moskovitz will discuss their just released study of Beethoven's cello music, published by Boydell & Brewer Press in the UK. Beethoven's Cello: Five Revolutionary Sonatas and Their World offers the first comprehensive investigation of this repertoire in English.  Staff of the Regulator Bookshop will be on hand to sell copies of the book, which the authors will be happy to sign.  The event will include performances of examples from the sonatas and music by Beethoven's contemporaries.  Free and open to the public. Marc D. Moskovitz is principal cellist of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded the music of virtuoso cellists David Popper and Alfredo Piatti for the VAI label, and his American premiere of Zemlinsky's Cello Sonata was heralded by the Washington Post as 'an impassioned performance'. Moskovitz has contributed to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; and his biography, Alexander Zemlinsky: A Lyric Symphony, was published by Boydell & Brewer in 2010. R. Larry Todd is Arts and Sciences Professor at Duke University. Recognized as 'Mendelssohn's most authoritative biographer' (The New Yorker), Todd is the author of Mendelssohn: A Life in Music, named Best Biography in 2003 by the Association of American Publishers, and Fanny Hensel: The Other Mendelssohn, awarded the ASCAP Nicholas Slonimsky Award for outstanding biography in music. As a pianist, he has recorded with Nancy Green the complete cello works of Mendelssohn and Fanny Hensel for JRI Recordings. PRESCHOOL STORY TIME Wednesday, December 6, 10:15AM Join us for Preschool Storytime at The Regulator with Amy Godfrey. Free! Amy Godfrey loves telling stories. With 10 years of experience as a Children's Librarian, Amy Godfrey is known for her energetic musical story times and is bringing that fun to The Regulator every Wednesday!   NIGHT MARKET at THE DURHAM Wednesday, December 6, 6:00PM -- 9:00PM The Durham Hotel, 315 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham Please note location and time Join The Regulator at The Durham hotel for the first annual Night Market, where friends and neighbors will gather to celebrate the season with festive drinks and last-minute gift shopping. Finish your to-do list with thoughtful gifts from some of our favorite local makers, music from Merge Records, and champagne and eggnog from the bar. Co-produced by Vert & Vogue Contact: Kristin Bedinger, kristin@thedurham.com   APS Cat Adoption Event Sunday, December 10, 2:00PM Durham Animal Protection Society will hold a monthly cat adoption event at the Regulator. Come visit our furry friends from 2:00 - 3:30. Note the time and date.   NASTY WOMEN POETS Monday, December 11, 7:00PM Robin Kirk, Andrea Selch, and Jennie Malboeuf join us for a reading and signing from Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse. This timely collection of poems speaks not just to the current political climate and the man who is responsible for its title, but to the stereotypes and expectations women have faced dating back to Eve, and to the long history of women resisting those limitations. The nasty women poets included here sing, swear, swagger, and celebrate, and stake claim to life and art on their own terms. Robin Kirk is the author of several books, including Peculiar Motion, a poetry chapbook (Finishing Line Press). She teaches human rights at Duke University and never grades on a curve. Jennie Malboeuf is a Kentucky native and a good witch. She has published her poetry widely, including in Best New Poets 2016 (Meridian and Samovar Press). She teaches writing at Guilford College. Andrea Selch is the author of the safer-sex poetry series "Twentieth-Century Valentines" (Oyster Boy Review) along with two other full-length poetry books. She has published her poetry widely. She lives in Hillsborough with her wife and two children.                   PRESCHOOL STORY TIME Wednesday, December 13, 10:15AM Join us for Preschool Storytime at The Regulator with Amy Godfrey. Free!   ALLAN GURGANUS performs "A FOOL FOR CHRISTMAS" Thursday, December 14, 7:00 p.m. "A Fool for Christmas" is Allan's marvelous story, told in the first person, of a socially awkward loner named Verne who manages a pet shop in a mall off an interstate, somewhere in North Carolina. A pregnant runaway teenage girl takes to hanging out at the mall, and out of sympathy for a fellow outcast, Verne befriends her. Allan has performed his heartwarming Christmas tale at the bookshop five or six times over the last dozen or so years. Every time he changes the story a bit, and every time folks end up reaching for something to dab their eyes. Allan will reprise "A Fool for Christmas" at The Regulator on Thursday evening December 14th at 7:00.  Simply put, Brothers and Sisters, Allan Gurganus can flat out tell a story. And he knocks this one out of the park. Refreshments and merriment will be served.   PRESCHOOL STORY TIME Wednesday, December 20, 10:15AM Join us for Preschool Storytime at The Regulator with Amy Godfrey. Free! Amy Godfrey loves telling stories.With 10 years of experience as a Children's Librarian, Amy Godfrey is known for her energetic musical story times and is bringing that fun to The Regulator every Wednesday! Contact: Amy Godfrey, AmyGodfrey@gmail.com   DAN ARIELY Wednesday, December 20, 7:00PM Join us for a special evening with Dan Ariely, author of Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter, for a reading and book signing. Blending humor and behavioral economics, the New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational delves into the truly illogical world of personal finance to help people better understand why they make bad financial decisions, and gives them the knowledge they need to make better ones. Exploring a wide range of everyday topics-from credit card debt and household budgeting to holiday sales-Ariely and Kreisler demonstrate how our ideas about dollars and cents are often wrong and cost us more than we know; they gleefully cut through the unconscious fears and desires driving our worst financial instincts and teach us how to improve our money habits. Dollars and Sense is a sound investment, providing us with the practical tools we need to understand and improve our financial choices, save and spend smarter, and ultimately live better. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. Ariely publishes widely in the leading scholarly journals in economics, psychology, and business. His work has been featured in a variety of media including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Business 2.0, Scientific American, Science and CNN. He splits his time between Durham and the rest of the world.   CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS and the day after Monday, December 25 The Regulator will be closed on Dec. 25 and 26 and reopen during regular business hours on Wednesday, Dec. 27.   NO PRESCHOOL STORY TIME THIS WEEK Wednesday, December 27, 10:15AM   CLOSED FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY Monday, January 1, 2018
Tom Campbell Regulator Bookshop 720 Ninth St. Durham, NC 27705 (919) 286-2700 http://www.regulatorbookshop.com/

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