Lynne Likes...

If you told me when I was in high school that I'd be living in Bishop someday, I'd've told you you were nuts!  But times change, and today I feel lucky to be a part of this great community in the beautiful Eastern Sierra. I've also come to understand the vital role locally-owned businesses play in our community and quality of life, so I feel doubly honored to be at the helm here at Spellbinder.  I firmly believe that the strength of our economy, not just as towns or regions, but as a country as well, relies on locally-scaled, independently owned business. I also believe that every community needs a place to obtain information -- be it for educational or entertainment purposes -- and a place to meet like minds, hang out, and socialize or just sit and read outside of the work and home environments.  We believe Spellbinder is such a place, and we hope you agree!  We're working to make it more so all the time!

 

My favorite areas of reading include literary fiction, history, and outdoorsy/adventury-type stuff. I also have a big shelf of local history, field guides and etc. at home, and a giant cupboard of vegetarian cookbooks that I tend to sit and read much more often than actually using them to cook things.  Except the ones with cake recipes -- those, I use often.

$26.00
ISBN-13: 9781400065455
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Random House, 6/2010
David Mitchell, perhaps best known for his Cloud Atlas, gives us another remarkable creation in this lastest offering, due out in late June.  Honest, forthright Jacob de Zoet, the nephew of a Dutch preacher, is plopped into the Nagasaki of the late 18th and early 19th centuries -- at the peak of Dutch trade with Japan.  Through his eyes, we see this absorbing tale of the clash of cultures, replete with political machinations, plots within plots, graft and corruption, unrequited love, and the struggle of the 'good' to perservere throughout it all ... a thoroughly satisfying read to sink into!  Now a contender, along with Chang-Rae Lee's The Surrendered, for my favorite novel of 2010.  Reviewed 4/6/2010.

The Surrendered (Hardcover)

$26.95
ISBN-13: 9781594489761
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Riverhead Hardcover, 3/2010
This latest book by Chang-Rae Lee is astounding and profound in its ability to portray the resiliency of the human spirit.  Definitely not a light, or even always pleasant read, it falls more into the "sticks-with-you" and "thought-provoking" categories ... a serious contender for my Favorite Novel of 2010!

The Passage (Hardcover)

$27.00
ISBN-13: 9780345504968
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Ballantine Books, 6/2010
This book is one of those delicious summer reads ... totally engrosses you in another fantastic yet thoroughly-realized world ... it's long, it has vampires (scary ones!), it's engrossing, it's the first book of a planned trilogy!  Those who enjoy good-quality 'post-apoca-lit' (it's even be described as an homage to The Stand) will love this tale. Reviewed 3/30/10.

$26.99
ISBN-13: 9780061988240
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Harper, 5/2010
Immerse yourself in the lush, and at the same time cruel, world of Isabel Allende's latest offering: a tale of San Domingue, Cuba and New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century, from sugar plantations to the early days of "northerners'" incursions into the creole territory of the South.  Once again, Allende creates rich, full characters and features a strong woman protagonist -- Zarite: born a slave, but determined against all odds to win freedom and independence for herself and her children.  A fantastic choice for a summer read to really sink into! 

Cutting for Stone (Paperback)

$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780375714368
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Vintage, 1/2010
I was given an advanced readers' copy of this book just before it originally came out in hardcover in January of 2009, and I was competely blown away.  It was the best novel I'd read in ages & I couldn't wait for it to come out in paperback so our book group could read & discuss it.  Here are some of the comments from our discussion: "This may be the best novel I've ever read." "I love the humane way the practice of medicine is described: as a vocation, and with love and compassion."  "The detailed way the characters are developed is so fully human and captivating -- you feel like you really know these people, even though their lives are so radically different from anything I've experienced."  Myself, I was completely enthralled by how the author creates a cast of characters, all from different backgrounds yet thrown together by their ethic of service, who manage to create their own 'family' in the face of the extreme adversity of living and practicing medicine in Ethiopia of the 1950's on through to the 1980's.  A masterful achievement from Abraham Verghese!

Edible Landscaping (Paperback)

$39.95
ISBN-13: 9781578051540
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Sierra Club Books, 11/2010
I am VERY EXCITED that a new edition is being planned for this book -- Rosalind Creasy is recognized as the grand dame of edible landscaping, but the earlier edition of this title has been out of print, and scarce and expensive as a used book, for years!  You can bet you'll see this in our garden section as soon as it's available ... I'm getting one and we'll hold one for you too if you want!

indiebound
indiebound
indiebound