Watermark Books and Cafe

In this issue:

News and Notes Worthy.

Upcoming Events.

Book of the Week.

Watermark Winner.

First line(s)...

Watermark Bestsellers. 

"Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen" by Heidi Swanson, review by Mark David Bradshaw.

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Our fall line of Maruca bags are in and one of my favorite new styles is the iPad case. It's an *extra* stylish way to hold the eBooks you buy from Watermark! 

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Upcoming events... 

Friday, July 29th, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Final Friday Art Opening for William Counter.

Join us for the opening of "Totem & Taboo" - an art exhibit featuring the work of William Counter. The show will be on display through September 27th. And be sure to mark your calendars for the Final Friday Artist Talk on August 26th at 6:00 p.m. William will speak about how art and literature influence each other and how Freud's "Totem & Taboo" influenced his show. 

Saturday, July 30th, 3:00 p.m. Sharon Lovejoy book talk and signing. 

What did kids do for fun before the days of computers, video games, and television? They played, explored, discovered, and interacted—while enjoying nature, arts and crafts, tea parties, puppet shows, cooking, gardening, and any activity that let them use their vivid imaginations.  

Here to bring that sense of creativity and excitement back to today’s plugged-in youth is Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars. Created by Sharon Lovejoy—a grandmother of four and author of numerous classic books on gardening—this inspired guide to 130 activities has all the information needed to entertain children of all ages. 

Illustrated with Sharon’s distinctive, delicate watercolors, Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars provides innovative ideas and projects for grandparents (as well as moms, dads, educators, and friends) who want to connect with the children in their lives. It offers endless opportunities to enjoy the wonders of the backyard and beyond.

Sharon Lovejoy, an author, illustrator, lecturer, and teacher, is the children's garden adviser to the American Horticultural Society, and has been a guest on Today at NBC, PBS's Victory Garden, and the Discovery Channel.

Friday, August 5. Bruce Ward will play music from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Bruce Ward is a musician who plays guitar and sings songs. His music appeals to a wide audience. He plays favorites in folk music, old standards, cowboy songs, music from the sixties (including the Beatles), and an eclectic mix that is not often heard in live music. Join us in the cafe for a great evening.

Thursday, August 11, 7:00 p.m. Randy Russell book reading and signing for "Dead Rules."

Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were in love. They were destined to be together forever. But Jana's destiny was fatally flawed. And now she's in Dead School, where Mars Dreamcote lurks in the back of the classroom, with his beguiling blue eyes, mysterious smile, and irresistibly warm touch. Michael and Jana were incomplete without each other. There was no room for Mars in Jana's life—or death—story. Jana was sure Michael would rush to her side soon. But things aren't going according to Jana's plan. So Jana decides to do whatever it takes to make her dreams come true—no matter what rules she has to break.

About the author... Randy Russell believes in ghosts. He conducts an annual ghost seminar for the State of North Carolina and can be found most summers sharing true ghost stories at visitor centers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He wrote Dead Rules because he believes ghosts should be allowed to share their stories of encounters with humans. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Saturday, August 20, 3:00 p.m. Tom Fry book signing.

 Tom Frye will be here to sign copies of "The Mosley Street Melodramas, Volume IV."

Sunday, August 28, 2:00 p.m. Craft Book Trunk Show!

Join us at our Craft Book Trunk Show! Our publisher partners have sent us samples of their newest knitting, quilting, jewelry making, and other craft books. And we'll be on hand to talk about our favorites! Any craft books purchased or pre-ordered on this day will be discounted 20%.

Other author visits on the horizon include Cinda Williams Chima, Jon Scieszka, Candice Millard, Tom Averill, Donia Bijan, Robert Morgan, Deborah Niemann-Boehle, and Tony Horwitz. Stay tuned here or visit our website here:http://www.watermarkbooks.com/  

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The Book of the Week is a young adult title... "Cleopatra's Moon" by Vicky Alvear Shecter (Arthur A. Levine Books, ISBN 9780545221306, originally $18.99)

Cleopatra Selene is the only daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome. She's grown up with jewels on her arms, servants at her feet, and all the pleasures of a palace at her command, and she wants only to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a great and powerful queen.

The the Roman ruler Octavianus, who has always wanted Egypt's wealth, launches a war that destroys all Selene has ever known. Taken to live in Octavianus's palace in Rome, she vowes to defeat him and reclaim her kingdom at all costs. Yet even as she gathers support for her return, Selene finds herself torn between two young men and two different paths to power. Will love distract her from her goal -- or help her achieve her true destiny?

Shop online or in the store, this week "Cleopatra's Moon" is 30% off.

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This week's winner of a free lunch from Watermark Café is Marcella Heitman of Peck. Thanks for signing up for News & Notes. 

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First line(s)...  

"Things held on to Caroline--the ends of her sleeves caught by doorknobs, her coat in a car door, the knit of her Irish sweater snagged on an errant nail that no one had ever remembered seeing sticking out of the wall. But she had never been as good at catching, holding on to things--taxicabs, elevator doors, a husband, slipping closed and past, already on their way to another floor, another life." 

... from "Joy for Beginners" by Erica Bauermeister (Putnam, ISBN 9780399157127, $24.95) 

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Watermark Bestsellers.

1. "My Ruby Slippers" by Tracy Seeley

2. "Risk Only Money" by Jack DeBoer

3. "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

4. "The Greater Journey" by David McCullough

5. "The Wichita Divide" by Stephen Singular

6. "Dork Diaries 3" by Rachel Russell

7. "The Blueberry Years" by James Minick

8. "Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars" by Sharon Lovejoy

9. "Pilgrim Soul" by Mira Merriman

10. "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett

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"Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen" by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 9781580082778, $23.00)

The first recipe I tried from Heidi Swanson's new cookbook changed how I've always felt about muesli. It's no longer dusty, pre-chewed cardboard cereal; instead, it's a comforting bowl of breakfast studded with toasted almonds, golden raisins, and a lick of maple syrup. I can mix it up in ten minutes and enjoy homemade whole-grain spa breakfasts for a week. And it lives up to the title of her book: I eat it every day!

Swanson became an award-winning food blogger a few years ago with her site 101 Cookbooks, and her earlier book, "Super Natural Cooking," is a fixture on my kitchen table. It introduced me to the joys of wheatberries and made my whole extended family fall in love with whole-grain banana muffins and this odd, amazing salad of kumquats, walnuts, celery, and parmesan. It's a book of magic.

Swanson's recipes are vegetarian (sometimes vegan), they feature a variety of whole grains and natural sweeteners, and their hallmark is an uncanny knack for outstanding flavor combinations. For example, watermelon is already a great summertime treat, right? Well, the new book boasts a simple salad of cubed watermelon, sliced dates, and chopped pistachios. It's unbelievably good!

"Super Natural Every Day" is filled with fascinating ingredients spun into easy weeknight dishes. The rye soda bread is crusty and flavorful and bakes up in under an hour. The summer linguine is a quick marriage of pantry staples (whole wheat pasta, garlic, etc.) and fresh garden zucchini.

Two more I want to try: Mostly Not Potato Salad, which splices spuds with green beans, leeks, and celery in a mustard vinaigrette, and Heidi's Internet-famous Carnival Cookies--butterless, flourless, eggless, sugarless treats made of almonds, peanuts, and popcorn.

Swanson is my favorite guide to the crunchy, wondrous world of natural foods. Her books are perfect choices for folks who want to eat for zest and health: they're in the same camp as my beloved "Power Foods" cookbook and Kim Boyce's "Good to the Grain" book on whole-grain baking. This stuff is delicious, and it's good for you.

Review by Mark David Bradshaw

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Later.

Beth