Harvard Book Store
News from Harvard Book Store
May 4, 2013

Mother's Day is only a week away! I'm sure you all have the perfect gift in mind for Mom, but just in case you need any suggestions, we have you covered. Check out this selection of gift ideas handpicked by Harvard Book Store buyers. You can shop online, or browse these books on our Mother's Day display at the store. While here, don't forget to pick out a card!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night was the awards ceremony for the annual Edgar Awards, given by the Mystery Writers of America. We want to extend a hearty congratulations to local favorite Dennis Lehane, whose Live by Night was awarded Best Novel. And mark your calendars for July 9, when Mr. Lehane will be appearing with Ivy Pochoda, whose novel Visitation Street is being published by his publishing imprint, Dennis Lehane Books.   

 

Lastly, thanks to our eagle-eyed readers who pointed out the typo in last week's newsletter. We are selling David Sedaris's new book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, for $27 (actually, $21.60 at the moment, since it's a bestseller), not $206.99.  

 

'Til Next Week,
Rachel 

The Weekly Bestsellers already Discounted 20%

New on Our Shelves: The Latest in Fiction, Nonfiction, Scholarly Books & In Store Book Printing
Fiction
 
The Whispering Muse
by Sjón

$22

Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, hardcover



The year is 1949 and Valdimar Haraldsson, an eccentric Icelander with grand ideas about the influence of fish consumption on Nordic civilization, has had the extraordinary good fortune to be invited to join a Danish merchant ship sailing to the Black Sea. Among the crew is the mythical hero Caeneus, disguised as second mate. Each night after dinner he entrances his fellow travelers with the tale of how he sailed with the fabled vessel the Argo on its quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

Nonfiction
 
The Anatomy of Violence:
The Biological Roots of Crime
by Adrian Raine     
 
$35
Pantheon, hardcover
Order
For over three decades, Adrian Raine has been researching the biological roots of violence and establishing neurocriminology, a new field that applies neuroscience techniques to investigate the causes and cures of crime. In The Anatomy of Violence, Raine dissects the criminal mind and reveals the brain to be a key culprit in crime causation. Drawing on classical case studies of well-known killers in history Raine illustrates how impairments to brain areas controlling our ability to experience fear, make good decisions, and feel guilt predispose us to violence.
Learn More
Scholarly
 
Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing 
by Melissa Mohr

$24.95
Oxford University Press, hardcover
Order

Holy Sh*t tells the story of two kinds of swearing--obscenities and oaths--from ancient Rome and the Bible to today. Melissa Mohr takes readers on a journey to discover how "swearing" has come to include both testifying with your hand on the Bible and calling someone a *#$&!* when they cut you off on the highway. She explores obscenities in ancient Rome--which were remarkably similar to our own--and unearths the history of religious oaths in the Middle Ages, when swearing (or not swearing) an oath was often a matter of life and death.  

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Printed on Paige
Each week, we'll feature a book printed in Harvard Book Store on Paige, our book-making machine. Featured books will range from fresh works from local authors to near-forgotten titles discovered in our extensive print-on-demand database.  
 
Mothers' Day:
Its History, Origin, Celebration, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse     
compiled by
Susan Tracy Rice

$11.25

Print on Demand, paperback
Order

"The arrival of this newcomer, Mothers' Day, in the calendar of our national festivals is significant. That a day so rich in sentiment, so tender in its meaning, should be officially adopted in a country which scoffs at sentiment and prides itself on its veneer of practicality is a hopeful sign. Like the divining rod of old usage it reveals underneath the crust of commercialism a perennial spring of idealism."
--from the introduction to this second printing (1917)

Learn More
Bargain Books
Bargain Books are new books at used-book prices. We have a limited number of copies of these titles, so if you see something that you're interested in, come in and check it out soon. To see more of our Bargain Books section, visit our Bargain Books page.
Round About the Earth:
Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit 
by Joyce E. Chaplin      
$7.99, hardcover (originally $35)

For almost five hundred years, human beings have been finding ways to circle the Earth--by sail, steam, or liquid fuel; by cycling, driving, flying, going into orbit, even by using their own bodily power. This book by Harvard history professor Joyce E. Chaplin explores the vast and varied history of around-the-world travel.
The Third Reich    
by Roberto Bolaño
$7.99, hardcover (originally £18.99)
German war-games champion Udo Berger begins playing a strategy game with a stranger while on vacation, and the outcome may be disastrous. Unpublished during Bolaño's lifetime, the complete typescript of this novel was discovered after his death in 2003. This was the first English publication.
The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady    
by Elizabeth Stuckey-French     
$3.99 hardcover (originally $25.95)
   
In 1953, Dr. Wilson Spriggs gave Marylou Ahearn a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a secret government study that had horrible consequences. Marylou has been plotting her revenge for fifty years. When she accidentally discovers his whereabouts in Florida, her plans to kill him finally snap into action. This is Elizabeth Stuckey-French's second novel.
Recent Finds Downstairs in the Used Book Department

 

Featured used books go fast, so if any titles interest you, stop in to check them out soon. We will hold the book if you are the first caller to reserve it. To reserve a book, call (617) 661-1515 and ask for our Used Department. We're also always looking for books to buy. Learn about selling your used books, including textbooks, here.
The Anatomy of Melancholy
by Robert Burton
Originally published by New York Review of Books in 2001
$13 (paperback) in Very Good Condition
One of the major documents of modern European civilization, Robert Burton's survey of melancholy in all its myriad forms has invited superlatives since its publication in the seventeenth century. This edition includes the introduction to the 1932 edition by Holbrook Jackson, and a new introduction by William H. Gass.
1080 Recipes
by Simone and Inés Ortega
Originally published by Alianza Editorial in 1972
$25 (hardcover) in Very Good Condition
This comprehensive collection of traditional and authentic Spanish recipes, covering everything from tortilla to bacalao, has been a bestseller in Spain since it was first published. It contains 1080 recipes from all Spanish regions for everything from appetizers to desserts. In English.
Blanche Lazzell:
The Life and Work of an American Modernist
by Robert Bridges, Kristina Olson, and Janet Snyder   
Originally published by West Virginia University Press in 2004
$40 (hardcover) in Very Good Condition  
Blanche Lazzell was a pioneering American modernist. Recently there has been renewed critical appreciation of her work, particularly her woodblock prints. This collection of essays with two hundred full-color illustrations presents the full scope of her career and role as a translator of the achievements of European modernism for her colleagues in America.

Author Events

   

On sale now:

Eve Ensler (5/6)

On sale Monday, May 6:
Edward O. Wilson (5/24)

 

Subscribe to the Harvard Book Store Google Event Calendar here.

All Upcoming Events 


Eve Ensler
Mon, May 6, 6PM   

Writer, playwright, and activist Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) discusses In the Body of the World.
At the Brattle Theatre
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Daniel C. Dennett
Tues, May 7, 6PM    

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT View our Sold Out Event FAQ
At the Brattle Theatre
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Douglas Trevor
Tues, May 7, 7:30PM    

Award-winning short story writer Doughlas Trevor reads from his debut novel, Girls I Know.
At Harvard Book Store
Learn More

Fiona Maazel
Wed, May 8, 7PM 

Fiona Maazel, winner of the 2009 Bard Fiction Award for her debut novel, discusses her new work, Woke Up Lonely in conversation with Amy Hempel.
At Harvard Book Store
Learn More

Gary Greenberg
Thurs, May 9, 7PM 

Psychotherapist Gary Greenberg discusses The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry in conversation with filmmaker Errol Morris.
At Harvard Book Store
Learn More

Claire Messud
Fri, May 10, 7PM     

Local novelist Claire Messud, whose previous novel, The Emperor's Children, was long-listed for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, reads from her newest work, The Woman Upstairs.
At Harvard Book Store
Learn More

Things to know about our $5 tickets...

 

$5 tickets are also coupons good for $5 off a purchase at events or at Harvard Book Store. Coupons expire 30 days after the event, and cannot be used for online purchases, event tickets, or gift certificates. Please note that your ticket only guarantees you a seat until 5 minutes before an event begins.


Find it here. Buy it here. Keep us here.

We appreciate the feedback we get from readers of this e-newsletter.

 

Please send your comments and suggestions to Rachel at rcass@harvard.com. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you in the store!

 

Rachel Cass
Marketing Manager
rcass@harvard.com 

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