Camalli Events

Friday, November 2, 6:00 p.m.: Come meet author Paty Jager as she reads from her latest novel, Perfectly Good Nanny. Paty will also answer questions about writing and her road to publication. Perfectly Good Nanny received Four Lips from twolipsreviews.com, which said Jager ". . . paints a beautiful picture of truth, trust, determination, and love . . . captures the essence of working hard for your family and home."

Friday & Saturday, November 9 & 10, all day: Camalli will be in the Literary Lounge at the Women's Expo at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond. Stop by and browse . . . we'll have plenty of titles on hand that will be of particular interest to women and girls. We'll of course be open at the store, too!

Thursday, November 15, 10:00 a.m.: Story Time! Join us as we read stories and do a craft centered on the theme of THANKSGIVING.

Wednesday, November 14, 5:00 p.m.: Kid Poets! A third grade class of students will be in the store reading their poetry. I've been amazed at what I've heard from some of these youngsters.

Friday, November 16, 6:30 p.m.: Join Rick Steber for a release party celebrating the publication of his latest novel, Forty Candles on a Cowboy Cake. Coming to us from Prineville, Rick has gained a well-deserved national reputation and is best known for writing honest stories about the strong people and the open landscapes of the Old West. Of Rick's writing, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said "Steber's writing is plain, picturesque, almost Hemingwayesque; the measure that lends dignity and understanding to the colorful past," and the LA Times said "Steber's words remind you of Hemingway or Fitzgerald...."

Readings and . . . a Sale!

A few things to mention today . . .

STORY TIME: Thursday's Halloween Story Time was a hoot. The kids were adorable in their costumes . . . from princesses (three of 'em) to a ghost to a ladybug to a horse. The kids really got into The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, and after stories we made some not-so-spooky finger puppet bats. Next story time will be Thursday, November 15, and theme will be THANKSGIVING.

STORIES FOR GROWN UPS: Join us on Friday, November 2, at 6:00 p.m. for the release of Paty Jager's Perfectly Good Nanny. This western contemporary romance received four lips from twolipsreviews.com, so come in on the 2nd and meet Paty as she reads from the book and answers questions about writing and her road to publication.

SALE, SALE, SALE!: Be sure to come in and take advantage of our book sale! You'll find a table full of titles discounted from 20% to 40%. Sale titles include fiction and non-fiction, so browse the selection and you're likely to find something of interest!

WOMEN'S EXPO: Look for Camalli in the Literary Lounge at this year's Central Oregon Women's Expo! We'll have a table full of books that are of particular interest to girls and women.

GIFTS: We just received another toy shipment, so we're stocked to the gills with presents for kids. Whether you're birthday shopping or are one of those people who are ahead of the rest of us in your holiday shopping, be sure to stop by and have a look. Remember, we'll gift wrap your present, too!

SIMPSON IN THE CLEAR?: Simpson Avenue, that is. Looking out the window today there's NO sign of the construction on Century and Simpson. Phew! Could they really be done for good? Traffic is flowing again, so come on down!

Story Time Thursday, 10:00 a.m.

Thursday's dinosaur story time was a hoot. Funny how kids of all ages and genders seem to be fascinated by dinosaurs. We followed up the books with a craft, and the kids made their own dinosaurs:

Our craft for the previous story time involved taking some beautiful fall leaves and pressing them between clear Contact paper:

On Thursday, October 25, at 10:00 a.m. we'll have our HALLOWEEN story time. We would love the kids to come in costume!

Stories . . . and Dust

Next story time is Thursday, October 18, at 10:00 a.m. Our theme this time is DINOSAURS. Looking out the window I realize I perhaps should have chosen the theme of CONSTRUCTION TRUCKS, as the construction on Simpson continues. Again. Which makes it hard for customers trying to access either the shopping center we're in or the one across the street. Make your way in via Century/14th if you can. The trucks are a bit loud and they're kicking up some dust, but anyone with a young child who loves construction trucks should stop in in the next two days and read some big truck books while watching the show outside the window. Lots of "heavy machinerey," as my son used to call them.

I recently finished Mister Pip, a book that was shortlisted for this year's Man Booker prize. A very good book, but it drained the emotion out of me at one point. I won't give it away here. But I was left thinking about it for days after. Very powerful. It was one of those books that affected me in a way that I had to immediately get into another book to help clear my head of the imagery. So I picked up an advance reader's copy of The Somnambulist, which doesn't publish in the U.S. until February, though it's already out to good reviews in the U.K. It's somewhat of a gothic mystery set in Victorian England. Or, as the cover describes it, "An extraordinary tale of poetry, secret societies, travelling circuses and walking dead set in a richly realised Victorian London." Interesting so far.

What are you reading? What have you loved? We'd love to publish you favorites in the store . . . give you your own little shelf corner with your recommedation. Just drop an e-mail!

Hot Reads

We've had two book clubs meet at Camalli this week, and it's been great fun listening in on their discussions. One group just finished Eat, Pray, Love, while the other group read Mountains Beyond Mountains. Eat, Pray, Love has been one of the best sellers at the store since we opened back in August, and it's keeping a top position along with Three Cups of Tea, Water for Elephants, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Just recently Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time has been flying off the shelves. Egan will be in Bend at the end of the month along with an impressive line up of authors and poets for The Nature of Words. I'm currently reading Benjamin Percy's Refresh, Refresh: Stories. Percy will also be here for The Nature of Words, and his short story collection is filled with references to Bend and Central Oregon; it's a wonderful read.

Also on the nightstand right now is Mister Pip, which has been short-listed for the Man Booker prize. From the short list I've also read On Chesil Beach and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I'm very much enjoying Mister Pip, but I think The Reluctant Fundamentalist remains my favorite so far. Still to read from the short list: Animal's People, Darkmans, and The Gathering.

But before I get to the next Man Booker title, I'm reading up on my dinosaurs . . . Camalli's next story time is Thursday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m., and we'll be reading about dinosaurs. Nothing scary; we'll keep this fun and colorful for the preschool crowd.

Story Times and Stories

We had a lovely story time today, complete with fall leaves--the warm colors of which kept us cozy as it rained and hailed outside! Our next story time is Thursday, October 18, at 10:00 a.m.; the theme will be DINOSAURS. We'll then follow that up with another story time one week later on Thursday, October 25, with a HALLOWEEN theme (costumes welcome!). If you want your name added to the e-mail announcement list for story times let us know.

Central Oregon's premier literary event, The Nature of Words, is quickly approaching (October 31-November 4), so now is the time to get your tickets ... and to get your hands on some of the books by this year's guest authors. I'm currently reading Benjamin Percy's wonderful short story collection, Refresh, Refresh, and Timothy Egan's National Book Award winner The Worst Hard Time is moving off the shelves at a rapid pace. And there's plenty more to choose from! Look for:

TIMOTHY EGAN: The Good Rain, Lasso the Wind, and The Worst Hard Time
HEATHER VOGEL FREDERICK: The Education of Patience Goodspeed, The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, Spy Mice: The Black Paw, Spy Mice: For Your Paws Only, and Spy Mice: Goldwhiskers
CRAIG JOHNSON: The Cold Dish, Death without Company, and Kindness Goes Unpunished
TED KOOSER: Delights & Shadows, Flying at Night, The Poetry Home Repair Manual, Writing Brave & Free, and Weather Central
KATHLEEN DEAN MOORE: The Pine Island Paradox and Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water
BENJAMIN PERCY: The Language of Elk and Refresh, Refresh
PATTIANN ROGERS: Firekeeper: Selected Poems, Generations, and Splitting and Binding

Story Time Thursday: Fall Leaves

Thanks again to everyone for the fantastic turnout at our last story time! This Thursday, October 4, we'll have our second story time. Our theme this week centers on Fall and the changing season. We'll read a few books about leaves and will then do a kid craft using some of the gorgeous leaves we have around Bend at this time of year. If you and you child find some beautiful leaves feel free to bring them in for the craft.

We'll open a little early on Thursday so that we can begin our story time at 10:00 a.m. PLEASE, to keep spaces available for our neighboring businesses, we would greatly appreciate it if you either parked directly in front of Camalli or in one of the spots in the interior lot. Please do not park in front of Pizzicato.

Thanks again to everyone for supporting your local, independent bookstores!