We are happy to take your pre-order for Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation, due out 7/3/2012. Jim will visit the store to sign your copy.  We can ship books anywhere in the world.  Pre-order by calling (518) 677 -2515, email info@battenkillbooks.com, or use the BUY NOW link below. The cost of the book is $25.00, tax and shipping are additional.

James Howard Kunstler’s critically acclaimed and best-selling “The Long Emergency,” originally published in 2005, quickly became a grassroots hit, going into nine printings in hardcover. Kunstler’s shocking vision of our post-oil future caught the attention of environmentalists and business leaders alike, and stimulated widespread discussion about our dependence on fossil fuels and our dysfunctional financial and government institutions. Kunstler has since been profiled in The New Yorker and invited to speak at TED.

In “Too Much Magic,” Kunstler evaluates what has changed in the last seven years and shows us that, in a post-financial-crisis world, his ideas are more relevant than ever.

“Too Much Magic” is what Kunstler sees in the bright visions of a future world dreamed up by optimistic souls who believe technology will solve all our problems. Their visions remind him of the flying cars and robot maids that were the dominant images of the future in the 1950s. Kunstler’s image of the future is much more sober. With vision, clarity of thought, and a pragmatic worldview, Kunstler argues that the time for magical thinking and hoping for miracles is over, and the time to begin preparing for the long emergency has begun.

With the passing away of Izzy this week, Jon Katz mentioned on Facebook and his blog that one can purchase the book, Izzy and Lenore, from us and Jon will sign them all. Jon gives the royalties from the sale of the book to hospice organizations. If you’d like to do that, you may call us (518-677-2515) or use the PayPal button below.

It is so sad to think of Izzy as gone – he was the first of the Bedlam Farm dogs I ever met and the one nearest to my heart. You’ll be forever in our hearts, Izzy!

Books by Jon Katz available to purchase through Battenkill Books

Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die, $22

Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm, $16.99

Rose in a Storm: A Novel, $14

Izzy & Lenore, $15

Dog Days, $14

A Good Dog, $15

A Dog Year, $12.95

The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, $15

Soul of a Dog, $14

Katz on Dogs, $13.95

The New Work of Dogs, $13.95

Geeks, $14.95

Just got in these gorgeous new notecards. They proclaim, “Cambridge, New York,” and feature the rainbow, brown, and brook trout on one and the black-capped chickadee on the other.

We were the recipients of a flash-mob on Saturday afternoon thanks to several of the talented dancers at Hubbard Hall. Flash mobs took place across the country in honor of National Dance Week. Thanks, Gina, and all the dancers who came out in the rain to make Main St. hip-hop-happening!

Inquiring minds want to know! Here are the books I mentioned on air this morning:

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cheryl Strayed

I don’t regularly read memoir, but something about Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed really captured my interest.

At the outset of the story, Cheryl Strayed is reeling with grief from the death of her mother. Her marriage is also crumbling, and she is not only engaging in extra marital affairs but also experimenting with drugs including heroin.

She seems an unlikely candidate for a grueling 1100-mile solo hike through the remote terrain known as the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs fromCalifornia’s border withMexicoall the way toCanada. Despite everything going on in her life, or perhaps because of it, the trail beckons her and as a possible way to change the course of her life.

Strayed is woefully unprepared for the rigors of the trail – she’s never so much as hoisted her full pack – resulting in a hilarious scene in a motel room near where she’ll join the trail where she literally cannot get the pack onto her back and herself into an upright position.

Of course she has many adventures – and misadventures – along the way and meets a whole host of characters. She gains strength – physically of course – but also emotionally. As to the question of whether she ultimately finds the solace that she seeks, I’ll let you read it to find out.

London Under

Peter Ackroyd

London Under by Peter Ackroyd is a book written for someone like me. By which I mean, just mention a secret tunnel, an abandoned passageway, a boarded up mental institution, or some such intriguing, off-limits place and I’m enthralled. Now, I’m too timid to ever explore these places myself, but you can be damned sure that I’ll read about someone else exploring them. In London Under, Ackroyd takes us underneathLondon – and reveals fascinating stories from the murky depths. He regales us with tales of Anglo-Saxon graves discovered underneath St. Paul’s Cathedral, an infant’s skeleton dating to Roman times buried 40 feet underground near the Thames, and sewer tunnels that no human being has set foot in for more than 15 years.

This is by no means a conventional history of London– it isn’t meant to be – but it is a fascinating collection of historical tidbits that reveal how old and how complex a city London is. Entire rivers have been covered over and submerged below the city streets. People over the centuries have lost their lives in the quest to construct tunnels and build sewers. Street names and their course often can hint at what lies beneath, for someone in the know. So, take an armchair tour of the dark, dank London underground, and then go outside and get some fresh air!!

The Beginner’s Goodbye

Anne Tyler

Who can resist a new book by Anne Tyler? In her latest, The Beginner’s Goodbye,Tylergives us a haunting and moving new story in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored albeit by her frequent ghostly appearances around their home and neighborhood.

Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, independent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. He marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when Dorothy is killed unexpectedly, Aaron is unmoored. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. You can always count on Anne Tyler for a story both wise and softly humorous, and most of all touching.

Moloka’i

Alan Brennert

We recently read Moloka’i by Alan Brennert for our book club in the store, and all of us agreed that this is a book you don’t want to end – it has become such a part of your life. And though many undeniably sad things happen to Rachel, ultimately the book reaches a satisfying conclusion.

The story is that of Rachel, a 7 year old Hawaiian girl who develops leprosy and is separated from her family and sent to the leper’s colony on theislandofMoloka’i.

One imagines that this is where Rachel’s life ends, but it is only the beginning of her story. Moloka’i may be a community of outcasts, but a community it is nonetheless.

Grave Mercy

Robin Lafevers

Switching gears to books for younger readers, the first is Robin Lafevers’ new young adult novel, Grave Mercy, an action/adventure story set in a fictional medieval world, and a good recommendation for someone in your life who loved the Hunger Games.

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that sisters serve, not God, but Death. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany–where she finds herself woefully under prepared–not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make – including romantic ones.

Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes

Lauren Child

Not everyone is looking for another book like the Hunger Games though. Some readers – and certainly some parents – are tired of the dystopian genre, so for a great middle grade reader choice, I bring you Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child.

Perfect for a 9-12 year old, Ruby Redfort is a great choice for a reader interested in solving mysteries, puzzles and codes.

Ruby was a fictional heroine in Child’s popular Clarice Bean books and many of her fans asked her to write books about Ruby Redfort herself. Now in her own starring role, the genius code-cracker and daring detective, along with her sidekick butler, Hitch, works for a secret crime-busting organization called Spectrum. Ruby gets into lots of scrapes with evil villains, but she’s always ice-cool in a crisis. There are puzzles and codes throughout the book giving your young reader plenty of chances to exercise their own problem-solving abilities.

Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit

Chris Van Dusen – author and illustrator

Finally a picture book for baseball season. Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen is about a kid who loves baseball but isn’t very good at it. What he is good at are things like making mathematical calculations and building robots. He rides his bike home one day after a game, and when he is gazing up at the sky through his telescope, he discovers that a blazing fireball is heading directly toward Earth and will arrive in a matter of days. In fact, the fireball is aimed right at his town!

Randy sets to work – and the result is that he builds a gigantic robot much better at swinging a bat than he is. On the fateful day, Randy guides his robot into town, the robot takes a stance, and – ka-pow – slams the fireball back into space, saving the day. The text is filled with rhymes, not a word is out of place and Chris Van Dusen’s illustrations are just so much fun to behold.

Thursday, April 26th   
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Battenkill Books
FREE

Bring a poem or two to share, your own or someone else’s.

Thursday, May 3rd
6:30 – 7:30 pm
Battenkill Books
FREE

Hailed as one of the year’s top five novels by Time, and selected as one of the best books of the year by nearly all major newspapers, national bestseller Peace Like a River captured the hearts of a nation in need of comfort. “A rich mixture of adventure, tragedy, and healing,” Peace Like a River is “a collage of legends from sources sacred and profane — from the Old Testament to the Old West, from the Gospels to police dramas” (Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor). In “lyrical, openhearted prose” (Michael Glitz, The New York Post), Enger tells the story of eleven-year-old Reuben Land, an asthmatic boy who has reason to believe in miracles. Along with his sister and father, Reuben finds himself on a cross-country search for his outlaw older brother who has been controversially charged with murder. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers, and its remarkable conclusion shows how family, love, and faith can stand up to the most terrifying of enemies, the most tragic of fates. Leif Enger’s “miraculous” (Valerie Ryan, The Seattle Times) novel is a “perfect book for an anxious time … of great literary merit that nonetheless restores readers’ faith in the kindness of stories” (Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press).

Our book clubs are always open to new members. Attendance is optional – join us when you feel like it; no RSVP required.