A native Vermonter, Alden works in the music department at the Northshire. He is also in charge of the DVDs and tries very hard to have titles that customers might not readily find elsewhere. He loves film, especially ones that have either trains or Elizabeth Taylor in them. Alden contributes a weekly column on the movies to the Bennington Banner. His other interests include shipwrecks, Jack the Ripper, Peggy Lee, and real country music. Other staff members at the Northshire are very tolerant as he rambles on about the Andrea Doria and they probably know a lot more about the Ripper than they ever thought they would.
$26.95
ISBN: 9781524748357
Availability: Coming Soon - Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Pantheon - June 16th, 2020
Despite his eccentricities, Pru Steiner's marriage to Spence Robin, once her professor at Columbia, is a stable and loving one. Robin is an academic rock star, admired for his ability to relate to students in the classroom and to scholars of Shakespeare on the printed page. His ability to convey more intimate feelings within his family, however, was not so sharply honed, especially with the resentful son of his first marriage. Pru's devotion faces the ultimate test when she realizes that her brilliant husband has begun the descent into the twilight world of Alzheimer's. This is a moving, involving story of a remarkable woman's determination to retain a semblance of order and dignity in a world that is falling apart. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$28.00
ISBN: 9781250086112
Availability: Coming Soon - Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - July 7th, 2020
The rejuvenating mineral water from Sugar Loaf Mountain wasn't the only thing bubbling in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Before anyone had ever heard of Las Vegas, it was the place to go for gambling, booze, and prostitution, none of it legal in the buckle of the Bible Belt. That didn't stop organized crime from joining forces with the police and politicians to make the town a veritable Disneyland of vice. Al Capone relaxed there. Sophie Tucker sang in one of the clubs along Central Avenue. Babe Ruth spent spring training months there. J. Edgar Hoover didn't have much good to say about it. This is a fascinating history of the tumultuous years between the beginning of the Great Depression and the end of the 1960s, chronicling the rise and inevitable decline of a notorious city that, in its unashamed boisterousness, seemed uniquely American. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$16.00
ISBN: 9780802130303
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Published: Grove Press - February 1st, 1994
This is a collection of short stories by one of the great literary figures of the last century. Ranging from metaphysical ruminations about the origins of the universe and man's place in it to tales of espionage and bloody revenge, Borges' dazzling skill as a wordsmith without peer is apparent on every page. You may find yourself departing from the narrative from time to time just to ponder a passage that has touched an essential part of your own perception of life. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$28.00
ISBN: 9781400069606
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Published: Random House - February 25th, 2020
Instead of vowing vengeance after their beloved daughters are killed, two men, one an Israeli and the other a Palestinian, work to bring their wounded nations together. This is a powerful examination of a seemingly unquenchable conflagration, fueled by mistrust and hatred, that has consumed the peace and wellbeing of the people who live in its path. Unsparing in its commitment to bring the carnage into vivid relief for the reader, this novel is also an eloquent plea for the immeasurable value of simply putting the weapons aside and talking to one another. McCann has utilized a strikingly original concept, enriching his book with historical tributaries that give the central story a sad, tragic,and ultimately uplifting ring of truth. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$25.95
ISBN: 9780385540315
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Published: Doubleday - September 17th, 2019
Charlie and Maurice, two aging criminals whose friendship has managed to survive interludes of mutual betrayal and physical assaults, recall their tumultuous lives while they wait for Maurice's estranged daughter to either arrive at or depart from a ferry terminal in Algeciras, Spain. The dingy surroundings are fitting for the prevalent mood of sadness and regret for lives not so much dangerously lived as ultimately squandered. A startlingly original concept that succeeds on every level, allowing the reader access into the souls of two lost people. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
