NEWS!

NEW & USED BOOKS

Anne Beer, Ph.D.

2161 Wyandotte Street, West,

Windsor, Ontario, N9B 1K1

(519) 258-2726

bookroom@newusedbooks.com

AUTUMN is here, and the weather is chilly: the perfect time of year to curl up with a good book!

Don’t have anything to read? Check out the Bookroom’s AUTUMN SALE!

From November 15^th through December 15^th the BOOKROOM will be offering big discounts on both new and used books!

All USED hardcovers will be 40% off and you can save up to 30% on selected NEW books! Stop in and browse our large selection, from romance to philosophy, literature, political science, and more!

Don’t forget BOOKFEST runs November fourth through seventh at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

Meet some of Canada’s greatest authors!

BOOKROOM has books in stock from many of your favourite BookFest authors, including David Richard Adams, Giles Blunt, Susan Holbrook, and more! Check out www.bookfestwindsor.ca for further information, schedules and a full list of attending authors.

The Holiday Season

is on its way (like it or not!)

To ensure that special gift orders arrive on time order your books at BOOKROOM as early as possible! For even more gift ideas, take a look at our new selection of t-shirts for the person on your list who likes to make a statement.

Something UNUSUAL at the BOOKROOM!

The store will now be hosting “Spirit & Tarot” readings Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.

Find out what is “in the cards” for you.

…and of course BOOKROOM has many new and used books arriving all the time, including new works by Margaret Atwood, Ralph Nader, Barbara Ehrenreich and many more!

Spring is Here!

Now that Spring has started to arrive, it is time to think about heading out into the garden!
Let the Bookroom help you with your gardening with used books for a budget.
Stop in the store and check out these helpful finds, or browse our extensive gardening section:

The Flower Garden Planner: The unique book, with 140 press-outs, that shows you how to plan your flower garden, patio or window box and how they will really look.

The Organic Home Garden: How to Grow Vegetables & Fruits Naturally by Patrick Lima

Natural Pest Control: Alternatives to Chemicals for the Home and Garden by Andrew Lopez

The New Seed Starters Handbook by Nancy Bubel

Sunset Introduction to Basic Gardening, with 850 Illustrations

Organic Gardening Under Glass: Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals in the Greenhouse by George (Doc) and Katy Abraham

...and for those with less confidence about their horticultural skills

Clueless in the Garden: A Guide for the Horticulturally Helpless by Yvonne Cunnington

Why buy books?

According to Mother Earth News, 30 million trees are cut down to supply paper for new books each year! Save a forest...read USED books!
*********************

BOOKS ALSO MAKE GREAT GIFTS
Here's why:

* "Books make great gifts because they are an amazing way to kill time while your website is buffering." - Jon Stewart

* "Books make great gifts because they are the perfect way to get a conversation started." - Barbara Walters

* "Books make great gifts because they make great friends. Your cherished book can hold your secrets and you can tell it every secret you have. And, it can't blab." - Maya Angelou

* "Books make great gifts because they're everybody's favourite things" - Julie Andrews

* "Books make great gifts because they're not as hefty as fruitcake, but they're enjoyable and easy to devour." - Rachel Ray

TEN more reasons Books Make Great Gifts

1. Books don't require batteries
2. Books don't require assembly
3. Books don't contain trans-fats
4. Books are lead-free
5. Books have a long shelf life
6. Books are sized to fit everyone
7. Books rarely go out of style
8. Books have no small parts that could get caught in your throat
9. Books won't poke your eyes out
10. Books won't shatter when you drop them

So stop in at The Bookroom to pick up some great gifts for any occasion!

source: ABA, Herr Memorial Library, Shelftalk

Degenerate Art Performance Celebrates Freedom of Expression

From WAMM February 2009 - www.wammonline.com
- kate hargreaves

Art is powerful. It can shed light on realities and fictions in the world, give a voice to the voiceless, conjure up strong emotions and challenge authority. Art can make you feel, and above all else, think, and to some, this notion makes art very threatening.

Literary Arts Windsor is hosting a celebration of freedom of expression on February 12^th with “An Evening of Degenerate Art.” The free event, which will be held at Mackenzie Hall at 8pm, will feature musical performances and readings of art and literature banned in Nazi Germany.

There have always been those who seek to censor and silence the artist and the thinker. The Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death in 399 B.C. for allegedly corrupting youths with his criticisms of society. To this day, groups lobby schools and libraries to remove “offensive” books from their shelves, from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and everything in between.

During the 1930s, Adolf Hitler banned music, art and literature he deemed “un-German.” This “degenerate” art included works by Jewish artists, and anything else that offended Nazi ideals. Nazi officials banned 18,000 books, many of which were subsequently burned. Among these were the works of Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Stefan Zweig and Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front.

Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler visit the Degenerate Art exhibition, 1937.

The Nazis also raided museums and galleries, removing “degenerate” paintings and sculptures. Whole artistic movements fell under the “degenerate” heading, including Expressionism, Bauhaus, Dada, Surrealism and Cubism. Hitler even held an art exhibition featuring these works called Entartete Kunst, not to celebrate them but to attempt to prove their degeneracy to the German public. The Nazis later destroyed over 4000 pieces by “degenerate” painters in massive bonfires.Hitler did not spare music either, banning pieces by Jewish composers, in addition to all modern music, including jazz and swing, which he saw as threatening to “racial purity.”

“An Evening of Degenerate Art” will showcase performances of jazz music, including songs by Kurt Weill, as well as readings from the work of Kafka and others.

Event organizer Anne Beer says she came up with the idea for a “degenerate” art performance when she heard a CBC broadcast about a Toronto ensemble performing “degenerate” music across Europe to very positive reviews. “I thought, banned music? Why don’t I put it together with banned books? So I dreamed this up,” says Beer. She recruited a string ensemble, vocalist Catherine McKeever, and readers including Stephen Pender and Susan Holbrook to present the “degenerate” works.

Beer, who also runs the Bookroom bookstore, is not new to the anti-censorship cause. In past years, in cooperation with the University of Windsor Bookstore, she has planned freedom of expression events including an eight hour reading of banned and challenged books. “An Evening of Degenerate Art” is her newest way to recognize Freedom to Read Week, the annual celebration of freedom of expression, now in its 25^th year, that takes place across Canada every February.

“I don’t like to live in a world where only conformity is acceptable,” says Beer when asked why freedom from censorship is so important. “To be truly human we have to understand the world around us, and we therefore need to be able to express our feelings and knowledge without being suppressed.”

“An Evening of Degenerate Art” takes place Thursday, Februrary 12^th at Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre (3277 Sandwich St.) at 8pm. There is no charge, but donations are welcome and there will be a cash bar. For more information, visit bookroomwindsor.blogspot.com.

Bookroom Februrary News!

BOOKROOM

Windsor’s ONLY independent bookstore selling new & used books

Anne Beer 2161 Wyandotte St. W.

Windsor, Ontario N9B 1K1

519-258-2726

bookroom@newusedbooks.com

February is Black History Month. Check out the Bookroom’s selection of Black Heritage books, including:

The Fanon Reader by Franz Fanon -- Featuring pieces of Fanon’s works, Black Skin, White Masks, Studies in a Dying Colonialism, Toward the African Revolution and The Wretched of the Earth, this collection gives an overview of Fanon’s influential writings.

Black Girl Talk edited by the Black Girls -- This book includes writings from black women ages 15-24, discussing their experiences with love, politics, family, and many other topics.

Black Canadians: History, Experiences, Social Conditions by Joseph Mensah -- A book concerning the North America Black Diaspora, Black Canadians covers topics from the history of Black people in North America to the experiences of Black Canadians today.

Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature by George Elliott Clark -- This book provides a comprehensive map of literature by African-Canadians, including a large bibliography of African-Canadian works.

February 14^th is Valentine’s Day. Why not forget about chocolates, jewelry and roses and instead pick up one of these romantic books for your special someone:

Art & Love: An Illustrated Anthology of Love Poetry from the Metropolitan Museum of Art edited by Kate Farrell -- Combining stunning works of art with classic love poetry, from Ancient Indian verse to Milton to Lorca, this small book celebrates love in all its forms.

The Erotic Orient by Hans-Jurgen Dopp -- This book of full colour prints of Chinese and Japanese erotic art not only presents the images, but discusses the historical significance of eroticism.

Shakespeare on Love compiled by Benjamin Darling -- Shakespeare is perhaps the west’s most quoted writer on the topic of love. Here his love quotes come together in a beautiful book alongside art from across the centuries.

Dance me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen -- This beautiful gift book combines Cohen’s poem with the unmistakable artwork of Henri Matisse.

These are only a few suggestions. Stop by the store and check out our wide selection of new and used books, from philosophy to literature, romance, children’s books and much more!

…and don’t forget about

an evening of degenerate art,

the celebration of freedom of expression taking place at Mackenzie Hall on Thursday, February 12^th at 8pm. The performance will feature music, art, and literature banned in Nazi Germany. Come celebrate freedom of expression!

…and remember, if we don’t have it, we can get it! “

Degenerate Art Evening Celebrates Freedom of Expression

“Degenerate Art” Performance celebrates Freedom of Expression

Contact: Anne Beer 519-258-2726 (abeer@newusedbooks.com)

January 12, 2009

Windsor, February 12, 2009 -- Literary Arts Windsor invites all to a celebration of music, literature, art, and freedom of expression with their free event, “An Evening of Degenerate Art,” set to take place Thursday, February 12^th, 2009.

This is a performance not to be missed, featuring a live string ensemble, and readings from Stephen Pender and others of works banned in Nazi Germany as “degenerate.”

During World War II, Adolf Hitler banned music, art and literature he deemed “un-German.” This “degenerate” art included works by Jewish artists, and anything else that offended Nazi ideals.

Nazi officials banned 18,000 books, many of which were subsequently burned. They also raided museums and galleries, removing “degenerate” paintings and sculptures. Hitler did not spare music, banning pieces by Jewish composers, in addition to all modern music, including jazz.

“An Evening of Degenerate Art” celebrates artistic choice and freedom from censorship. It takes place at Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre (3277 Sandwich St., Windsor) on Thursday, February 12^th, 2009 at 8pm. There is no charge to attend, but donations are welcome. There will also be refreshments and a cash bar available.

The performance recognizes Freedom to Read Week, the annual celebration of freedom of artistic expression, which takes place every February across Canada. For more information on Freedom to Read Week, please visit www.freedomtoread.ca.

“An Evening of Degenerate Art” is generously sponsored by the University of Windsor’s Humanities Research Group, and Artcite Windsor.

About Literary Arts Windsor

Literary Arts Windsor is the organization responsible for the annual BookFest Windsor, now in its seventh year. LAW’s mandate is to educate and increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of the arts by providing performances and seminars for the general public.

For more information on “An Evening of Degenerate Art” or to schedule an interview, please contact Anne Beer at 519-258-2726 or abeer@newusedbooks.com