'Sense of Place' Introductory Meeting Dec. 11 at 7pm at the Canterbury's 2nd floor

Clear Lake Education Center and Escanaba’s Canterbury Bookstore invite you to a “Sense of Place” program series for 2019.  Beginning in January, the monthly series will focus on exploring Delta County’s rich natural and cultural heritage, our watersheds, weather, businesses, history, geography and more in an effort to enrich our understand of and connection to the place we live.  It will help us understand “what makes this place tick.”

The monthly series will feature a mid-week one-hour study session at the bookstore with subject materials provided that prepares participants for the following Saturday field trip to sites around the county.  Saturday tours will be an in-depth experience at the venue for that month.

Mark your calendar!  You are invited to an informational and registration meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 11 at 7 pm at Canterbury Bookstore.  A short Sense of Place video will be shown.  Refreshments will be provided.

A registration/materials fee of $45 will be charged each participant for the first six programs, Jan-June.  Single session walk-ins are also encouraged at $10 per session.  Registration for the second half of the 2019 series will occur in June.

Some of the proposed venues may include water quality studies via remotely operated aquatic vehicles aboard the Inland Seas Education Assn. schooner Utopia, the Delta Historical Society Museum and lighthouse, Upper Hand Brewery, Besse veneer mill, geology and butterflies on Peninsula Point, nature journaling on the Days River Trail, Hannaville tribal history, Northern Sun Winery tour to learn the ins and outs of excellent wine making, birding at Portage Point, and an introduction to the MSU Extension’s Field Research Station, among others.  Participants will vote on the various venues you’d like to visit through the year as the program is developed. 

For more information, stop by the bookstore, see the Clear Lake Education Center and Canterbury Bookstore’s Facebook pages, www.clearlakeinfo.org, www.canterburybookstore.com websites, or call 906-786-0751.

See you December 11!

Book signing with local author Richard P. Smith Dec. 12

From the Press Release written by event organizer Lucy LaFaive:

Veteran Michigan outdoor writer Richard P. Smith from Marquette will be at Canterbury Books in Escanaba on Wednesday, December 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., autographing his many deer and bear hunting books and DVDs, including his latest title published this year. Book 7 of Great Michigan Deer Tales is the latest addition to his collection of books for hunters. It’s the 28th book he’s written. Like the other six books in the Deer Tales series, which will also be available at the signing, Book 7 has a new collection of short stories about some of the biggest bucks bagged by hunters in the state.

Besides chapters that cover how, where, when and by whom whitetails of state record proportions were taken, there’s a chapter about the first albino buck tagged in the state that qualified for state records, the biggest 6-pointers taken in the state and a 91-year-old hunter from the UP who bagged more than 100 deer. The new book contains short stories about bucks that reached the ripe old age of 8 ½ before finally being shot and a father, daughter team who bagged four trophy bucks between them during a memorable year.

There are stories about big bucks bagged with centerfire rifles, shotguns, handguns, muzzleloaders, compound bows and crossbows all across the state from north to south. Big bucks bagged by women are covered as well as those taken by the guys. If you are interested in shooting a big buck yourself, reading the stories of how other hunters have accomplished the feat will help make it happen.

If you don’t yet have copies of Books 3 and 4 of Great Michigan Deer Tales, you might want to consider getting them now. Those two titles contain in depth information about a huge 12-point buck that Mitch Rompola from Traverse City claimed with bow and arrow in Grand Traverse County during November of 1998. That buck had antlers that score more than any other typical whitetail in North America. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the taking of that one-of-a-kind deer.

Other deer hunting titles that will available at the signing are the 3rd edition of Tracking Wounded Deer and Stand Hunting For Whitetails. The 3rd edition of Tracking Wounded Deer was published during 2017 and includes far more information than the 2nd edition along with all color photos. Stand Hunting For Whitetails is about the most popular deer hunting method and includes tips and tricks about how to hunt most effectively from both tree stands and ground blinds.

Smith also produced a 90-minute DVD with his wife’s help titled Walking With Whitetails that should appeal to anyone interested in deer, not just hunters. The DVD covers deer behavior year round and was filmed while the videographer actually walked with a group of deer, including bucks up to 4 ½ years old and older does, that learned to trust him. The video shows some unique deer behavior that few people have witnessed along with does nursing their fawns, bucks rubbing their antlers on trees and fighting.

If you’re into black bear hunting or know someone who is that you want to buy a Christmas gift for, the 2nd edition of Black Bear Hunting may be what you are looking for. This 368-page volume with hundreds of color photos is the most comprehensive book on the subject on the market today. The UP author also wrote Understanding Michigan Black Bear, an excellent reference for anyone who wants to learn about Michigan bears and how to avoid problems from them when outdoors hiking, camping, fishing or hunting.

Smith’s 46-minute DVD about Field Judging Black Bears is also an excellent reference for bear hunters. It provides simple techniques that anyone can use to help determine the size and sex of bears that they see. The size of black bears can be extremely difficult to judge under hunting conditions, especially for hunters who have not seen many of the animals in the wild.

For those who are not able to make it to the signing, Smith’s books and DVDs will still be available in the stores. Autographed copies can also be ordered from him through his web site: www.RichardPSmith.com. His mailing address to send orders is 814 Clark St. Marquette, MI 49855.

Book signings by Richard P. Smith

City: Escanaba

Store: Canterbury Books

Location: 908 Ludington St.

Dates:     Wednesday, Dec. 12

Time: 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Songs and Wisdom of Mr. Rogers - Tues. Dec. 4 at 6:30pm at Escanaba Public Library

Come join us this coming Tuesday, December 4th at 6:30pm at the Escanaba Public Library for a free event inspired by the work of Mr. Rogers! Local musician and educator Phil Lynch and our own Rebecca Bender of the Canterbury Book Store (this is Jesse writing this because Rebecca is too humble to promote herself) have put together a program of songs and spoken words adapted from the show.

Both Phil and Rebecca deeply appreciate the both the positive, reinforcing message woven through Mr. Roger’s work as well as the teaching methods he used to convey that message.

So bring the whole family! Light refreshments will be served at the event as well!

Hear here! Audiobooks are now an option

We are delighted to have found a great way to connect our customers with inexpensive, download-friendly audiobooks.

There is a company called Libro.fm which partners with small book stores like ours to offer a wide array of audiobooks individually or with a membership subscription. You can find us there, or our friends at Snowbound Books, and a number of other bricks and mortar shops around the country. Check it out: https://libro.fm/canterbury

Perhaps you have tried Audible but do not care for the aftertaste of Amazon, or if you just want to make purchases from small businesses and local taxpayers - well, try it and let us know what you think.

(PS - If you would still prefer an audiobook on CD, we do have a small selection at the store and the Escanaba Public Library keeps plenty in stock. Easy listening!)

Author Ken Bloom at the Canterbury Nov. 3 for the Bonifas Art Walk

Author Ken Bloom will be in residence here at the Canterbury Book Store tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 3, as part of the Bonifas Art Center’s Holiday Art Walk! We will be opening at 10am tomorrow in honor of the event, so please do stop in and chat with Bloom and buy his latest novel. Then visit the many other downtown businesses and artists taking part in the event, as well as the Bonifas Center itself for a bake sale and art raffle!

More information can be found at the Bonifas’s website.

Halloween!

Neigbhorhood Talk on Wednesday, Oct 31 at 4:30pm

Hello all! Despite the spooky Halloween happenings, we are still holding the scariest of all events at the bookstore tomorrow: open discussion! Come join us at 4:30pm tomorrow at the Canterbury for a discussion open to the public. The loose topic for discussion will be fear - what scares us, what fear prevents us from doing, and what it spurs us onward to do.

Feel free to come dressed in costume. :)

Smattering of new books around

New books in! Among them are these four from especially popular authors: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

'The House on Turner Lane' by James Nelson - Just in!

Just in time for the sppoooooookkkyyyyy month of October, we have James Nelson’s latest thriller, The House on Turner Lane. Taking place in the remote wilderness and small towns of the UP, the novel follows Rachel’s Thompson’s search for her missing sister, and the secrets and bodies she trips over along the way. Come get a copy of this gripping mystery!

Neighborhood Talks - community building series

We love our community, as a business - sure, but also as a couple of human beings hoping to learn and grow alongside our friends and neighbors.

Since we took over the Canterbury Book Store we have had so many interesting and inspiring conversations, meeting everyday people with remarkable lives and interests. We feel so rich to have this social life, and would like to share it with our customers. Rebecca is reading the recent biography of Fred Rogers and moved to ask, “how can we be good neighbors?”

Starting this Wednesday we are going to open our doors after-hours and lure you in with coffee and snacks. The first discussion will be based on The Good Neighbor (available in-store, but under no obligation), and we hope to grow into a small group series based on the interests of our community. Science cafe? Reading group? Storytelling? Consider yourself invited!

Early childhood support continues at the Escanaba Public Library - plus special events in October!

Early childhood is such a precious time to spend with stories, books, and socializing. The Escanaba Public Library is a champion of this important effort, and I remember visiting several times a week when I was young. I wish I could be there now, attending these great events, so please take your kids there, for my sake...

Toddler Time is Wednesdays from 10:30 to 11:30 am, a free event (with pre-registration) for stories, songs, movement, puppets, and crafts for 2-4 year olds and their parents.

Lapsit is Fridays at 10:30 am for babies 3-23 months old, another free event (with pre-registration) with stories full of singing, rhyming, bouncing and clapping.

Saturday Story Hour will be once a month; the next story hour will be October 20 at 1:30p pm for fun stories, silly songs, special guests, and themed activities. Family Games will take that time slot on October 6th, when you can bring your own games or try something from the Library’s collection.

There are a few other special events n October focused on grown-ups, including Growing U.P. with Storyteller Pete Griffin about his life, natural history, leadership, and learning as a (former) forest ranger, and the What’s It Worth appraisal event with author and antiques expert Mark Moran on the 18th.

We stole this information right out of the local newspaper (thanks Daily Press!), but you are welcome to call us if you have any additional questions or if you would like us to hold activities like these at our store. Thanks for being with us!

Start 'em early! Back to school for kids not in school

Programs are starting up for those of you with little ones 18 months to 5 years old.

Toddler Art with Lorne Watson at the Bonifas on Thursdays at 9:30am with Preschool Art and Music to follow Thursdays at 10:30am for ages 4-5 years; Session 1 from September 13-October 25th. Join the class for creative play, art, and music.

Kindermusik with Cheryl Mounsey will be here, Friday at 10:30am at Canterbury Book Store. (This is a first for us, so please RSVP to Cheryl or call by Thursday if you think you can make it). 4-7 year olds can catch afternoons Friday at 3:45pm at the Salvation Army for group play with music, rhythm and dance.

And of course, remember to be reading with your kiddos at home as well - it is never too early to start and there is no such thing as too much reading time.

Happy 906 Day! Read local!

Beneath blue skies and a cool breeze, we celebrate all things UP on 906 Day! Pick up a Yooper Bar at Sayklly's, a cup of UP North Roast at The Stone Cup, and settle in with a good book from one of the local authors we carry in our store. Here is a shortcut for browsing below:

Nino Green is a law man you probably recognize from Risking Justice  and Justice on the Side. We also carry Thomas P. Casselman of Marquette, who shares defense strategies from 40 years of law in I talk, You Walk.

Books range from Janet Flickinger-Bonarski's The Winds of Fortune, a novel based on life in Fayette during its heyday, to R.J. Schermer's surprising tale of boyhood accompanied by a friendly squirrel.

Jane Mudrovich of Escanaba serves up a story of girls growing up in the 1960s in Detroit with a hearty dose of family and a pinch of magic.

You can hear Mollie Larsen's familiar voice in two books of short stories, A Bit of Memory, Magic and Mystery and Story Tellin'. 

Stacey Randall's Creating Cousin Camp is a how-to guide on setting aside a time for extended family to get together and strengthen their faith.

M.J. Williams spent many years as a Yooper (although she now lives in Madison). Her two part series looks at an RV trip derailed by a murder and investigation. Nancy Barr also published a series of mysteries that feature the UP heavily as a backdrop for murder most foul. Look for Page One: White Out and others in the series!

Jim Nelson has a series of mystery and crime thriller books, including such hits as The Butterfly Conspiracy. Keep an eye out for his latest book, The House on Turner Lane, being published at the end of this month!

We also carry Nicole Young's three-part UP mystery series starring the fantastic protagonist Patricia Amble. In fact, there are a stunning number of mysteries from this part of the world - check out Jim Harrison and Steve Hamilton too - if you haven't yet.

Tom Bissell has written several titles over the years, including a short story collection God Lives in St. Petersburg and a personal account of his father's life, service in Vietnam, and relationship with his family in The Father of All Things.

At this point, you had better just come in the store to browse. We are rich in 906!

New Titles Aug. 29 2018

Some new titles on our featured shelf today - including Dead Man Running, the latest in Steve Hamilton's series; Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis; and Clock Dance by Anne Tyler! Come on by and read a few pages - see if they grab your attention.

Children's book author Michael Leannah at the store on Sept. 1st!

On Saturday, Sept. 1 we will be hosting a special morning event with children's book author Michael Leannah! The event will run from 11am-12pm, and Michael will read his latest book Goodnight Whispers, about the positive effect a father's encouraging words has on his daughter's life and development. Bring your children - the book is an absolute treat that they won't want to miss.

Afterwards, Leannah will be on hand to sell and sign books and chat with people about the book-writing process.

Leannah is also the author of the acclaimed children's book Most People, which explains that even though your town or city contains many different kinds of people, most of them have the same likes and loves as you and me. The book had a very favorable review in the New York Times as part of group of children's books that help teach empathy: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/books/review/why-am-i-me-paige-britt-empathy-children.html

A review of Goodnight Whispers from Kirkus.com:
A dad-side complement to Love You Forever. As the book opens, the unnamed dad tucks his wee infant daughter in and whispers, "You are the most wonderful girl in the world," in her ear. He whispers like loving affirmations every night as the baby grows to toddlerhood and beyond, adapting his statements to her developmental stage and her activities. But where Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw's mother's helicopter tendencies achieved pathological status, this dad seems to support his daughter's maturation. When she moves "far away," he is present only as a photo in her apartment and his remembered voice encouraging her through the inevitable difficulties of independence. But when he ails, she returns with her own babe in arms to care for him, whispering affirmations first in his sleeping ear and then her own infant's. Torrent's naïve-style illustrations are suffused with warm hues, visually reinforcing the paternal love the book expresses, though at times compositions are a little hard to decode. The dad presents white while the daughter has East Asian features; there is no other parent in evidence, allowing readers to see a single dad, a transracial adoption, and/or an interracial family with another parent simply out of the frame. Will this book have grown adults breaking down in tears in children's sections as Love You Forever is wont to do? That remains to be seen, but at least it offers a storyline without breaking and entering. (Picture book. 4-7)

Review of Most People from New York Times Book reviewer R. J. Palacio:
There’s a similar big-picture approach to diversity in “Most People,” written by the first-time picture book author Michael Leannah and illustrated by Jennifer E. Morris (“May I Please Have a Cookie?”), but the art wisely introduces repeating characters that weave in and out to form a separate narrative that aligns beautifully with the text. “Most people,” we are told, love to smile and laugh. Most people want to help other people. Most people love the sunshine. Most people are good. There are some people who aren’t good, of course, but if you could line up all the good people and all the bad ones, the line of good people would be much, much longer. That simple reasoning is perfectly pitched for its young audience, who will enjoy piecing together the story-within-a-story of the two main characters as they illustrate the messages of the text within the context of their own lives. “Most People” works especially well because it doesn’t just tell children to “be” good. It shows them how to “do” good.

And just for good measure, a couple of links! One to the publisher's page for Goodnight Whispers: http://familius.com/goodnight-whispers and for the page for Most People https://tilburyhouse.com/book/education-and-teaching/by-subject/multicultural/most-people/

Amazing Race wrap-up

The Amazing Race event, held in support of the Child Advocacy Center in Delta County (https://www.mikids.org/), wrapped up a couple hours ago, and it was amazing! Everyone, both participants and volunteers, looked like they were having a grand time, and we had a lot of fun watching people scramble around the book store looking for clue to their next destination. Hopefully we didn't cost anyone the gold medal :|

For those who were directed elsewhere at the split, here's a little example of what you missed:

The initial clue

And some of the books hidden around the store . . .

We hope to be another stop along the race next year! Major props to all the organizers and volunteers who made the event possible who do the valuable work at the Child Advocacy Center itself.

Construction Junction

Some big changes on our little 900 block of Ludington Street! Our neighboring building, which had been leaning precariously to the right and had been condemned, was torn down over the past weekend!

Now you see it:
 

Now you don't:

This was all the fine, delicate work of Brunette & Son, Inc. It requires a steady hand to pluck a building out from between two others, and they managed to do it with no damage to our building and only superficial damage to its other neighbor (which it was directly leaning against). Plus, the laid down some topsoil and seeded it with grass!

We don't know what the future plans for the lot are; a lot of people are throwing around the idea of a pocket park, which would be awesome! But, as far as I know, no one is taking concrete steps to make that happen. I'd also be down for another, more structural sound building there too, so who knows?

We made it to the front cover of the Daily Press!

The Daily press just published a great interview with us - many thanks to Jordan Beck for his excellent journalistic skills! The full article can be read here:
http://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2018/07/new-owners-take-helm-at-canterbury-book-store/

Find a field guide - then find everything else!

We hope everyone is enjoying this amazing weather! Bring along a guide for bird identification, wildflowers, mushrooms, constellations, boats and whatever else is getting you excited about the outdoors. I guarantee that learning names and patterns of the things around you can open your eyes to new joys (and new flavors!)

Try it out - RB

P.S. Cindy Bender has an eye for morels. She is a great person to know.