The Toadstool Bookshops of Keene, Milford, and Peterborough, NH

Join Among the Elms Writer's Group for a poetry reading and discussion with Matthew Guenette. Matthew is the author of Sudden Anthem, winner of the 2007 American Poetry Journal Book Prize from Dream Horse Press.

Denise Duhamel says, "Sudden Anthem is a raucous, boisterous song of praise. Matthew Guenette's outrageous poems romp across the page then make a beeline for your gut, your heart, and your intellect. Guenette is both a nimble purveyor of pop culture and a singer of the most intimate of songs. Sudden Anthem is a deliriously witty collection."

Normal
0

The
bookstore is open until 9 pm and there’s a concert next door with “Moving Pictures” (that’s Ben Rogers,
Randy Patrick, and Jentri Jollimore with drums, guitar, and keyboard) also “Maryse” and “Miss Olivia Kennett” beginning at 6:30 pm and for all ages. $5.00

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

On Saturday, August 7 at 2:00, K Spirito will sign and talk about her new thriller, Summer and August, which is part of her La Rosa Chronicles.

Peek behind the idyllic setting of summer on Cape Cod to a place filled with secrets, deception, and a dead body or two! Several Chatham, Massachusetts locations are featured in this great summer read. Unexpected twists and turns abound!

For lots more information about Summer and August and other books by K Spirito, visit her Web site: kspirito.com

Normal
0

CHANA BLOCH reading
from her poetry and discussing her poetic contribution to Monadnock
Music’s  summer project “Music For The
Mountain” , poems celebrating Mt Monadnock,
set to music by visiting composers and to be premiered at Monadnock Music’s
free concerts this summer.

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

The local author stops in to autograph and talk about her new book for early readers.

In the tiny hamlet of Deering, NH, someone is stealing fresh baked pies! Who the thief is and their reason for crime will leave you with a bigger picture of life in a small town.

Please bring your eager elementary school reader and grab a copy of "The Apple Pie Thief". (ppk, $8.95)

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

Cape Cod author William Powers has written a book, Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, in which he argues that we need a new way of thinking, an everyday philosophy for life with screeens. Part intellectual journey, part memoir, Hamlet's BlackBerry sets out to solve what Powers calls the conundrum of connectedness. Lively, original, and entertaining, Powers' new book will challenge you to rethink your digital life.

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

Normal
0

“MOVING PICTURES” in concert part two with appearances by “MMOSS” and “REDWING
BLACKBIRD”  -all ages. $5.00

That's right. When we're not reading and helping you find the the best books, we are creating magnificent works of art! Now for the first time, we've banded together for a show and invite you to visit the store and view our work - even the Peep Show!

Normal
0

JAMES GODDARD signing and discussing FREEDOM
FOR A DAY in which he takes the concepts offered in the bestselling
book The Secret, applies them to his own life, and encourages the reader
to imagine “what if you believed for just one day that everything would work
out perfectly?”

Hallman set out to document the history of utopian thought and literature and to visit a handful of modern utopian projects. He lived three weeks at the world's oldest "intentional community." He sailed on the first ship on which it's possible to own real estate. He trained at the world's largest civilian combat school. He toured a $30 billion megacity built from scratch on an artificial island off the coast of Korea. Now he has come to The Toadstool in Keene to tell you about his experiences and to autograph his new book on the subject, In Utopia. We look forward to seeing you!

Normal
0

Joyce Maynard will sign and talk about her book, Labor Day: A Novel. In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy,  Maynard tells a story of love, sexual passion, painful adolescence, and devastating betrayal as seen through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy – and the man he later becomes – looking back on the events of a single long, hot, and life-altering weekend.

Joyce Maynard, acclaimed author of At Home in the World and To Die For (among others), started her writing career when she was fourteen. She is the mother of three grown children and lives in northern California.

Kids over the age of 10 are invited to sign up and take part in our very dangerous and potentially educational (for summer!) time conducting questionable experiments based on "The Book of Catastrophic Science" by Sean Connolly.

Parachute an egg from an upstairs window! Distill DNA from a half-eaten banana! Spark lightning in your mouth! This book contains detailed information about the most DANGEROUS scientific discoveries of all time. Try 'em at home.

There will be prizes, refreshments and bandaids for all! Safety goggles and kevlar optional. Don't forget to sign up to save your place in the lab. 

Sean is also the author of "The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science" and assures you that every experiment demonstrates real science at its most memorable.

Normal
0

long time nuclear industry reporter STEPHANIE COOKE autographing and discussing IN MORTAL HANDS: A CAUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE NUCLEAR AGE in
which she reminds us again, as nuclear power is seeing a “renaissance”, that
hubris and wishful thinking are inappropriate in those trying to manage the
“unmanageable”.

The way she sees it, volunteer fire chief Gwen Fifield's life is about as good as can be. Sure she's gained twenty pounds and her property taxes increased just in time for Christmas, but the basement hasn't flooded for the first time in years and the General Store has started delivering pizza.

Good that is, until an arsonist burns the local museum flat and a charred body is found in the ruins.

Come meet Jessie, purchase a signed copy for your reading pleasure and find out what happens to Gwen and the small town of Winslow Falls, NH. If you're a fan of Janet Evanovich, try "Live Free or Die".

Editors Tom and Judith visit to sign and discuss their new book, "Visions of Tomorrow: Science Fiction Predictions That Came True".

In this stunning anthology of never before collected stories, our worlds' greatest science fiction writers demonstrate the truth can be just as strange as fiction.

(Skyhorse Pub, $12.95 ppk)

Join us for Local Authors Night as we feature three of the area's best writers sharing their latest books. Mystery writers Jessie Crockett (Live Free or Die) and Walt Schnabel (Blood Club) join fantasy writer Kristina Schram (Chronicles of Anaedor) to read from and discuss their novels and take questions from the audience. Come support local authors and find out about great new books written in our region!

Please join us for a special reading and signing with local writer Evelyn Blanchard for "Peace and other poems". As she says in the preface:

"Most of the poems presented here reveal what was in my heart at the time of its conception. It is to be noted that I am a lover of the divine and the beauty of nature; that I have deep feeling for the joys and sorrows, loves and fantasies of people of all ages, and that I can still see the amusing side of life. Children will find poems here written especially for them." 

Normal
0

former NHPR host JOHN
WALTERS signing and discussing ROADS
LESS TRAVELED: VISIONARY NEW ENGLAND LIVES extended  profiles of two dozen accomplished
people  he interviewed for his “Front
Porch” program on NHPR.

John Walters, of New Hampshire Public Radio's The Front Porch, has published Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives. In the course of his work as a writer and radio personality, Walters has interviewed some of the most extraordinary people in New Hampshire and Vermont. For Roads Less Traveled he has written extended profiles of some of his very favorite people. Walters writes of brilliance, talent, dedication, and persistence; of devotion to an art, craft, a cause; or simply of a life lived long and well. He writes of people who have, quite literally, taken a road less traveled. They have pursued their own visions. Their stories testify to the breadth of human intelligence and creativity, and the indomitability of the human spirit.

John Walters is a writer, editor and radio journalist. He was the creator and host of The Front Porch, an award-winning interview show on NHPR. He is a former resident of Elkins, N.H., and now lives in East Montpelier, VT. He is the managing editor of The Bridge, a weekly newspaper, and is the 2009 winner of the Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award presented by the New Hampshire Writers' Project.

Normal
0

CYNTHIA AMIDON- autographing and discussing REMEMBERING
HANCOCK: TALES FROM A QUAINT NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN an illustrated
collection of historical incidents from Hancock’s storied past. 

Normal
0

EDIE CLARK signing and discussing STATES
OF GRACE: ENCOUNTERS WITH REAL YANKEES . The “Yankee Magazine” writer’s
newest book is a collection of profiles of over 30 extraordinary New Englanders
“with one deep abiding passion at the center of their lives”, “each of them
living in a state of grace”.

Look - a squirrel! But not just any squirrel. Join us and NH author Jacqueline Heistman as she talks about the inspiration for her new picture book, "The Adventures of Tommy the Tailless Squirrel".

This little fellow is different and shunned by all the other animals. When Tommy acts selflessly and performs a brave deed, the others realize that being different doesn't mean you can't be a good friend!

Get yourself a personalized copy and share a very important lesson with your child. 

Whether building new, adding onto, or remodeling your existing building, come learn about the many different options in environmentally friendly building products and construction techniques. Many manufacturers these days are claiming that their products are green ... but how green are they?

Christina O'Brien, AIA, and Doug Stewart, AIA, LEED AP, will start out their discussion by clarifying the difference between "green" and "sustainable" products (and, yes, there is a difference). They'll also focus on the importance of a well-designed building envelope (foundation, insulation, windows, roofing).

The book Green $ense for the Home by Eric Corey Freed and Kevin Daum will be highlighted during the discussion.

Normal
0

MARY CATHERINE BATESON – autographing & discussing COMPOSING A FURTHER LIFE: THE AGE OF ACTIVE WISDOM a follow
up to her 1991 best seller Composing A Life. The new book is an
exuberant exploration of a new stage in the life cycle, “Adulthood 2”, created
by unprecedented levels of health, energy, time, and resources.

Rich and Sandra Wallace, husband and wife, will sign and talk about their books for young readers, Little Joe, Kickers 01: Ball Hogs, Sports Camp, and Winning Season: Second-String Center.

NH author Toby Ball visits to sign and discuss his new novel of an alternate 1930s dystopian America in, "The Vaults".

At the height of the most corrupt administration in the City's history, a mysterious file is discovered deep within the Vaults - a cavernous hall containing all the criminal justice records from the last seventy years.

Three men will separately undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City and its climate of corruption and conspiracy. 

Please meet the author and discover what all the advance praise is about. You can also visit www.tobyball.com for more info. (STM, $24.99)

The Classics Crowd meets every other month on the THIRD Thursday to discuss titles voted on by concensus. New readers of timeless literature are encouraged to join. Snacking is welcome!

Month and selection (so far)...

September 23 is the FOURTH Thursday: "Frenchman's Creek" by Daphne du Maurier.

November 18: "Of Human Bondage" by W. Somerset Maugham. 

We are proud to have author David Rubel here to talk about his new book for children and adults, "If I Had a Hammer: Stories of Building Houses and Hope with Habitat for Humanity".

Learn about: Personal accounts from volunteers and homeowners; The physical challenges due to climate, materials, etc at sites around the world; Habitat's "hand up, not a hand out" message to people in need.

Please bring your family and share in this rewarding experience. (Candlewick, $10.99 ppk)

Normal
0

HOWARD MANSFIELD signing and discussing TURN
AND JUMP: HOW TIME AND PLACE FELL APART . In the days before “Standard
Time” towns kept their own time pegged to the sun. With the rise of the
railroads time needed to be synchronized to make scheduling possible and the
hour no longer reflected the exact position of the sun overhead. In a series of
essays Howard examines what time has meant to us in New England, from the days
of continuous vaudeville, to Swanzey’s famous “Old Homestead” play that
depicted chores “measured by the task, not by the hour”, to the long years of
Derby’s department store in Peterborough.

The Red River is a group of eight men and women from the West Coast. They will perform music from their CD, Little Songs About the Big Picture. With both acoustic and electronic instruments, and vocals with harmonies, their sound has been described as warm, light, and intimate.

The Riverfront Times of St. Louis says: "Why this band isn't huge yet is beyond me. The Portland-via-Long Beach, California band's album, Little Songs About the Big Picture, is full of small joys: rhythms pitter-pattering like a heartbeat, stately chamber-music arrangements, drive-by synthpop flashes, sincere harmonies. This is a fall album, suitable for playing while you huddle under a blanket for warmth. Fans of Lost in the Trees, Azure Ray and Luna will find much to like."

On Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 at
7:00 p.m., Among the Elms Writers' Group and The Toadstool Bookshop in Keene welcome Rodger Martin. He will sign and talk about his Battlefield Guide: Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg, a book of narrative poems illustrated by Chad Gowey. These poems are a time-travelers guide to the battlefields that shaped the American conscience. They explore obscure but fascinating links to the world of today and test our assumptions about the Civil War. Included with the book is an audio CD with live recordings of “Gettysburg”, “Blue-Eyed Boy”, and “Antietam” read by the author and accompanied by Tim Mowry on mandolin, Ellen Carlson on violin, and Val Blachly on bass.

Rodger Martin, founder of Monadnock Pastoral School of Poetry, is a poet and editor who dedicates his work to bringing the power of the word to audiences of all persuasions. He conducts workshops in which he provides a multi-sensory approach to writing so that it is not just a reaction to the eye but also to the ear and sense of touch. He lives in New Hampshire.

Whether you're an aspiring writers or a practiced one, one of the persistent challenges of beginning any new piece is locating its entry point.

San Fransisco writer Maya Stein visits as part of her traveling poetry project, "Tour de Word"  to facilitate a NO-COST writing workshop using a series of most un-rigorous activities.

The workshop is approximately two and one half hours long and is open to writers of all genres, and non-writers as well. Maya asks participants to bring: a stack of Post-it notes, an item of clothing you never - or always - wear (to bring, not wear!), a fruit, vegetable or other food you identify with or feel in complete opposition to, an item from your purse, wallet or bureau, a title of a poem, short story, or novel you like.

Please call and reserve a place at the workshop for you! For more information visit Maya's site: www.tourdeword.com 

Timothy (and family) will be driving by and stopping in briefly to meet you and sign his illustrated children's books, including the brand-newest, "Snook Alone".

Abba Jacob is a monk who lives on a faraway island with his loyal rat terrier, Snook. The two are inseparable until one day a ferocious storm blows in, and Snook must learn to fend for himself in the wild alone. Will he ever hear the loving voice he waits for?

Simply told by poet Marilyn Nelson and beautifully illustrated by Timothy, this moving tale of friendship conveys the power of faith against all odds.

Mr. Ering is the illustrator of the award-winning "The Tale of Desperaux" and "Finn Throws a Fit!". His books include "The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone" and "Necks Out for Adventure!"

Due to the nature of Tim's appearance, we'd be glad to set aside a book to be signed if you can't join us. But we hope you do because we love SNOOK!

Mary Catherine Bateson sees aging today as an "improvisational art form calling for imagination and willingness to learn," and in Composing a Further Life, she relates the experiences of men and women - herself included - who, entering this second adulthood, have found new meaning and new ways to contribute, composing their lives in new keys.

Bateson's book presents each of us - at any age - an exhilarating challenge to think about and approach our later lives with the full force of imagination, curiosity, and enthusiasm.

A new group! Please join us and our host, April Coughlin for rousing discussions on foreign policy.

You'll be engaged in a variety of issues revolving around international relations - subjects to be determined by the group.

They will meet every 3 weeks on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

If you're in a book group, thinking of joining one, or starting your own, we welcome you to join us for an evening of networking with fellow readers while sampling delicious treats provided by the Black Forest Cafe of Amherst.

Also with us this evening will be author Katherine Howe to speak about her NYT best-selling novel "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" (hint-hint book great read, a staff pick!).

Plans are still in development - stay tuned. Bring your love of reading and be prepared to share the great books you and your group have discovered as well as what you've learned from your meetings.

a fun filled day of activities throughout the town. Come join in the fun!  And find out what makes Peterborough so special.

Mark your calendars, Archer Mayor is returning to The Toadstool on Oct. 16!

In Mayor's new book, Red Herring, VBI head Joe Gunther and his team are called in to investigate a series of violent deaths that appear unrelated until telltale clues reveal a link among them.

Archer Mayor is the 2004 winner of the New England Booksellers Association award for best fiction - the first time a writer of crime literature has been so honored. He is the author of the highly acclaimed, Vermont-based series featuring detective Joe Gunther, which the Chicago Tribune describes as "the best police procedurals being written in America." In addition, Mayor is a death investigator for Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner, and a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff's Department.

Please join us in welcoming Rob and Ginger to our store to sign and talk about their new picture book for younger children, "Daniel and the Harmonica".

Daniel's birthday is almost over when his grandfather hands him a surprise gift - a shimmering harmonica! Rekindle your love of music and join Daniel in this festively illustrated concert of a lifetime.

Rob is a middle school science teacher living in NH and also likes to play harmonia. Ginger lives in the mountains of southern NH and is a full time picture book artist with a magic wand on her desk and a dragon in the basement! 

Stemmer House, $16.95 hc)

College tuition is increasing faster than gasoline or health care, but the quality of education is declining. The Five-Year Party, based on five years of research and Craig's 12 years of experience at a party school in New England, is written for parents who have no idea how little they are getting for their money.

Craig Brandon, author of Murder in the Adirondacks, Monadnock: More than a Mountain and co-editor of The Prison Diary of Chester Gillette, will present a multi-media slide show, after which he will welcome questions from the audience. Craig lives with his wife in Surry, New Hampshire.

Among the Elms Writers’ Group and The Toadstool Bookshop welcome Toby Ball, who will talk about and sign his thriller, The Vaults. The story is set in a dystopian 1930s America, where a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city's darkest secret. All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City, calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy.

Toby Hall works at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. He lives in Durham, NH, with his wife and two children.

Writer, editor, and former host of NHPR's interview show "The Front Porch", John Walters will be here to sign his book and share the true stories of the extraordinary people he's encountered in his travels around NH and VT in "Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives".

These people have pursued their own visions. Their stories are of brilliance, talent, dedication, and persistence. Pick up a copy and learn about your neighbors of this great area we call home.

(Plaidswede, $19.95)

JEAN MASON AUTOGRAPHING AND DISCUSSING THE VIEW FROM #410: WHEN HOME IS COHOUSING  -- NOTE THIS TALK WILL TAKE PLACE AT NUBANUSIT NEIGHBORHOOD & FARM
STEELE RD, PETERBOROUGH
(1.1 miles west of downtown off Union St)
This is the real story of cohousing through a first person account from the earliest planning stages through the building, move in, and settling in. This book will help you understand what is so positive about families and people of all ages living in an interdependent community. Jean provides a detailed look at Cambridge Cohousing, an intergenerational community of 41 households. Follow along as the author moves through the engaging, exhausting and sometimes frustrating and more often thrilling process of their complex journey. Learn about the intricate dynamics and daily experiences of creating and living in the shared living concept that is Cohousing. This unique event will be held at Nubanusit Neighborhood’s Common House – the heart of Nubi’s 29-home green community.
www.peterboroughcohousing.org

K Spirito has always been a history buff. She loves to browse through microfilm of old newspapers, especially at the Boston Public Library. Noting human interest articles, she later weaves them into fiction that explores the human condition. The fruits of her labor are her La Rosa Chronicles, mysteries set in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Come by to meet K and to discover this exciting series!

On Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Paul Wainwright will sign and talk about his beautiful coffee table book, A Space for Faith: The Colonial Meetinghouses of New England. The photographs capture the essence of Colonial New England and its early Puritan settlers by painting a composite portrait of the New England meetinghouse. The photos are complemented by Peter Benes’ essay which tells the history and stories of these important yet little known icons of American history.

Paul Wainwright is a photo- grapher who works in a traditional manner utilizing sheet film, a large-format camera, and silver gelatin printing. His work has appeared in numerous juried competitions and solo exhibitions, and is included in the permanent collections of both private and corporate collectors, including Fidelity Investments and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He is based in Atkinson, New Hampshire.

The Red River is a group of eight men and women from the West
Coast, who will perform music from their CD, Little Songs About the Big
Picture. With both acoustic and electronic instruments, and vocals with
harmonies, their sound has been described as warm, light, and intimate.
Good fun!

The Riverfront Times says: "Why this band isn't huge yete is beyond me. The Portland-via-Long Beach, California band's album, Little Songs About the Big Picture, is full of small joys: rhythms pitter-pattering like a heartbeat, stately chamber music arrangements, drive-by synthpop flashes, sincere harmonies. This is a fall album, suitable for playing while you huddle under a blanket for warmth. Fans of Lost in the Trees, Azure Ray and Luna will find much to like."

We hope you'll join us.

On Saturday, Oct. 30 at 2:00 p.m., Vincent Panella will talk about and sign his new book, Lost Hearts. The twenty-three stories in Lost Hearts comprise a rich and candid account of growing up and growing old in Sicily and America. The stories may be read separately, but they are also linked. "Original Sin," the opening story set in rural Sicily in 1900, pushes a father-son conflict to its tragic conclusion. The protagonist, Peter Marino, emigrates to America, where his descendants - and especially his grandson, Charlie - experience the conflicts, hopes, and needs that add up to the human condition.

Vincent Panella studied English at Pennsylvania State University, and later, fiction writing at the Iowa Workshop. His first book, a memoir, was The Other Side: Growing Up Italian in America, published in 1979. His second book was the novel, Cutter's Island, which won a ForeWord fiction award. He lives in Marlboro, VT.

We missed him last year, but Archer returns to sign and discuss his beloved and respected series of police procedurals featuring VBI head Joe Gunther with, "Red Herring".

A series of violent deaths appear unrelated until the Vermont Bureau of Investigation discover telltale clues that reveal they were all, in fact, murders.

Don't miss this visit with the staff favorite and best-selling author. Don't forget: a signed copy makes a great gift for that reader on your upcoming holiday list.

Arrrgh! Nothing like a zombie to liven up your Halloween. Contributing authors to the first volume of New Hampshire Pulp Fiction will be here to gnaw on and sign their anthology "LIVE FREE OR UNDEAD And 19 More Dark Tales from the Granite State".

With it's small towns and pastoral vistas, New Hampshire can seem like heaven on earth. But in these 20 stories you'll see the dead can find no peace and all hell soon breaks loose.

Visiting writers include: Lorrie Lee O'Neill, David Elliott, David O'Keefe & Gregory L. Norris. Steel yourself for the most terrifying night of literature we can summon from beyond the grave. (Plaidswede Bks, $19.95)

Among the Elms Writers’ Group and The Toadstool Bookshop welcome Toby Ball, who will talk about and sign his thriller, The Vaults. The story is set in a dystopian 1930s America, where a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city's darkest secret. All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City, calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy.

Toby Ball works at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. He lives in Durham, NH, with his wife and two children.

Ray Mason is often called the Godfather of the New England music scene.  A godfather is usually that cool uncle or friend of your parents who tells good stories and gives you advice on things that matter. As the Godfather of the music scene, Ray tells stories in his songs and has given more sage advice to young musicians than anyone can possibly imagine.

Throughout the years, Ray has opened shows for NRBQ, The Band, Marshall Crenshaw, Bill Morrissey, Graham Parker, They Might Be Giants, Nils Lofgren, Warren Zevon, Joan Osbourne, Freed Johnston, Joan Jett, and more.

Please join us in celebrating the beauty of words with a reading by poet CHARLES PRATT ("From The Box Marked Some Are Missing: Poems). 'Box' includes poems from his previous three books along with a fair number that have never appeared in a book before. The whole of Pratt's distinguished career is represented.

Also with us this evening is BECKY DENNISON SAKELLARIOU, reading from her new book, "Earth Listening", a collection of poems reflecting the tapestry of two very different worlds she calls home, Greece and New England. The book comes with a cd of the author reading select poems.

Normal
0

Josh Brooks of Vermont has been hailed by Northeast Performer as “Vermont’s Johnny Cash”. Seemingly without effort, he traverses the American roots spectrum, from touching folk ballad to foot-stomping honky-tonk, country blues and roots rock. Fans of John Prine, Guy Clark and Steve Earle will want to catch the local songwriter widely considered “one of the handful of Vermont artists with the sound, the original songs, and the voice to make the leap from local to national” (Vermont Public Radio).

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

The Earth is full of extraordinary animals - from the lion standing in the grass, to the panda in the bamboo, or a polar bear disappearing in the snow.  David's lyrical verse, accompanied by stunning block print illustrations by award-winning illustrator/author Holly Meade reveal a world of beauty and wonder. This gorgeous picture book will bring hours of lyrical reading as well as introducing youngsters to some of the favorite wild anilmals we share this planet with.

David is the acclaimed author of several books for young readers, including ON THE FARM (also illustrated by Holly Meade), FINN THROWS A FIT!, and the NYT best-selling AND HERE'S TO YOU!

Holly Meade has written and illustrated many picture books for children, including the Caldecott award-winning HUSH: A Thai Lullaby, and its follow-up PEEK! A Thai Hide-and-Seek.

Harry Lee Smith was a thoughtful and spiritual man. It was never his intention to abandon his wife of 40+ years, Angelika. So when he passed on November 5, 2006, he began an amazing series of communications through his daughter Jane. With the aid of spiritual helpers, Harry illuminates the afterlife and offers lessons for living this life and letting go.

Please meet the author of this amazing true life story and discover for yourself the greatest gifts of all in "We Are Here: Love Never Dies".        (Burnham Pr, $15)

It’s time for our annual 20% off anniversary sale!

Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed 27 happy and successful years in Keene. 38 in Peterborough, and 21 in Milford Starting Monday, Nov. 8 and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 14, you can help us celebrate a combined 86 years  of bookselling in the Monadnock Region– and save 20% off everything storewide at The Toadstool Bookshop.

All week you’ll save 20% on anything in The Toadstool’s vast selection of books, CDs, calendars, magazines and cards.

Start your Christmas shopping now, avoid the crowds, and save 20% on every purchase. This sale is at all three Toadstools: Keene, Peterborough, and Milford.

Special orders, gift certificates and already discounted Select Bestsellers are excluded.

New Hampshire's favorite weatherman returns to our store to sign and talk about "EXTREME NEW ENGLAND WEATHER" (Sciart Media, 29.95)

Josh explains the hows and whys about the worst storms of the last 100+ years. Joining forces are 15 of New Englands's well known meteorologists contributing their stories about savage weather in their region. Chock-full of illustrations and breathtaking photographs, you'll be front row center for the worst Mother Nature can dish out. 

Visit Josh's website: www.joshjudge.com to learn more! See you Sunday...

For Local Authors Night, we feature some of the area’s best writers sharing their latest books. Scheduled to appear are Jane Smith Bernhardt, Vincent Panella, and Paul D. Bagley, who will read from and talk about their books and take questions from the audience. Come support local authors and find out about great new books written in our region.

Jane Smith Bernhardt's book is We Are Here: Love Never Dies. It holds an impossible story in which the dead speak and herald miracles of forgiveness and transformation.

Paul D. Bagley's book is Crosses in the Sky: A True Story of Preparedness, Discipline and Training, and of a Fortuitous Aircrew During World War II.

Vincent Panella's twenty-three stories in Lost Hearts comprise a rich and candid account of growing up and growing old in Sicily and America.

Dr. Shanahan trained at Cornell University's Molecular Biology program where she learned how nutrients direct physiologic growth. She found that older patients raised on traditional foods tended to be the healthiest in their family, with attractive features, strong joints and sturdy bones.

In "Deep Nutrition", written with enologist Luke Shanahan, the authors explain why your family's health depends on eating traditional foods. With a fuller, clearer picture, we can control our destiny in ways we might never have imagined.

(Big Box Bks, $19.99) 

Please join us in welcoming local Science Fiction author Donna McCoy to our store. She has penned three books:

Simmion - when a man leaves the planet, he's bound to find trouble. And Simmion just hitched a ride with the wrong 'people'.

Willthor - Capt. Bahal is sent into deep space to locate the missing ship Tachyon. The mission is complicated by her 1st Lt. Willthor, who seems to know a lot about the enemy in possession of the vessel.

Cyrus Banks - After a near-fatal accident, Banks discovers he has a new talent, which lands him in the Interplanetary Defense Force. Join him in his search for an alien species - long thought to be extinct.

Donna is a certified Dental Technician and a Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church. Her hobbies take her far a wide, where "you learn to build tolerance for other cultures." (Wedgewood, $14.99 each)

In Lynn Levine's new children's book, Snow Secrets, Sarah and Jasmine, both sixth graders, learn to track from Tess, an old woman tracker.

Hey, kids! At this book signing, Lynn takes the role of Tess and teaches you tracking skills! Tracking is like being a detective, and one of the tricks to tracking is being able to identify the clues that animals leave behind. One of those clues is an animal's scat.

Lynn is also the author of the book Mammal Tracks and Scat: Life-Sized Tracking Guide, which she wrote for adults. 

More than a simple biography of nine men who served aboard a B-17 in the AAF during the war, Crosses in the Sky is a true story of preparedness, discipline and training, and of a fortuitous aircrew serving during World War II.

Mr. Bagley is a retired emergency telecommunicator and police officer. He has spent 10 years researching and writing Witcomb's story.

Honor our heroes and pick up a signed copy just in time for the holidays. (Eloquent Bks, $35)

Herbalist / acupuncturist Timothy Lee Scott will sign and talk about Invasive Plant Medicine, the first book to demonstrate how plants originally considered harmful to the environment actually restore Earth's ecosystems and possess powerful healing properties.

Timothy Lee Scott has a master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and undergraduate studies in in psychology and general health sciences. Since 2002, he and his wife Colleen have run Watercourse Way, a community-based health care clinic in Brattleboro, Vermont, providing acupuncture, herbal consultations, massage, and an extensive herbal apothecary.

Award winning singer-songwriter Steve Blunt, along with local illustrator extraordinaire Marty Kelley drop in to sing and sign their new activity book for youngsters, Sing-Along Coloring Fun!

This is a great book for car trips, rainy days, or stuck inside because of 10 feet of snow. You can color the pictures in your favorite medium - pencils, crayons paint? - and best of all - totally rock out to the 15 original song cd included! (paperback, $15)

So come in and get a preview of what a 'boring' day stuck inside can look and sound like. Check the guys out at steveblunt.com or martykelley.com .

Normal
0

Rebecca Upjohn, author of the picture book Lily and the Paper Man, will be by to sign her latest book, The Last Loon, written for kids ages 8-11, especially. In this book, Evan spends the Christmas holidays in the wilderness with his aunt Mag and hears a lot of talk about a loon that is hanging around on the lake. Evan doesn’t really care - until he discovers that the loon will die without help. Rescuing the wild bird, however, turns out to be a bigger job than he expected.

Smart Choices Kids presents a revolution in children's educational entertainment: Arthur and the Curse of the Rain Sorceress. (DVD, $19.95)

Made right here in New England by local actors and writers, this unique INTERACTIVE DVD teaches kids about making smart choices. At decision points throughout the story, kids get to choose where they want the main characters to go and what to do. If they make smart choices, like helping a person in need, they'll be rewarded with happy endings and more exciting story lines.

Combining classic and original fairytale characters, Arthur is new and fun every time your child plays. It's enjoyed by kids of all ages, and is especially intended for kids 6-10.

Normal
0

Vintage Gold Muse will be by on Saturday, November 27, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. to sing her marvelously heartfelt songs. Her music has a mature, modern sound. It’s an acoustic-folk mix with hints of jazz, Middle East blends, further East mantras – a tapestry of ancient wisdom, dreams and visions woven through story and song in Hebrew and English.

Vintage Gold Muse has played at the Jam Factory in Manchester, N.H.; participated in Central Massachusetts’s program in support of arts and culture, stART on the Street; and is spreading beautiful music all across the globe.

We had a great conversation last month. Thank you to all who attended!

At this month's Green Building Discussion Group, hosted by Christina O’Brien, AIA and Doug Stewart, AIA, LEED AP, we'll be talking about windows and doors - what you like, what you don't like, and how you can help keep your heat from escaping out of them this winter. During this discussion, Christina and Doug will highlight the book Practical Green Remodeling by Barry Katz.

Christina O’Brien, AIA and Doug Stewart, AIA, LEED AP are the two principals who run and operate SISR Architecture, LLC out of Marlow, NH. Although SISR was started in 2007, Christina and Doug have 40 years of combined experience designing additions, renovations and new construction for commercial andresidential projects, large and small.

Nashua author J.W. Ocker drove all over New England to bring you the first-hand experiences of the sites, attractions and artifacts that went into the creation of THE NEW ENGLAND GRIMPENDIUM: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites.

From a visit to the private collection of a demonologist to a midnight jaunt in an insane asylum cemetery to an overnight stay at a murder scene, Ocker leaves no gravestone unturned in his quest to chronicle the dark heart of New England.

If you love a good scare, please join us for an engaging evening of blood-chilling true tales!

Joseph Marcello visits The Toadstool in Keene each year to fill the Bookshop with beautiful holiday music. Join us on Saturday, Dec. 4 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., when Marcello soothes frayed nerves with his elegant versions of favorite holiday classics played on acoustic guitar.

Joseph Marcello has taught guitar for 45 years. In addition to writing chamber, choral and orchestral works, Marcello has written both libretti and scores for three operas and some dozen stage musicals. He has received the Delius Award for composers.

Michael, a teacher and writer living in NH, will be here to sign and talk about THE PRESENT BACKGROUND, his dark tale about a man with a good life.

Hayden Foley has it all. As a senior editor at Lockwell Publishing, he has cemented has position and glows in the accolades of his colleagues. Yet he's burnt out by the daily routine. And when he loses the love of his life, he spirals down into depression and dangerous self-reflection that brings him to the brink of madness. Will he manage to escape the dark tunnel of his soul or disappear completely?

You can learn more about the author at michaelmartinelli.com (Sleepyhouse Pub., $12.95)

LIVE YOUR PASSION is a step-by-step guide to personal and professional happiness and your road map to a more passionate life!

Scott is a living example of how anyone can turn tragedy into something positive. Misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and experiencing near death due to complications from surgery, the Amherst author developed a steadfast belief that each of us creates their own happiness.

Please join us for an uplifting evening in these troubling times. Meet the author and discover your authentic self. (CreateSpace, $14.99)

Ray Mason is often called the Godfather of the New England music scene.  A godfather is usually that cool uncle or friend of your parents who tells good stories and gives you advice on things that matter. As the Godfather of the music scene, Ray tells stories in his songs and has given more sage advice to young musicians than anyone can possibly imagine.

Throughout the years, Ray has opened shows for NRBQ, The Band, Marshall Crenshaw, Bill Morrissey, Graham Parker, They Might Be Giants, Nils Lofgren, Warren Zevon, Joan Osbourne, Freed Johnston, Joan Jett, and more.

Robingale will be on hand to describe and demonstrate her INTENTIONAL JOURNEY CARDS & COMPANION booklet. Reflect and choose a crystal card and by using the booklet you can use the power of your own intuition to transform your life. Learn to develop the tools within you to nurture and empower a better way of life for yourself and those around you.

The cards and booklet come tastefully displayed in a gift bag with ribbon. Perfect for slipping into someone's stocking!

(EmpoweredMindscape.com, $12.95)

Tom and Ellen will be here to sign their book THE T206 COLLECTION: The Players and Their Stories. This is a gorgeous coffee table reference for your baseball enthusiast. Learn how events and the men who who played 100 years ago shaped our national pastime into the game it is today: 

*This player/manager gave George Herman Ruth the nickname "Babe".

*Coaching boxes were introduced because of the antics of this third-base coach from New Hampshire.

*This player was the inspiration for Bump Bailey, the player who died crashing through the fence in the film "The Natural".

This volume celebrates the 100th anniversary of the cards, which were printed between 1909 and 1911, featuring full size, color images of the players. A must have for any card collector, baseball fan, or history buff!

(Peter Randall, $38)

Joseph Marcello visits The Toadstool in Keene each year to fill the Bookshop with beautiful holiday music. Join us on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., when Marcello soothes frayed nerves with his elegant versions of favorite holiday classics played on acoustic guitar.

Joseph Marcello has taught guitar for 45 years. In addition to writing chamber, choral and orchestral works, Marcello has written both libretti and scores for three operas and some dozen stage musicals. He has received the Delius Award for composers.

Greenfield, NH author Michael Sparling will be here with his children's picture book JOE AND THE FROG. The story is told in rhyming verse about a man and a frog who believe they have nothing in common. But if we each make an effort to get along we just might find we are more alike than we think and can become friends.

A lovely moral fable for your little reader.

Robert B. Parker called her "...a compelling new voice in crime fiction."

Was she attacked, abducted, or worse? Reporter Liz Higgins vows to find her friend Ellen and deliver a hard-news story to her bosses at the Boston tabloid "Beantown Banner".

Rosemary served for 10 years as the Boston Herald's book review editor. She is the Edgar Award nominated editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Crime & Mystery Writing, and co-editor with the late Tony Hillerman of A New Omnibus of Crime. She makes her home north of Boston. 

On a summer night more than 20 years ago, Maureen was awakened by spiritual guides who directed her to take dictation. These guides, dubbed 'The Committee', assert that life's learning is a process of releasing fear so that we may remember who we are - beings of Spirit - held in a web of eternal safety.

THE PATH OF REMEMBERING: Who We Are and Why We're Here is the result of Maureen's years of transcribing the teachings of The Committee. From them come the tools to claim our power, and the courage to live and love with an open heart.

Please join us for an enlightening evening! (Mount Hope Press, $16.95, pap)

The local writer and TV personality ("The Voice of New Hampshire") visits to share stories and sign copies of his new collection, AS SEEN ON TV: More Stories From New Hampshire Chronicle.

His stories arouse in us a new respect for our forefathers in a young country riding the waves of change. This book offers us history with a view to the human heart, just as it happened in our towns and countryside.

A signed copy for your favorite Granite stater will sure look good under the tree come Christmas morning! (Plaidswede, $19.95)

Joseph Marcello visits The Toadstool in Keene each year to fill the Bookshop with beautiful holiday music. Join us on Saturday, Dec. 18 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., when Marcello soothes frayed nerves with his elegant versions of favorite holiday classics played on acoustic guitar. 

Joseph Marcello has taught guitar for 45 years. In addition to writing chamber, choral and orchestral works, Marcello has written both libretti and scores for three operas and some dozen stage musicals. He has received the Delius Award for composers.

Local author Bill Flynn joins us to talk about and sign his new novel A DRUMBEAT TOO NEAR: Cape Cod WWII. The Coast Guard recruits three teenagers to help patrol the Cape shoreline and watch out for enemy U-boats.

At the same time we follow the exploits of a German submarine crew and learn of their new mission: launch saboteurs ashore on Cape Cod. The two stories intersect when the boys stumble upon the operation.

Come meet this fascinating writer and (re)discover a piece of our own New England history. Bill's previous book was the popular golf mystery THE FEATHERY.

Direct from Hancock, NH, local favorites Howard Mansfield and Sy Montgomery visit to share the stage to discuss and sign their books.

Howard pursues our living past (Same Ax Twice, In the Memory House, and The Bones of the Earth) and in his new book TURN & JUMP: How Time & Place Fell Apart shows that time has become divorced from place and the evidence is all around us today. From the development of "continuous" vaudeville, to water rights, to a massacre that continues to haunt a town, Mansfield shows us that as we grew, so did our sense of time - ever faster and further from ourselves.

Sy writes about the natural world. Her latest, BIRDOLOGY, looks at six very different species and our relationaship with them. Her stories delight, entertain, and inform us about the wild right outside your window. Her previous titles include The Good Good Pig, Walking With the Great Apes, The Spell of the Tiger, and many titles for children as well. 

Among the Elms Writer's Group meets at the Keene Toadstool the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Among the Elms is a writer's group for those with a love for the written word. Come for feedback, fellowship, support, inspiration, and information. All writers are welcome.

Milford resident, social studies teacher and now author (!) Robert Huckins visits in support of his brand new novel, AMERICAN DREAMLAND.

In a time much like our own...Because of dwindling approval ratings and growing criticism, President George W. Bush is impeached and thrown out of office. At the same time, Bob Dylan and his Never Ending Tour odyssey grows stale, is poorly reviewed and attended, prompting the music legend to retire completely. Over time each struggles to find his place in the fickle cultural landscape. When events place both icons from seemingly opposite sides of life together, they realize they may not be so different after all.

Please join us in supporting our local authors and artists and keeping it Independent.

(iUniverse, $20.95 in paperback)

Among the Elms Writer's Group meets at the Keene Toadstool the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Among the Elms
is a writer's group for those with a love for the written word. Come
for feedback, fellowship, support, inspiration, and information. All
writers are welcome.

Celebrate the launch of Sky Stephenson's new poetry book, Ebbo: Offering. She will read some of the poems and discuss the inspirations and experiences that brought them to life.

Ebbo means "an offering or sacrifice given to the orishas (spiritual beings or deities) and ancestors in Yoruba-based spiritual practices (including Santeria and Candomble) for the purposes of attaining and strengthening ashe (the sacred cosmic energy of the universe)".

Her poems broaden the concept of offering, exploring themes ranging from the personal and intimate to the cultural and spiritual. These include travel in Latin America, spiritual initiations in Santeria and Candomble, social justice and peace issues, and the realm of the ancestors.

Refreshments will be served. :)

Skye Stephenson wrote her first poem at age four and has been writing poetry ever since. She has spent most of her adulthood working to promote greater understanding between the Americas and has lived in Latin America for more than a decade. Author of Understanding Spanish-Speaking South Americas: Bridging Hemispheres (Intercultural Press, 2004) as well as Bounded Evolution, an earlier book of poetry, she is founder of Jade Journeys, which offers transformational travel to Latin America. Skye is a practicing crystal healer and holds a doctorate in international relations. She works at Keene State College.

Normal
0

Join us on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 at 6:30 p.m., for the Green Building Discussion Group hosted by Christina O’Brien, AIA and Doug Stewart, AIA, LEED AP.

This month they'll do a show-and-tell of locally manufactured green building products - paints, wood flooring, ceramic tile, etc. Local vendors will show samples of their products and answer your questions.

Christina O’Brien, AIA and Doug Stewart, AIA, LEED AP are the two principals who run and operate SISR Architecture, LLC out of Marlow, NH.  Although SISR was started in 2007, Christina and Doug have 40 years of combined experience designing additions, renovations and new construction for commercial and residential projects, large and small.