|
|
|
|
Late night view of new releases
|
|
|
Recommendations:
|
|
 |
|
» Lindy West (Nov 8)
"One of our foremost thinkers on gender unveils her unifying theory of America: that our steady diet of pop culture created by and for embittered, entitled white men has stoked our sociopolitical moment. Adam Sandler, South Park, and Pepe the Frog all come under West's withering scrutiny in this funny, hyper-literate analysis of the link between meme culture and male mediocrity."— Esquire [ Purchase tickets and learn more.]
» André Aciman (Nov 11)
"You don’t have to have read Call Me by Your Name, Aciman’s 2007 bestselling novel turned Oscar-nominated movie, to immediately fall in love with this sexy, melancholic follow-up. It stands entirely separate, yet connected, a beautiful ode to the passage of time, to the lasting power of true love and the ache of loneliness . . . the revelations about who these characters have become unraveling slowly like a gorgeous piece of classical music." — Buzzfeed [ Purchase tickets and learn more.]
» Terry Tempest Williams (Nov 14)
"Beautiful . . . stunning and heartbreaking . . . a hybrid of Annie Dillard's The Writing Life and Joan Didion's A Year of Magical Thinking. [Williams has an] incredible ability to describe the tininess of human beings in relation to the majesty of human nature."
—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review Podcast
Timely and unsettling essays from an important writer and conservationist, this book is Terry Tempest Williams's call to action, blazing a way forward through difficult and dispiriting times. We will find new territory—emotional, geographical, communal. The erosion of desert lands exposes the truth of change. What has been weathered, worn, and whittled away is as powerful as what remains. Our undoing is also our becoming. [ Purchase tickets and learn more.]
» Leah Greenburg and Ezra Levin in conversation with Marshall Ganz (Nov 15)
"Leah and Ezra have built a powerful network of folks ready to fight for justice and inclusion. . . . In times of division, they've been a constant force for good." —Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district
Shortly after Trump’s election, two outraged former congressional staffers wrote and posted a tactical guide to resisting the Trump agenda. This Google Doc entitled “Indivisible” was meant to be read by friends and family. No one could have predicted what happened next. It went viral. In We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump, the co-executive directors of Indivisible tell the story of the movement. It's a steely-eyed guide to people power—how to find it, how to build it, and how to use it to usher in the post-Trump era. [ Purchase tickets and learn more.]
Cinema in Context: At the Brattle Theatre
Our friends at the Brattle Theatre will be screening the 1983 film WarGames next Tuesday, November 12th, with special guest J. Hoberman introducing the film. (And we'll be there too! — providing book sales of Hoberman's new book on movie culture in the Reagan era.) 
“The movie that most fascinated Reagan, however, was WarGames… The premise suggested a Spielbergian remake of Dr. Strangelove: a high school computer whiz (twenty-year-old Matthew Broderick) hacks into the North American Defense Command, mistaking one of its programs, Global Thermonuclear War, for a sophisticated computer game. The fate of the world is in his hands, along with his accomplice (twenty-one-year-old Ally Sheedy).”—J. Hoberman, Make My Day: Movie Culture in the Age of Reagan
CINEMA IN CONTEXT is a new periodic program at the Brattle Theatre that explores the ways in which films can be used to examine topics in the social sciences—and also serve as historical documents that play a large part in our understanding of culture, society, and history. Each screening will be preceded by a presentation from a scholar or expert, with the aim of deepening our understanding of the film and addressing how it reflects popular ideas or issues in their chosen field. Select screenings will also be followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Find tickets and learn more here.
In Case You Missed It: Naomi Klein
Thanks for Choosing Harvard Book Store
We appreciate the feedback we get from readers of this newsletter. Please send any comments to Alex at newsletter@harvard.com.
Thanks for reading,
Alex W. Meriwether
Harvard Book Store
  |
|
New on Our Shelves
| |
| |
| Fiction |
| |
 |
|
This Is Pleasure:
A Story
by Mary Gaitskill
$18.00
Pantheon, hardcover
|
|
| |
Gaitskill creates a nuanced tragicomedy about gender relations in a moment of cultural reckoning about abuse and assault: one that reveals her characters as whole persons—hurtful and hurting, infuriating and touching, and always deeply recognizable.
 |
| |
| |
| Nonfiction |
| |
 |
|
Little Weirds
by Jenny Slate
$27.00
Little, Brown, hardcover
|
|
| |
"Hello! I looked into my brain and found a book. Here it is. Inside you will find: The smell of honeysuckle; Depression; A French-kissing rabbit; A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide; and more. I hope you enjoy these little weirds. Love, Jenny Slate."
|
| |
| |
|
Scholarly
|
| |
 |
|
Reading Sedgwick
edited by Lauren Berlant
$27.95
Duke University Press, paperback
|
|
| |
As the essays in Reading Sedgwick demonstrate, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's work is not only an ongoing vital force in queer theory and affect theory; it can help us build a more positive world in the midst of the bleak contemporary moment.
|
| |
| |
|
New in Paperback
|
| |
 |
|
Bowlaway:
A Novel
by Elizabeth McCracken
$17.00
Ecco, paperback
|
|
| |
Even after her death in a freak accident, Bertha Truitt’s defining spirit and the implications of her mysterious past live on, infecting and affecting future generations through inheritance battles, murky paternities, and hidden wills.
|
| |
| |
|
Kids & Young Adult
|
| |
 |
|
Sofia Valdez,
Future Prez
by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts
$18.99
Abrams Books for Young Readers, hardcover
|
|
| |
|
Every morning, Abuelo walks Sofia to school—until one day, when Abuelo hurts his ankle at a local landfill and he can no longer do so. Sofia misses her Abuelo and wonders what she can do about the dangerous Mount Trashmore. Then she gets an idea . . .
|
| |
| |
|
Printed on Paige
|
| |
Each week we feature a book printed 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.
|
| |
 |
|
Down to Earth: Together on A Hill Farm
by Helen Steere Horn
$9.00
Print on Demand, paperback |
|
| |
From her life on the farm and her activism for peace and justice, Helen Horn writes poetry to savor. She observes and brings to life the natural world and often connects it to her own struggles or the suffering of the world.
|
|
|
| Remainders |
Remainders are bargain books, 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 Remainders section, visit our Remainders page.
| |
| |
|
Spooky Action at a Distance:
The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time—and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything
by George Musser
$6.99, paperback (originally $17.00)
|
Musser guides us on an epic journey into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers finding galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang.
|
| |
| |
|
Charles Darwin:
Victorian Mythmaker
by A.N. Wilson
$7.99, hardcover (originally $32.50)
|
In this deeply erudite portrait, Wilson argues that Darwin was not an original scientific thinker, but a ruthless and determined self-promoter who did not credit the many great sages whose ideas he advanced in his book.
|
| |
| |
|
The Hamilton Collection:
The Wisdom and Writings of the Founding Father
edited by Dan Tucker
$4.99, hardcover (originally $19.99)
|
Organized chronologically, this collection of Alexander Hamilton's personal letters, business correspondence, and excerpts from his most important published writings gives readers first-hand insight into this highly influential founding father.
|
|
|
| Recent Finds in the Used 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 here.
| |
| |
|
Republican Populist:
Spiro Agnew and the Origins of Donald Trump's America
by Charles J. Holden, Zach Messitte, and Jerald Podair
Originally published by University of Virginia Press in 2019
$15.00 (hardcover) in Very Good condition
|
| Republican Populist examines Agnew's attempts to make the Republican Party representative of the "silent majority," and his crafting of the anti-establishment rhetoric that's come to define the current era of American politics. |
| |
| |
The Occult Sciences in the Renaissance:
A Study in Intellectual Patterns
by Wayne Shumaker
Originally published by University of California Press in 1972
$10.00 (hardcover) in Good condition
|
| This study offers a summary and analysis of five esoteric "scientific" systems that were key to Renaissance thought and literature: astrology, "white" magic, witchcraft, alchemy, and the meditative philosophy of Hermes Trismegistus. |
| |
| |
|
The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid
by Oliver Byrne
Originally published by Taschen in 2013
$120.00 (hardcover) in Very Good condition
|
|
This remarkable example of Victorian printing has been described as one of the oddest and most beautiful books of the 19th century. Taschen's modern reproduction features two volumes, with an essay by Werner Oeschlin.
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
Mark your calendars! Our famous Warehouse Sale returns for two weekends in December: Dec 6–8 and Dec 13–15. We're counting down the days. |
| |
 |
|
Jack Goldsmith
Fri, Nov 8, 7PM
|
 |
| Jack Goldsmith—author and Henry L. Shattuck Professor of Law at Harvard University—discusses his latest book, In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Lindy West
Fri, Nov 8, 7PM
|
 |
| Lindy West—critically acclaimed New York Times columnist and author of Shrill—reads from her latest book, The Witches Are Coming. |
At First Parish Church
Tickets Required
|
|
|
|
André Aciman
Mon, Nov 11, 6PM
|
 |
| Acclaimed author André Aciman reads from his latest novel, Find Me—the sequel to his beloved worldwide bestseller, Call Me By Your Name. |
At the Brattle Theatre
Tickets required
|
|
|
|
Jana Prikryl
Tue, Nov 12, 7PM
|
 |
| Acclaimed poet and editor Jana Prikryl reads from her latest collection, No Matter: Poems. She will be joined in conversation by celebrated writer, New Yorker critic, and Harvard professor James Wood. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Lee Smolin
Wed, Nov 13, 6PM
|
 |
| Author and influential physicist Lee Smolin discusses his new book, Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum. |
At Harvard Science Center
Hall C
|
|
|
|
Samuel Shem
Wed, Nov 13, 7PM
|
 |
| Novelist and playwright Samuel Shem reads from his new novel, Man's 4th Best Hospital—the long-awaited sequel to his bestselling, highly acclaimed The House of God. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Terry Tempest Williams
Thu, Nov 14, 6PM
|
 |
| Renowned writer and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams discusses her latest book, Erosion: Essays of Undoing. |
At the Brattle Theatre
Tickets Required
|
|
|
|
Thomas Travisano
Thu, Nov 14, 7PM
|
 |
| Author, professor, and eminent Elizabeth Bishop scholar Thomas Travisano discusses his latest book, Love Unknown: The Life and Worlds of Elizabeth Bishop. He will be joined in conversation by celebrated poet Lloyd Schwartz. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Arthur Isak Applbaum
Fri, Nov 15, 3PM
|
 |
| Arthur Isak Applbaum—Adams Professor of Democratic Values at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government—discusses his new book, Legitimacy: The Right to Rule in a Wanton World. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Howard Eiland
Fri, Nov 15, 7PM
|
 |
| Critic, translator, and Walter Benjamin scholar Howard Eiland commemorates the 20th anniversary of Harvard University Press's publication of The Arcades Project. He will be joined in conversation by Lindsay Waters, the Benjamin editor at Harvard University Press. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg
Fri, Nov 15, 7PM
|
 |
| Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin—former congressional staffers and co-directors of the grassroots organizing movement Indivisible— discuss their new co-authored book, We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump. They will be joined in conversation by Marshall Ganz, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. |
At First Parish Church
Tickets required
|
|
|
|
Niki Segnit
Sat, Nov 16, 7PM
|
 |
| Food writer Niki Segnit—the award-winning author of The Flavor Thesaurus—discusses her latest book, Lateral Cooking: One Dish Leads to Another. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
Harvard Book Store is locally owned and independently run, and has been since 1932. Thank you for your continued support.
|
  |
|
|
|
The Next Harvard Square Book Circle
Mon, Nov 25, 7PM
|
 |
| At the next meeting of our in-store book club, we will discuss Ali Smith's award-winning novel, How to be both: a formally inventive examination of art and the many dualities of human experience. |
At Harvard Book Store
|
|
|
|
This Week's Audiobook Pick from Libro.fm
|
 |
| Sign up here to purchase audiobooks through Libro.fm, which supports Harvard Book Store! This week's pick is Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz, chronicling the author's girlhood in the housing projects of Puerto Rico and Miami Beach. |
|
|
|
|
Signed First Edition Club: November Selection
|
 |
| Night Boat to Tangier: A Novel by Kevin Barry is the November selection for our Signed First Edition Club. Each month, club members receive a signed first printing of a newly published book, selected for both its literary merit and potential collectibility. |
|
|
|
|
Signed New Voices in Fiction Club:
Fall Selection
|
 |
| The Secrets We Kept: A Novel by Lara Prescott is the fall selection for our Signed New Voices in Fiction Club. Every season, club members will receive a signed first printing of a noteworthy debut novel. |
|
|
|
