ABFAS Top 10 March Best-Sellers...

A Book for All Seasons owner Pat Rutledge named Royal Lady of Autumn Leaves for 2009

Pat Rutledge, owner of A Book For All Seasons, is grateful to be named Leavenworth's 46th Royal Lady of Autumn Leaves. "It's an honor," Pat said. "Leavenworth has been very good to us. I'm excited about representing Leavenworth. I love the people."

There's a saying: "If you want to be sure something gets done, ask a busy person to do it." Certainly, Pat already had a few things to do! She's a hands-on business owner, at work six days a week (and that will be changing with her other responsibilities;) an active parent and grandparent; a dedicated supporter of writers and independent book sellers; and an involved member of a grassroots community group (LIFE2) working to create a more sustainable Leavenworth.

As the new Royal Lady, Pat will travel throughout the Northwest as an ambassador for Leavenworth. Although autumn's chill is not quite in the air, Pat's outreach activities have already begun. April brings Daffodil Festival parades in Tacoma, Puyallup and Sumner. And she'll be at events four weekends in May, including our own Wenatchee Apple Blossom Parade.

So drop by the bookstore for your personal preview of Pat's royal wave. Here at ABFAS, we're all riding the wave of a royally good year to come!

April's Book Lover's Getaway Special

Get away to Leavenworth in bloom! Enjoy one of our unique book-themed rooms. Be sure to say you saw the Book Lover's Special in our newsletter when you book your room for super savings this spring!

Book Lover's Internet Special:
Stay one night, and get a 20% discount. Stay two nights, and get 50% off of your second night!

We have convenient parking located right off Highway 2 with shopping, dining, and the park just a few steps away. Our individually-decorated rooms—each room decorated in a special literary theme and chock full of books-are sure to inspire magic on your book lover's getaway. Plus, Inn guests receive 10% off all purchases at A Book For All Seasons.

Call (509) 548-1451 or email info@abookforallseasons.com and take advantage of this special offer good through April 2009!

Calling All Writers - Come Write on the River

The fourth annual Wenatchee writers conference will blossom May 16 and 17 in Wenatchee. Meet professional authors, editors, and agents and fellow-writers from throughout our region, for inspiration and real world writing strategies. Visit the web site for more details: http://www.writeontheriver.org or Register Online Now!

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY, AND BE PART OF LEAVENWORTH'S HOME-GROWN EARTH DAY COMMUNITY FAIR!

Sunday, April 26, noon-4 PM, at Lion's Park, Leavenworth

All are invited to an afternoon of fun and learning about everything that sustains Leavenworth as a community. This free family event features exhibits, hands-on activities, a farmers market showcase, and speakers covering a variety of environmental, economic and social sustainability topics -- plus food, live music and other entertainment.

Sponsored by LIFE2: For a More Sustainable Leavenworth

LIFE2 is a homegrown community group, and invites you to join them. LIFE2 believes Leavenworth can move ahead by embracing a TRIPLE bottom line: putting people and the planet in the equation with profits.

For more information contact Jeff Parsons Barn Beach Trust, at jparsons@nwi.net
or at (509) 548-0181

What are Leavenworth's Librarians Reading?

Librarian Sharon is reading Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich. Evanovich, a #1 New York Times Bestselling author, is known for her tough, wise-cracking, irrereverant and oh-so-human heroine, Stephanie Plum.

Sharon enjoys Evanovich's humor and the outrageous predicaments the heroine finds herself in. She has enjoyed the whole Stephanie Plum series, and found that after book six or seven, the violence and rough language toned down, and she likes the recent books even better. She finds the books laugh-out-loud funny and a great way to unwind, and says they leave her astonished at the author's inventive mind.

Buy Plum Spooky - $27.95

Librarian Brianna is reading Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The bestselling Infidel has been called "Brave, inspiring, and beautifully written," by the New York Times. A celebration of triumph over adversity, Infidel tells how a bright little girl evolves out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken champion of human rights. Hirisi Ali has survived civil war, female mutilation, and brutal beatings, escaped from a forced marriage, obtained a college education, was elected to Dutch Parliament, and continues to write and work for human rights today.

Other books Brianna read and enjoyed recently include: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (by B. Franklin), and The Clash of Orthodoxies (by R. P. George).

Buy Infidel - $15.00

The ABFAS featured author for April is acclaimed author, activist, marine biologist and "fisherma'am" Riki Ott!

In the early 1970s, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens promised Cordova fishermen "not one drop" of oil would be spilled in Prince William Sound from proposed tanker traffic and the trans-Alaska pipeline project. Fishermen knew better. Spanning nearly 40 years, Riki Ott's Not One Drop is an extraordinary tale of ordinary people who take on the world's richest oil companies and most powerful politicians to protect Prince William Sound from oil accidents.
Buy SIGNED copy of Not One Drop - $21.95

Jane Goodall describes Ott's Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$ as "Important! Chilling! Courageous! ... If you care about life on earth you must read this book."

Buy SIGNED copy of Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$ - $24.95

Learn more about Riki on her ABFAS page.

"I would love to tell ABFAS's readers about the book that takes up where mine leave off," Riki told us. We can't wait to read what Riki has to say about Ted Nace's Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy, which probes the roots of corporate power, finding answers in surprising places.

Read Riki's review on the ABFAS forum.

Buy Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy - $16.95

SPRING IS COMING!
Jen's Book Picks

Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: At work in the wild and cultivated world by Wendy Johnson

I've never encountered such a rich, holistic, gardening book. On one page Zen meditations and contemplations of the web of life; on another, clear instructions on the best way to water plants, and the correct temperature range for compost; on the next page, a recipe for squash, leek and apple soup. The beautiful prose is enriched by lovely pencil sketches throughout. This is a gardening book to enjoy all year long: a book to read slowly, to treasure, and to dream over.

Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: At work in the wild and cultivated world - $25.00

Organic Garden Basics: Five easy steps to growing organically by Bob Flowerdew

This, on the other hand, is the perfect simple, quick-start book, ideal for someone just getting going in organic techniques. It's the book for a fine spring morning: you can quickly scan for the information you need while you finish that morning cup of coffee, anxious to head out into the garden. Everything about this book works in harmony to make the information clear and easily accessed: good graphics, clear writing, summaries, and easy-to-read layout. There's a chart to help you see what kind of soil you have and how to work with or improve it. There's a simple summary of dig vs no-dig philosophies, showing how to choose what works best for your lifestyle and your bit of earth. Worms, compost, green manure, pest and weed control, companion planting, layout, an annual calendar, it's all there.

Organic Garden Basics: Five easy steps to growing organically - $9.95

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." -- John Keats

Celebrate the beauty of poetry with ABFAS this month. Let lyricism blossom with the glacier lilies and spring beauties. Take a moment this month to pick up a favorite poetry book. And you may enjoy this website from the Academy of American Poets: http://www.poets.org