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Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store is an independently run bookstore serving the greater Cambridge area. The bookstore is located in Harvard Square and has been family-owned since 1932. We are known for our extraordinary selection of new, used and remaindered books and for a history of innovation. In 2009, we introduced same-day "green delivery" and a book-making robot capable of printing and binding any of millions of titles in minutes. Find out more about us at www.harvard.com.

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Belle Boggs: Mattaponi Queen

Thu, Jun 17, 2010

Short story writer Belle Boggs reads from her first book, *Mattaponi Queen*, a collection of connected stories, some of which have previously appeared in *The Paris Review*, G*limmer Train*, *At Length*, *storySouth* and *Five Chapters*. Set on the Mattaponi Indian Reservation and in its surrounding counties, the stories in this linked collection detail the lives of rural men and women with stark realism and plainspoken humor. A young military couple faces a future shadowed by injury and untold secrets. A dying alcoholic attempts to reconcile with his estranged children. And an elderly woman's nurse weathers life with her irascible charge by making payments on a decrepit houseboat--the Mattaponi Queen. The land is parceled into lots, work opportunities are few, and the remaining inhabitants must choose between desire and necessity as they navigate the murky stream of possession, love, and everything in between. *Mattaponi Queen* is being published by Graywolf Press as a result of being chosen the 2009 winner of the Katharine Bakeless Nason Fiction Prize.

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Luis Alberto Urrea: Into the Beautiful North

Mon, Jun 21, 2010

Award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist Luis Alberto Urrea reads from and discusses his newest novel, *Into the Beautiful North*. Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US when she was young. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching *The Magnificent Seven*, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete Magnficos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.

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Bret Easton Ellis: Imperial Bedrooms

Thu, Jun 24, 2010

Bret Easton Ellis, author of *Rules of Attraction* and *American Psycho*, reads from his newest novel, *Imperial Bedrooms*, which follows the infamous teenagers of his debut, *Less Than Zero*, into an even more desperate middle age. Clay, a successful screenwriter, has returned from New York to Los Angeles to help cast his new movie, and he's soon drifting through a long-familiar circle. Blair, his former girlfriend, is married to Trent, an influential manager who's still a bisexual philanderer, and their Beverly Hills parties attract various levels of fame, fortune and power. Then there's Clay's childhood friend Julian, a recovering addict, and their old dealer, Rip, face-lifted beyond recognition and seemingly even more sinister than in his notorious past. But Clay's own demons emerge once he meets a gorgeous young actress determined to win a role in his movie. And when his life careens completely out of control, he has no choice but to plumb the darkest recesses of his character and come to terms with his proclivity for betrayal.

Pop Culture

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Kim Severson: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life

Thu, May 27, 2010

Journalist and food writer Kim Severson discusses her new memoir,* Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life*. Somewhere between the lessons her mother taught her as a child and the ones she is now trying to teach her own daughter, Kim Severson stumbled. She lost sight of what mattered, of who she was and who she wanted to be, and of how she wanted to live her life. It took a series of women cooks to reteach her the life lessons she forgot--and some she had never learned in the first place. Some as small as a spoonful, and others so big they saved her life, the best lessons she found were delivered in the kitchen. *Spoon Fed* weaves together the stories of eight important cooks with the lessons they taught her--lessons that seemed to come right when she needed them most. We follow Kim's journey from an awkward adolescent to an adult who channeled her passions into failing relationships, alcohol, and professional ambition, almost losing herself in the process. Finally as Severson finds sobriety and starts a family of her own, we see her mature into a strong, successful woman, as we learn alongside her.

Food and Wellness

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Sebastian Junger: War in Afghanistan

Mon, Jun 7, 2010

Journalist and best-selling author Sebastian Junger discusses his book, *War*, an account of his time with a US Army platoon on the battlefields of Afghanistan. They were collectively known as "The Rock." For one year, in 2007--2008, Sebastian Junger accompanied 30 men--a single platoon--from the storied 2nd battalion of the US Army as they fought their way through a remote valley in eastern Afghanistan. Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firefights than he could count, as men he knew were killed or wounded and he himself was almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the platoon, and he enjoyed an access and a candidness that few, if any, journalists ever attain. This lecture contains discussion of adult content.

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Laura Eldridge: Contraceptive Choices for Women

Fri, Jun 25, 2010

Womens health writer and activist Laura Eldridge holds a conversation about her new book, *In Our Control: The Complete Guide to Contraceptive Choices for Women*. The efficacy and risks of different birth control options are dramatically different today from what they once were thanks to scientific advances and increased awareness of STDs and other factors. In the most comprehensive book on birth control since the 1970s, Laura Eldridge discusses the history, scientific advances, and practical uses of everything from condoms to the male pill to Plan B. *In Our Control* is a definitive guide to modern contraceptive and sexual health. Eldridge presents her meticulous research and unbiased consideration of women's (and men's) options and goes on to explore large-scale issues that might factor into women's birth control choices, urging her readers to consider the environmental impacts of each method and to take part in a dialogue on how international reproductive health issues affect us all.

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What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Mon, Jun 28, 2010

Technology commentator Nicholas Carr explores the psychological impact of the Internet and his new book *The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains*. “Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question in an *Atlantic Monthly* cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the bounties of the internet, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, *The Shallows* explains how the internet is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher.

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Herbert Benson: The Relaxation Revolution

Tue, Jul 13, 2010

Pioneer of mind body medicine Herbert Benson explores his new book, *The Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Your Personal Health Through the Science and Genetics of Mind Body Healing*. In the 1970s, Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School ushered in a new era of understanding in the field of mind body medicine. Coining the term "relaxation response," Dr. Benson identified the body's physiologic reaction that is the exact opposite of the stress (fight-or-flight) response. In the four decades since that initial discovery, Benson and his colleagues have established the first effective therapy to counteract the harmful effects of stress. They have explored how the relaxation response, the power of expectation and belief, and other mind body phenomena can produce healing in your own body. *Relaxation Revolution* details Dr. Benson's recent work with colleagues in the field of genetics, which links mind body treatments to the healing of a steadily expanding number of medical conditions. Mind and body have become part of a scientific and medical whole; together they represent a complete approach to healing and maximal well-being. In clear, straightforward language, Benson and Proctor cite the experiences of real people to show how mind body techniques have the potential not only to enhance healing but also to reduce health costs to individuals and to society as a whole.

Mental Health Month

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Adam Ross: Mr. Peanut

Thu, Jul 15, 2010

Nashville columnist and debut novelist Adam Ross discusses *Mr. Peanut*. David Pepin has been in love with his wife, Alice, since the moment they met in a university seminar on Alfred Hitchcock. After thirteen years of marriage, he still can't imagine a remotely happy life without her--yet he obsessively contemplates her demise. Soon she is dead, and David is both deeply distraught and the prime suspect. The detectives investigating Alice's suspicious death have plenty of personal experience with conjugal enigmas: Ward Hastroll is happily married until his wife inexplicably becomes voluntarily and militantly bedridden; and Sam Sheppard is especially sensitive to the intricacies of marital guilt and innocence, having decades before been convicted and then exonerated of the brutal murder of his wife. Still, these men are in the business of figuring things out, even as Pepin's role in Alice's death grows ever more confounding when they link him to a highly unusual hit man called Mobius. Like the Escher drawings that inspire the computer games David designs for a living, these complex, interlocking dramas are structurally and emotionally intense, subtle, and intriguing; they brilliantly explore the warring impulses of affection and hatred, and pose a host of arresting questions. Is it possible to know anyone fully, completely? Are murder and marriage two sides of the same coin, each endlessly recycling into the other? And what, in the end, is the truth about love?

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Amy McCoy: Poor Girl Gourmet

Mon, Jul 19, 2010

Learn a lesson in eating well, but frugally, from blogger and now cookbook writer Amy McCoy. When the economic recession cut into Amy McCoy's food budget, she was determined to continue eating well even though she was on a budget. As a result she started the blog *Poor Girl Gourmet* as a way to document and share her experiences. In her new cookbook, also called *Poor Girl Gourmet*, McCoy breaks down the costs for each dish while also offering money-saving strategies, including tips for growing and preserving your own food, as well as ideas for quick and delicious family meals. Each recipe serves at least four people, so it's perfect for families on a budget--because eating well while saving money is something that appeals to all of us. McCoy, knowing that a gourmet meal is enhanced by the proper wine, also reviews more than 25 affordable wine varietals and blends, with pairing suggestions for many of the dishes. And there is a chapter of splurges ($15 to $30 per entre for a family of four) for when you're feeling fancy.

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