Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.” It is in this sentiment that we present the North Atlantic Books staff picks of favorite reads from 2009. Enjoy!

Richard Grossinger, Publisher
*The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
*Gone Boy by Gregory Gibson
*Stones of the New Consciousness by Robert Simmons

Lindy Hough, Publisher/Executive Editor
*The Garden Of Last Days by Andre Dubus III, one of my favorite novelists: A lush, riveting story of the last Florida night of one of the 9/11 terrorists who becomes fixated on a single-mom stripper who loses her child. Beautifully written.
*The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin by Patrick Doud — a boy journeys far into a parallel universe, proving himself ten times over as he befriends a stalwart girl trying to free a captured Queen who is the moral center of this land.
*Ruby Roth’s fearless children’s book That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book about Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things —quirky surreal illustrations help the reader understand why eating meat and chicken doesn’t equate.

Allegra Harris, Sales & Marketing Manager:
*When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Sedaris is always good for some light plane reading. This book does not disappoint.
*Outrageous Acts of Everyday Rebellions by Gloria Steinem
Steinem’s historic essay “I Was a Playboy Bunny” will make you rethink “The Girls Next Door.” It’s a great book to help us realize how far we have come, and how far there still is to go on gender rights issues.
*That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals by Ruby Roth
I have given this book as a gift to more people than I can count! Stunning art, wonderful and lovely author, and powerful message—doesn’t get any better.

Elizabeth Kennedy, Senior Editor:
*Homer & Langley by E. L. Doctorow
I have a thing for books that trace the wavering line where lunacy begins. Doctorow is a master. A deft, rich, sad, hilarious portrait of the Collyer brothers—hoarders, recluses—of Fifth Avenue fame. I wouldn’t change a word.
*Missy by Chris Hannan
This came out in paperback in ’09, so I’ll squeeze it onto this list. This book is an absolute riot. It’s written from the perspective of an indomitable protagonist, Dol McQueen, an opium-addicted prostitute of the Wild West and I guarantee it: you won’t want to put the book down.
*Sustainable Sushi by Casson Trenor
I want to do right by the planet, but I can be lazy. So this is the kind of book for me—a portable guide to eating sushi without decimating our oceans. In fact, I wish there were more books like this to make all my adventures so ethical.

Emily Boyd, Senior Editor
*The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
A fictional take on the lives of the young Tudors—Princess Mary and her half-sister, Elizabeth I—seen through the eyes of invented main character, a young girl who has come to court. Totally captivating.
*The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
What could be better than reading a book about a magical island while vacationing on the magical island of Maui?
*Shamanic Astrology by Lucy Harmer
A fascinating guide to the twelve spirit animals that teaches you how to figure out which animal corresponds to your birth sign, what the personalities of each of the twelve animals are, and how compatible the different animals are with one another. An informative and fun way to learn more about yourself (from your work life to your love life to your health) and others— your coworkers, friends, and family.

Drew Cavanaugh, Distribution & Marketing Lead
*Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys by David Henry Sterry and R. J. Martin Jr.: a collection of essays written by those who worked or are currently working in the sex trade. A gift from a close friend. Fascinating read.
*The Traveling Companion & Other Plays by Tennessee Williams: a wonderful collection of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays; rekindled my love of one of a truly great playwright.
*Superfoods by David Wolfe: A thorough and inspiring guide about the benefits of among the healthiest foods on the planet, and integrating them into your diet. A great gift book.

Erin Wiegand, Editor
This was the year in which I embraced the e-book. After discovering the awesome application Stanza, I began reading books on my iPod Touch. Here are three books I read digitally in 2009:
*Perdido Street Station by China Miéville – A truly beautiful and riveting book. It’s got magic; steampunk technology; mad science; humanoid scarab beetles, nomadic bird-people, and sentient cacti; a populace on the verge of revolution; a dangerously powerful, self-aware computer; a Kafkaesque penal system; gigantic moth-like creatures that feed on dreams; forbidden love; and a multi-dimensional giant spider who’s obsessed with scissors. One of my favorite novels ever.
*Lockpick Pornography by Joey Comeau – A brilliant and subversive first novel from the writer of the webcomic “A Softer World.” It’s about four queer punks who, fed up with the pervasiveness of binary gender and heteronormative sexuality, write a gender-questioning children’s book and plant it in schools, libraries, and homes. Raises excellent questions about sex, gender, crime, terrorism, and altering the public dialogue. This book is available as a free PDF at www.lockpickbook.net.
*The Story of Crass by George Berger – Published just a few months ago by PM Press, this book chronicles the history of the anarcho-punk band Crass. Fascinating, especially when read alongside Crass co-founder Penny Rimbaud’s memoir, Shibboleth.

Kat Engh, Online Marketing & Publicity Coordinator
*Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
*The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin by Patrick Doud
*Show Me How by Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom

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What were your favorite reads of 2009?

Robert Simmons, founder of Heaven and Earth and, with his wife Kathy Warner, co-founder of the renowned Crystal Conference, has spent his lifetime studying stones and their relationship with the human world. His The Book of Stones is considered “the most in-depth, definitive guide to the world of crystals, minerals, gemstones and their metaphysical energies that has yet been written.”1 In that book he explains our early obsession thoroughly.

So what next? What does one do after writing the “definitive guide” on the subject of his or her passion?

To forge onward is to swim through uncertainty; yet that is precisely what Simmons did. As Robert Sardello explains in the introduction:

No one, NO ONE, until this book, has developed a clear and persuasive framework for understanding why anyone would desire to work meditatively with crystals and minerals for other than what finally amounts to personal desire for improvement, healing or receiving qualities that one feels in need of.

Stones of the New Consciousness is Simmon’s attempt to grasp a less egoistic relationship with stones. Self-improvement is integral to establishing and maintaining harmony with the universe, but to stop at inward satisfaction would be to shut oneself off from the larger world process. As Sardello puts it, we should “get out of ourselves and dwell within qualities so large and vast and deep and unending and so active and all-encompassing that not only are we changed, but currents of change then reverberate into the world.”

Stones of the New Consciousness is not like previous guidebooks; it is more like an invitation to accompany Mr. Simmons on a personal journey, a bona fide VIP pass to discovery. Come along with Simmons as he meditates on a more resounding understanding of his singular passion. Be there as he develops and refines a new consciousness!

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch an amazing film called The Waking Life. You can read the full text here, and I highly recommend it. In one of the many dream sequences we are reminded that our cells completely regenerate every seven years, so that we are different people several times over than we were as children—the only thing that remains is our consciousness. Our bodies are naturally changing over time, and our consciousness should too.

This is a good framework, I think, to understand Simmons’ new text. Working with gems can assist in understanding the ever-crystallizing nature we are a part of and how to use this understanding to make not only ourselves, but the whole world a more beautiful and fully-realized totality, to improve not only our bodies and our minds but the relationship between the two; not project a mere reflection of our current state but a crystallization of the over-arching process. To become a crystal is to be attuned with the higher order of the Earth and the Cosmos, and Robert Simmons’ Stones of the New Consciousness is a personal gateway that YOU are invited to enter!

The book also contains a wealth of beautiful pictures (from which I’ve taken those above)!

$19.95—$22.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-811-0
320 pages; 7 x 10-7/8

To order, please visit www.northatlanticbooks.com

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Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft
By Dale Pendell

This is the first volume of North Atlantic Books’ hardcover edition of Dale Pendell’s Pharmako trilogy, an encyclopedic study of the history and uses of psychoactive plants and related synthetics. The books form an interrelated suite of works that provide the reader with a unique, reliable, and often personal immersion in this medically, culturally, and spiritually fascinating subject. All three books are beautifully designed and illustrated, and are written with unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and range.

Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft focuses on familiar psychoactive plant-derived substances and related synthetics, ranging from the licit (tobacco, alcohol) to the illicit (cannabis, opium) and the exotic (absinthe, salvia divinorum, nitrous oxide). Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant’s effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.

$35.00
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-887-5
304 pages; 7 x 9 ¼

On Sale August 3, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.
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Pharmako/Dynamis: Stimulating Plants, Potions, and Herbcraft
By Dale Pendell

Pharmako/Dynamis: Stimulating Plants, Potions, and Herbcraft, the second volume of the Pharmako trilogy, focuses on stimulants (including coffee, tea, chocolate, and coca and its derivatives) and empathogens (notably Ecstasy). Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant’s effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.

$35.00
Hard Cover
978-1-55643-888-2
304 pages; 7 x 9 ¼

On Sale August 3, 2009

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Pharmako/Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path
By Dale Pendell

Pharmako/Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path, the third and final volume of the Pharmako trilogy, focuses on plant-based and derivative psychedelic “teachers” (including ayahuasca, peyote, LSD, and DMT) and on the “poison path” of substances such as belladonna, ketamine, and ibogaine. Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant’s effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.

$35.00
Hard Cover
978-1-55643-889-9
398 pages; 7 x 9 ¼

On Sale August 3, 2009
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The Challenge of Islam: The Prophetic Tradition
By Norman O. Brown

The Challenge of Islam: The Prophetic Tradition is an enlightening set of lectures given by Norman O. Brown, exploring a wide-ranging array of topics concerning Islam. Brown reveals the overlooked relationship between Islam and early Christianity, exploring Islam’s relation to, and revision of, the Christian tradition, the literary innovation of the Qu’ran, the nature of revolutionary and political Islam, and the vision of a world civilization. Throughout these lectures, Brown seeks to educate the reader on misunderstood areas of Islam, including the split between the Sunni and Shi’ite sects and Islam’s exemplification of the broad themes of art and imagination in human life. The author’s world-historical perspective of religion and tradition gives readers a crucial alternative to the divisive “clash of civilizations” view that paints Islam as at odds with the West. He exposes the unifying strands between Islam and early Judeo-Christian doctrine, showing that Islam is in fact a genuine part of “Western” tradition, and more importantly, part of a global tradition that embraces us all.

$14.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-802-8
164 pages; 6 x 9

On Sale August 4, 2009
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Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health
By Victoria Boutenko

Thanks to processed and fast foods, being overworked, and feeling stressed while eating on the fly, it is increasingly difficult for most of us to eat anywhere near a balanced diet. We may not be obviously sick, but may suffer from lack of focus, insomnia, sluggishness, or any host of symptoms caused by nutritional deficiency. Green Smoothie Revolution takes aim at this silent epidemic by restoring balance to our diets. Combining nutrition and know-how with recipes that pack a powerhouse punch, Victoria Boutenko reintroduces long neglected fruits, vegetables, and greens in the most persuasive style for our busy lives: with fast prep and delicious results. Featuring 150 recipes, Green Smoothie Revolution offers both simplicity (4 ripe pears, 1 bunch parsley, 2 cups water; blend well) and enough variety to keep taste buds happy and nutrients coming from a wealth of options.

$14.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-812-7
184 pages; 6 x 9

On Sale August 4, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.
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Macrobiotics for Life: A Practical Guide to Healing for Body, Mind, and Heart
By Simon Brown

Macrobiotics for Life presents a complete, holistic approach to health that can be applied to the body, mind, and soul. Combining the concept of a healthy, natural-foods lifestyle with a philosophy of self-love, macrobiotic expert Simon Brown explains how food, exercise, and bodywork can create greater physical health. Written in an accessible, easy-to-understand style, the book takes readers through simple steps beginning with thought, exercise, and diet, and shows how to bring macrobiotic practice into everyday life. Topics include healing the mind (letting go of assumptions and judgments), healing the heart (listening to one’s emotions), and healing the body (caring for one’s skin, energizing one’s organs, and creating a healthy digestive system). Brown offers extensive information about macrobiotic foods— tips for eating out, saving time in the kitchen, dealing with food cravings—and a variety of menu plans to help readers get started.

$18.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-786-1
392 pages; 7 x 9 ¼

On Sale August 4, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.
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Reunion on the Rainbow Bridge: My Parents’ Past Lives and the One They Shared with Me
By Sherri Defesche

In 1953, Sherri Defesche’s parents, Jim and Shirley Slover, were married in a hospital room just ten days after a car accident had left Shirley a paraplegic. What followed, despite the hardships they faced, was a 46-year love affair blessed with unconditional love, joy, and four happy children. When Shirley died in 1999, a grief-stricken Defesche began to explore her deepest beliefs about death, eventually discovering Eastern spiritual philosophies about the afterlife and the possibility of past lives. In this book, Defesche details her meeting with a past-life regression therapist, who helps her discover that her parents had been soul mates over more than 200 incarnations. From Lemurians living in paradise to Celtic children in Scotland, from a Chinese farming family to World War I heroes, her parents’ past lives provide the author with a sweeping historical context that helps her to understand the undying nature of her parents’ soul connection and love, and why human beings continue to incarnate across eons.

$16.95
Trade Paper
978-1-58394-265-9
256 pages; 6 x 9

On Sale August 25, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.
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Soulshaping: A Journey of Self-Creation
By Jeff Brown

Soulshaping is the memoir of an archetypal “male warrior”—a trial lawyer—who struggles to find his heart. Jeff Brown’s dramatic, often funny story takes readers through remarkably human experiences—emotional, physical, and economic—as he vividly recounts his troubled childhood, his success in apprenticing with Eddie Greenspan, Canada’s top criminal lawyer, and his ultimate decision to leave the law and begin an inner journey to discover his true self. As his story unfolds, readers are sure to recognize qualities in themselves that they are afraid to reveal in today’s chaotic and over-stimulated world. Brown helps readers understand that they are not alone. He shows that everyone’s seemingly isolated struggles are actually part of the greater human challenge to live a life that is soul-sourced and soul-driven. A journey of courageous self-creation, this book is for anyone who has heard a whisper of something truer calling out to them amid the distractions of modern life.

$15.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-810-3
212 pages; 6 x 9

On Sale August 25, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.

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Stones of the New Consciousness: Healing, Awakening and Co-creating with Crystals, Minerals and Gems
By Robert Simmons

Stones of the New Consciousness begins with a new approach to meditation with stones, and to the possibility of conscious relationship with the spiritual beings who express themselves in our world as crystals and minerals. This beautifully designed book examines the most important stones that help accelerate and enhance human evolution. The stones include Moldavite, the extraterrestrial amorphous crystal; Nuummite, the oldest gemstone on Earth; and Circle Stones, the highly energetic Flint found in crop circle formations. Author Robert Simmons includes historical and mythological references for each stone. Simmons presents practices for deepening one’s awareness of the stones’ gifts—from expanding one’s consciousness, to healing, to fulfilling one’s personal and collective destiny. While emphasizing direct contact with stones, the book also explores crystal energy tools, energy environments, and applications such as stone elixirs and essences that can aid anyone on a spiritual path.

$19.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-811-0
320 pages; 7 x 10 7/8

On Sale August 25, 2009
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The Way of Christ: The Gospel of John through the Unitive Lens
By Albert LaChance

In this provocative book, Albert LaChance approaches the Gospel of John from the perspective of Eastern mysticism, drawing on indigenous beliefs and ancient global spiritual traditions originating in the Middle East, India, and China. Through this expansive approach, the book attempts to understand John’s Gospel in its richest sense—as a guide to achieving the direct experience of a universal God. Throughout the book, LaChance returns to the Gospel’s Prologue and uses it as a framework for uncovering Jesus’s message about his own identity as the Son of God and his similarities to ancient Eastern mystics. The author also discusses themes woven throughout the Gospel of John that derive from Eastern religions and other indigenous spiritual practices: individual ego versus the essential self, separation versus union, and the earthly versus the heavenly. This important book delves into the mysteries of Christian understanding to unearth universal truths, defining the very essence of religious and spiritual experience.

$16.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-801-1
320 pages; 6 x 9

On Sale August 25, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.