This House of Books | Your member-owned, independent bookstore and tea shop in downtown Billings, Montana

The Whimsical Muse: Writing Workshop with Danell Jones

IGNITE YOUR MUSE!

Danell Jones is teaming up with This House of Books to offer a special one-hour online writing workshop featuring prompts from her new book The Whimsical Muse: Poetic Play for Busy Creatives.

This will be a hands-on workshop appropriate for all skill levels.
The focus is poetry, but fiction writers, playwrights, essayists, journalists, and anyone else wanting to get inspired will find their creativity ignited and their spirits lifted.
The price includes a free copy of The Whimsical Muse and will be offered at four different times during the first week of December to suit all schedules.

Available Sessions: (Please choose only one)

Tuesday, December 1: Noon
Wednesday, December 2: 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 5: 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, December 5: 1:00 p.m.

Price
$25.00 including a copy of The Whimsical Muse
$20.00 for workshop only

To Register:
Purchase a copy of The Whimsical Muse on our website, and add a donation of $10.00. Put "Danell workshop" and the date you would like to choose in the comments section of your order. (If you would like to register for only the workshop, donate $20.00 and put "Danell workshop" and the date you would like to choose in the comments.)

You can also call us (406) 459-3462 or come into the store to register.

Closer to the time of your online workshop, you will receive a link via email with instructions on how to join!

Bonus Gift:
The first seven people who register online will also receive a Whimsical Muse pocket notebook!

Read more about The Whimsical Muse: Writing Workshop with Danell Jones

2020 Holiday Picks

Gift Suggestions Curated by Indie Bookstores (including us)!

(Pictured above are the 2020 High Plains Book Award finalists...all of which would make great gifts!)

Becoming a Good Creature (Hardcover)

By Sy Montgomery, Rebecca Green (Illustrator)

$17.99

ISBN: 9780358252108

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: HMH Books for Young Readers - September 29th, 2020

School is not the only place to find a teacher. In this picture book adaptation of Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's New York Times best-selling How to Be a Good Creature, learn the many surprising lessons animals have to teach us about friendship, compassion, and how to be a better creature in the world.

Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Cover Image

Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers (Hardcover)

By Jessica Roux

Email or call for price

ISBN: 9781524858148

Availability: Backordered

Published: Andrews McMeel Publishing - September 15th, 2020

Floriography is a full-color guide to the historical uses and secret meanings behind an impressive array of flowers and herbs. The book explores the coded significances associated with various blooms, from flowers for a lover to flowers for an enemy.

The language of flowers was historically used as a means of secret communication. It soared in popularity during the 19th century, especially in Victorian England and the U.S., when proper etiquette discouraged open displays of emotion. Mysterious and playful, the language of flowers has roots in everything from the characteristics of the plant to its presence in folklore and history. Researched and illustrated by popular artist Jessica Roux, this book makes a stunning display piece, conversation-starter, or thoughtful gift.

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry Cover Image

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry (Paperback)

By Joy Harjo (Editor), LeAnne Howe (With), Jennifer Elise Foerster (With)

$19.95

ISBN: 9780393356809

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: W. W. Norton & Company - August 25th, 2020

This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries. Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize-winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organized sections. Each section begins with a poem from traditional oral literatures and closes with emerging poets, ranging from Eleazar, a seventeenth-century Native student at Harvard, to Jake Skeets, a young Diné poet born in 1991, and including renowned writers such as Luci Tapahanso, Natalie Diaz, Layli Long Soldier, and Ray Young Bear. When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through offers the extraordinary sweep of Native literature, without which no study of American poetry is complete.

El Deafo: The Superpowered Edition Cover Image

El Deafo: The Superpowered Edition (Hardcover)

By Cece Bell

$19.99

ISBN: 9781419748318

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Harry N. Abrams - October 13th, 2020

Starting a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest. At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in the school--in the hallway...in the teacher's lounge...in the bathroom! This is power, maybe even superpower. Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, listener for all. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it's just another way of feeling different...and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?

Brian Wildsmith's Animal Gallery Cover Image

Brian Wildsmith's Animal Gallery (Hardcover)

By Brian Wildsmith, Brian Wildsmith (Illustrator)

$18.99

ISBN: 9781536212358

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Candlewick Studio - May 19th, 2020

Through these paintings, children are brought face to face with wildlife from around the world. Brian Wildsmith has captured the essence of each animal, from the playfulness of otters to a noisy gathering of parrots. His panoramic pictures also give a real sense of the animals' habitats--from a sun-soaked plain where elephants roam to icy Antarctica where penguins huddle together. Collective nouns--some familiar, others surprising--are used to describe each group of animals.

The Highlights Book of Things to Do: Discover, Explore, Create, and Do Great Things Cover Image

The Highlights Book of Things to Do: Discover, Explore, Create, and Do Great Things (Hardcover)

By Highlights (Created by)

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ISBN: 9781684376421

Availability: Backordered

Published: Highlights Press - September 22nd, 2020

"Hearkening back to the magazine's origins, the editors of Highlights have assembled an activity book with a focus on doing. . . the book offers hundreds of ideas to try inside and outside the home. In Highlights' dedication to social and emotional learning, the "Do Great Things" chapter gives tips on dealing with angry feelings, being a good listener, and other topics of well-being. Boredom busters with a purpose." -- Booklist

Anxious People: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Fredrik Backman

$28.00

ISBN: 9781501160837

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Atria Books - September 8th, 2020

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix their own marriage. There's a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them--the bank robber included--desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Rich with Fredrik Backman's "pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature" ( Shelf Awareness), Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope--the things that save us, even in the most anxious times.

The Only Good Indians (Hardcover)

By Stephen Graham Jones

$26.99

ISBN: 9781982136451

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Gallery / Saga Press - July 14th, 2020

A tale of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones. Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Cover Image

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics (Hardcover)

By Dolly Parton, Robert K. Oermann

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ISBN: 9781797205090

Availability: Backordered

Published: Chronicle Books - November 17th, 2020

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend. As told by Dolly Parton in her own inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton's personal and business archives. Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics.

- Packed with never-before-seen photographs and classic memorabilia
- Explores personal stories, candid insights, and myriad memories behind the songs

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics reveals the stories and memories that have made Dolly a beloved icon across generations, genders, and social and international boundaries.

Containing rare photos and memorabilia from Parton's archives, this book is a show-stopping must-have for every Dolly Parton fan.

- Learn the history behind classic Parton songs like "Jolene," "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," and more.
- The perfect gift for Dolly Parton fans (everyone loves Dolly!) as well as lovers of music history and country.

The Annotated African American Folktales (The Annotated Books) Cover Image

The Annotated African American Folktales (The Annotated Books) (Hardcover)

By Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Editor), Maria Tatar (Editor)

$39.95

ISBN: 9780871407535

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Liveright - November 14th, 2017

An exhaustive collection for both academic and casual audiences...Gates' and Tatar's introductions provide essential critical frameworks for understanding black folk culture's centrality to wider American culture, while the secondary sources shed light on the various methodologies and philosophies that have informed how scholars gather folklore. An exhaustive, informative, and entertaining survey of African-American folklore, its centrality to American culture, and the universality of myth.

March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) Cover Image

March (Trilogy Slipcase Set) (Paperback)

By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator)

$49.99

ISBN: 9781603093958

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Top Shelf Productions - September 6th, 2016

" March is one of the most important graphic novels ever created - an extraordinary presentation of an extraordinary life, and proof that young people can change the world. I'm stunned by the power of these comics, and grateful that Congressman Lewis's story will enlighten and inspire future generations of readers and leaders." - Raina Telgemeier

National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks Cover Image

National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks (Hardcover)

By Jon Waterman

$65.00

ISBN: 9781426220579

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: National Geographic - November 19th, 2019

"Following coverage of the U.S. parks system as a whole, this gorgeous guide from former ranger Waterman explores all 61 national parks, 33 of them in depth...Visitors to these wonders, as well as browsers and students in middle school and up doing assignments, will find a wealth of information on the natural history of the destinations; the flora, fauna, and geological features to be found there now; and numerous other details, from social history to vital statistics, such as location, size, and highest point. The work offers plenty of well-researched and effectively written textual material, as well as numerous crisply detailed photos, maps, and illustrations per spread, in color and black-and-white as appropriate. The quality of this tome and its emphasis on current features make it worth a purchase even where libraries own [it]." - Library Journal

Read more about 2020 Holiday Picks

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Midway Bravery: The Story of the U.S. Army Pilot Whose Famed Flight Helped Win a Decisive World War II Battle Cover Image

Sandstone: An Anthology to Support This House of Books Cover Image

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