Why, Eh? : Adventures of an Adult Reader

It's Perfectly Normal

A couple months ago I was thrown headfirst into the vast ocean that is YA reading. Instead of choking and drowning in the dark abyss ala Jack Dawson, I found myself happily treading water. Soon after,  I was wandering around the YA aisles when I saw the book A Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth. A wonderfully magnificent book that features a young gay girl as the protagonist.

WHAT? This exists?! My entire belief system was rocked. In all my time stumbling around on this earth I never once considered that there would be young adult books with queer protagonists. WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING ALL THIS TIME?!  I suddenly felt like Scrooge McDuck, but nicer. I just wanted to fill a room with these books and swim in them all day long whilst happily cackling to myself.

Growing up, finding any positive queer representation in any sort of media was hard enough, let alone in books. In fact, the first queer YA book was published in 1969, a year when homosexuality was still considered a mental disorder by the American Psychatric Association. LGBTQIA+ Americans were barred from government positions, and it was considered criminal in every state but Illinois. Since then the amount of YA queer books has grown from one a year in the 70s, to seven per year in the 90s, and now roughly 50 a year.

Before finding this paradise of inclusivity, much of the media I encountered featured queer characters and themes focusing on the pain and heartbreak that comes with being a gay kid. The general story was always that not everyone is accepting and there are garbage people out there, and sometimes they are the ones closest to you, and yeah it sucks. Its terrible and damaging and frightening and sad.

But these new YA books paint a different picture. They often include the character's "coming out" and their first same sex relationship and it's so cute and nostalgic it makes my teeth rot. The great thing about  reading these now, is seeing that it is seriously okay. You'll find your own family, and you'll find people who love and support you. With all the garbage happening lately, it's critical to show that not every queer story is a tragedy. When the real world is cruel to queer people, especially queer and trans people of color, then it seems even more important to imagine worlds where it is not. It is essential to carve out spaces where being queer and happy are not seen as mutually exclusive. Of course we need stories that represent our struggles, but we also need stories to nourish us, and to comfort us in times of grief and pain.

Living in a world, even an imaginary one, centered around heterosexual love perpetuates the false and frankly dangerous belief that heterosexulaity is the norm, and anything else is alien, strange, other. Instead of reinforcing this, we should be eradicating it. There is something immensely powerful in recognizing yourself in all types of media. Diversity in YA provides role models for marginalized teens, but also creates empathy for people different than ourselves. Empathy is such a powerful tool in the fight against intolerance and bigotry. These books help with learning what it means to be a social creature, to understand how and where we fit in society.

YA books are a  microcosm for our society, because they are geared toward the next generation. The changes in YA literature reflect changes in our world. And sexuality isn’t something that springs up on people in their mid twenties. Its something we are born with. When hormones kick in and we all start frantically trying to figure out how our bodies work, queer people are trying to figure out if their longings are important in addition to all the everyday angst. This shouldn't be something queer kids finally stumble upon in their 20s while researching for a blog post. This should be something they get to read about as they're experiencing it. Instead of leaving them out in the cold these books can show them that their longings are universal. They're not lonely or isolated, they're just like everyone else, and they belong.

-Courtney

Courtney's Ultimate List of the Queerest Books 

Lesbian
Everything Leads To You by Nina Lacour
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Gay
Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Bisexual
Far From You by Tess Sharpe
Bi-Normal by M.G Higgins
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Transgender
I Am J by Cris Beam
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Boy Robot Simon Curtis

Queer
Brooklyn Burning by Steve Brezenoff
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

Intersex
Double Exposure by Bridget Birdsall
None of The Above by I. W. Gregorio

Asexual
Guardian of The Dead by Karen Healey
How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford

On Running and Foundations

Lizzie at Lake Forest Park recently took a trip to Boston. While she was there, she headed out to Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. Maybe it's the air that makes people ruminate when they're around that particular body of water, but ruminate she did. She wrote it up for us, and you can read it below.

***

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

-Henry David Thoreau 

People like to spew the above quote about castles and foundations at young people, especially come graduation time. But what exactly does Thoreau mean by foundation? I always took it to mean one should set up in a place, settle down, and make enough money so that you could have the things you want and do the things you want. I'm beginning to think this is not what Mr. Thoreau had in mind when he spoke of building.

These are the things Thoreau preaches: Nature is good. Practice solitude. Man is wasteful, man is loud, man measures himself against another in futility. Nature teaches all, we must simplify our lives, and we must practice solitude and quiet. Build your foundations so your dreams may be built upon solid ground. Economical habits are held in high regard.

But his thoughts that make me squirm most are about homes and foundations. He wrote of houses, of building, of solid structure.  Beyond basic necessities, Thoreau didn't concern himself much with ownership of physical things. Build yourself, yes, build a foundation for your soul.

But how?

Running is a basic form of escapism I've found myself embracing lately. Even at such a place as Walden Pond, my very brain was running; too active, too loud to shut off. I just wanted to look and smell and enjoy and be in the moment.  It's harder than it sounds. Running is the only thing that shuts my brain up, lately. One thinks of running as the antithesis of building a foundation but I'm not certain that's the case.

Thoreau's admitted dislike for his "nosy neighbors", and his dismay at what he saw as living in excess, prompted him to reconsider what he wanted his foundation to be and led him to Walden. But let's call it what it is: the man ran away. He went to Walden Pond to escape a certain sort of living, and to avoid building a certain foundation.

I'd only recently done the very same thing. After graduation, I'd all but packed up my life and jumped on a plane, and did not land back on home turf for over a year. And I liked it that way. I learned a new language (bits and pieces of several others) and learned a kind of resilience and independence I'm not sure I could have if I'd stayed close to home.

But then again, neither of us ran forever, we both went  back to our respective Concords and our respective nosy neighbors. We both built something, but neither of us stayed forever in the place where we laid our foundation.

I didn't have time to read all of Walden sitting on the shore of Walden Pond, but I made time to read one chapter: the Conclusion. It felt fitting. In many ways one part of my life has reached its conclusion, and I must find another path around the pond. Thoreau stayed in his cottage by the pond for only two years, claiming that he'd lived enough of that solitary life, and needed to live another; to keep growing. "It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves." 

Maybe running away isn't the worst thing for a person can do. Perhaps running, in both senses of the words, was the biggest step I could have made in building my foundation for my castle in the air. It helps to run sometimes, whether around the pond or away from the pond. Maybe we must be alone, and far away, in order to learn. We can take our foundations with us, no matter where we run. So if you ever feel the urge to run, then you run and you run hard. You might find yourself building your castle and the foundation to keep it standing when you do.

-Lizzie

On Hating Books Part II

You are reading Part II of this post. The body of the post is hidden to prevent spoilers.

On Hating Books

I've been giving some thought to why we read. What is it we're looking to find in those pages? The answer is different for each of us. I read to learn, and to feel. I love a book because its characters charm me, or the story stirs me. But what does it mean when we don't like what we find between the covers? Recently, I had the opportunity to really ruminate on what happens when I hate a book.

For days, I'd been wrapped up in a certain novel--loving it. I was enmeshed in the world and emotionally invested in the story. In short, captivated. A friend of mine was reading it at the same time and we would text back and forth about the characters as if gossiping about friends.

And then the author did something so unthinkably cruel and awful, I felt like I'd actually been punched in the stomach. This book had me crying a few times, but at that moment all I felt was white-hot, visceral rage and I threw the book across the room. I'm serious. I've never done that before. It was automatic, an unconscious impulse. One moment I was reading, and the next, the book was hurling through the air. I went from loving it to hating it in one sentence.

I left the book lying where it landed for at least a day. But I did eventually finish it, fuming the entire time. I felt so manipulated, and so stupid for believing all the things the author had me believing.

And I could not let it go. It was all I thought about, all I talked about.

Around this time I came across a blog called I Hate Cheryl Strayed. Fans of Cheryl Strayed may want to steer clear, this woman's anger is for real. I read a few posts of her 39-part review of Wild. 39 parts!!!!! After that, she goes on to review the movie version, and then Cheryl's other book Tiny Beautiful Things. The blog is entertaining but I didn't really understand; if she hated the book so much, why waste so much time on it?

And I thought about the book I threw across the room. I wasn't writing a blog about it (though now I am), but I certainly spent a lot of time thinking and talking about it. And, after all, I did finish it. The writing is beautiful and the characters really did feel like friends. I wanted to feel something, and I certainly did. So, did I really hate it that much? Or perhaps the better question; did I really care that I hated it that much?

Whatever else this book was to me, it was an experience, and I'm glad I read it. And with a little time and perspective of what real book-hatred looks like, I can even say I liked it. I'm not saying there aren't books out there that I legitimately hate, I am not one to find value in a book simply because it's a book. And I'm not saying that the blogger above doesn't legitimately hate Wild. I'm only saying that I liked this particular book so much that it didn't matter that I hated it.

So the book I swore I would never recommend--I'm recommending it. I hesitate to reveal what book I'm talking about, worried that there may be inadvertent spoilers in this post. So, I'll leave it up to you. Click on through if you want to know.

Indulgence, Thrift, and Generosity

Working at a bookstore for as long as I have, there are certain rules I enforce upon myself. Without these rules I might not have enough money for food or shelter, but would have a truly spectacular library. So, for the most part I only allow myself to buy used books. And even then, those purchases are typically made using store credit. It's one of the serious benefits of working at a new and used bookstore.

Occasionally, a favorite author will have a new book out, or there's some awesome NYRB title that I HAVE to have, and I just cannot track down a used copy. That's when I really have to up my trade-in game. But there's something beautiful and satisfying about that too. My inner simple-living-master revels in trading in five old books for one, beautiful, new, truly desired book.

But then there are other times. Times when a new book by a first-time author or someone I've never read before arrives in the store. And I am inexplicably, magnetically drawn to it. Sometimes, it's the cover that grabs me, a review in the paper, or perhaps an errant remark made by someone who has read it. Oddly, it's usually only big, fat, brand new hardcovers. Whatever it is, I need to have that book. Immediately. So I buy it. With money.

This happens to me about once a year, maybe twice. The first time was in 2001, I was working at a bookstore in Tucson, Arizona, and A.L Kennedy's book Everything You Need appeared. And I NEEDED it. So, I splurged, and now she's one of my favorite authors. It just happened again yesterday with Hanya Yanagihara's new novel, A Little Life. And yes, I bought it.

I never feel guilty when I splurge like this and I always enjoy these books, even if they don't turn out to be favorites. It's something about the small kindness I have paid myself that gives me a feeling of warmth every time I pick it up.

Perhaps the success of that very first lapse in will power is what let's me continue with this small indulgence. Or maybe it's something a little deeper. When this very phenomenon happened with Lev Grossman's first book in the Magicians series, I was trying to explain it to a friend. And she remarked that sometimes, constantly being thrifty can make a person feel shriveled, and that maybe it is these occasional moments of generosity toward ourselves that allow us to be generous toward others. As much as that sounds like convenient justification, I think I believe it.

Reading What Other People Want You To Read

How many times have you been told to read a certain book? By your best friend, your boyfriend, your mom. They all have something they want you to read. Most likely it's their favorite book, maybe something awesome they just read. And most likely, you haven't read it because, if you're anything like me you have completely different tastes in reading than your best friend, boyfriend, and mom.

And I don't mean to imply that I somehow think I have better taste in books than the people I share my life with... it's just different. Anyhow, people are forever suggesting things for me to read and I am forever putting them off. What really makes it tough--more so than the divergent reading tastes, is the massive pile of to-read books already in line. So, most of the time I tend to smile politely and make vague promises of picking the book up after I finish the next three on my list.

But then there are other times, times when one day I finally find myself reading someone's recommendation and loving it. I mean, at the expense of all other things in my life- television, eating, showering- loving it. And suddenly, I completely ignore my patiently waiting to-read pile and read every last thing this person has ever recommended to me in a fit of sheepish acknowledgement of their obviuously superior taste in reading.

It's been one of those moments for me lately. I finally got around to reading The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison. A good friend read it last year, and bugged me, and bugged me, and bugged me about it. She loved it, and she was sure I would love it too. Well, she was right. It's phenomenal. Just so interesting and different (it's my March Staff Pick, 20% off all month, if you're interested, at the Ravenna store only). Each thoughtful essay in this collection is an examination on empathy-- how we feel for others; how our pain, and the pain of those around us fosters understanding and connectedness. Jamison explores such fascinating and expansive topics that the subject matter alone is enough to reel you in. But it's her experimental form and innovative command of language that are the real stars here. It's a new favorite. It's hard to read this and not be altered, moved, awed ...maybe even a better person. Super smart. Super good.

So after The Empathy Exams, I moved on to the next book my friend read and would not stop recommending. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I barreled through it, until about 45 pages from the end. At that point, I put it down for two days. I was so in love with the characters, I couldn't face leaving them. It's been a long time since I felt that way about a book. Loved it so much I couldn't bear to finish it. Seriously, Americannah restores my faith in the humanity of human beings.

And I know, I know, it isn't as if either of these books is a sleeper hit. Americannah was Ravenna's second best seller of 2014. And The Empathy Exams is a New York Times Bestseller. I just never would have read them if I hadn't finally given in the recommendation. So, now, I'm moving on to her next recommendation, The Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. Hey, if my friend says it's good. It's good.

Maybe I won't discard all of my to-read pile, but I'm certainly going to be a little less dismissive of all those recommendations I get. Never know when someone's going to suggest my new favorite book.

I DID IT!: A Personal Account of How it Feels to Win the Pulitzer Prize...Sort Of

I love the Pulitzer Prizes.  I mean really, really love them; especially the prize for fiction. It's my favorite literary prize.  Ami thinks it's weird to have a favorite literary prize.  But I don't care, I do have a favorite, and it's this one.

One of the only book-related things I love more than the fiction Pulitzer (at least currently) is Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.  It's possible I've mentioned this a time or two (still waiting on that commission check).  Actually, Goldfinch is in my top four all-time favorite books. These are the books I know I will always love, no matter what happens in my life or how my reading tastes change; these books will always be special.  It might seem weird to have a top four; why four, why not five?  Because it's my list and that's just how elite and magical the list is.

I love The Goldfinch so much that when I finished it, I couldn't find anything else to read, so I just read it again. It's the kind of book that destroys any aspirations I've ever had of being a writer because I could not possibly write anything that spectacular.  Love isn't a strong enough word for how I feel.  I'm a little insane for The Goldfinch.

Given these feelings, of course I wanted it to win the Pulitzer.  But I didn't really think it would.  As much as I love the award, I have never predicted the winner.  I've never even read the winner before it's been announced...

UNTIL THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could not be more pleased!  Just look at how happy I am! On the day the prizes were announced I marched around the store all afternoon chanting, "GOLDFINCH, GOLDFINCH!"  It's as if my favorite sports team finally won a championship.  You Seahawks fans get me, right?  And I feel weirdly vindicated over some of the more nasty reviews (I'm looking at you Francine Prose).  It's like I won the prize, even though I did nothing but read it, and love it, and recommend it to customers, and then buy many, many copies to give to friends and family (seriously, Donna, did that check get lost in the mail?).

So why does it matter to me?  

It's funny, but there is a unique vulnerability in being a bookseller.  Books aren't just our job, books are a fundamental part of our lives.  I challenge you to find a bookseller anywhere who doesn't consider reading to be their passion, or at least their favorite hobby.  Sometimes the book we're recommending means a lot to us; sometimes it's on our Super-Awesome, Mega-Elite, Best Books Ever List; sometimes the book we're recommending has changed our life.  And that's a pretty personal thing.  We're not just trying to sell you any old book, we're handing you something important to us, hoping it will be important to you too.  

So when I recommend a book I love to someone, and they don't love it back...heartbreak! One of my favorite customers did not love The Goldfinch, and I was honestly a little devastated.  But if I recommend a book I love and they love it too, it feels great. And when something like this happens, when a book I love so fiercely is honored with a big award; well, that feels a little magical.  But it's not unlike the feeling I get when you buy a book I think you'll like, and when you come back and tell me how much it meant to you. I guess, in some strange way, that's why I feel this Pulitzer win so deeply.

Of course, now I face a dilemma.  Usually my mid-April reading is decided by the prize announcement (except in 2012 when there was no fiction winner, and I spiraled into a Pulitzer-induced depression).  What do I read now?  I suppose I could dip into the older winners I haven't read yet.  I was thinking maybe the 1919 winner The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington or maybe I should finally read The Age of Innocence... 

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm just going to read The Goldfinch again.

Posted by Erin B.

Our Favorite Book Gifts

A few of us booksellers got to talking the other day.  We realized, that as booksellers, we don't often get books as presents.  It makes sense, people just assume that we know what we want to read, or we've already read it, or various other things that keep us from recieving books.  But that isn't always the case, so here are a few of our favorite books we have recieved as gifts:

Patti:

When I was pregnant my husband Rich gave me a copy of The Glass Blower's Children by Maria Gripes. He remembered that it was one of my favorite books when I was kid. It helped make me a lifelong reader and has always stuck with me. I was sad to find out it had gone out of print. Rich tracked down a used copy and surprised me with it! I had so much fun rereading it and imagining reading it to my son someday. Now I've recently discovered that's it being reprinted and due out this spring. I can't wait to introduce it to a whole new generation of new readers.

Katherine:
The year was 1999. I spent all day Christmas Eve reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. That evening my present from my grandma was the recently released box set of the first three books. I spent the rest of vacation reading on the couch.

Erin B.:
When I was a teenager, I was really into space.  I really, really, really wanted to be an astronaut.  I even went to Space Camp (nerd alert!).  One year my parents got me a copy of Moonshot by astronauts Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton.  And it was signed by Alan Shepard.  I still have it.

Bookstore Perils

The other day I was at the cash register, and heard a terrible crash.

Looks like Mark shelved one too many books. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, I was finding it difficult to laugh and hold the camera steady.

This incident got me thinking about the weight of books. So I googled "weight of a library" and found this great little piece on Snopes. Enjoy!

Can You Help?

Lake Forest Park Bookseller Annie has a brief message for you:

As a cancer survivor, I am always interested in getting involved with programs supporting patients, survivors, and their friends and families. When the American Cancer Society contacted me about a new, far-reaching study they're conducting, I jumped at the chance to help promote it. 

The study is for non-cancer survivors/patients between the ages of 30 and 65. It's really easy - involving a 30-45 minute survey and a blood draw - and it could impart a lot of knowledge and scientific data to doctors and scientists. Every few years participants will be contacted and asked to fill out a new survey. If they've developed cancer since the last time, ACS compares all the surveys said participant has filled out and studies the blood sample that person gave. This research has the potential to mine more information about this terrible disease than any other before it. Which is why I'm doing my best to encourage my friends and family to sign up for one of the study dates. For more information or to make an appointment, please visit here. 

Annie has also complied a short list of great reading material for patients, survivors, family, and everyone in between:

Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips and Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor by Kris Carr

As a patient and survivor, I turned to books for comfort while in treatment and recovering from it. I counted especially on Kris Carr's "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" and later "Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor." Both are full of Carr's own experiences and the people she meets along the way who are struggling with cancer. All of her stories illustrate perfectly the terror, shock, and absurdity that is the diagnosing, treatment, and recovering process of a cancer patient/survivor. Mixed in are tips and places to write your own suggestions, what helps you get through a chemo treatment, radiation, or surgery. I found great comfort in both of these books, as stepping up from patient to survivor has its own kettle of emotions to go along with it. Carr's spot on humor helps with it all.

The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddhartha Mukerjee

Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, "The Emperor of all Maladies" is a mash up history and biography of the disease itself. For the last 5,000 years, cancer has plagued humanity and humanity is finally starting to fight back in earnest. Mukherjee notes how the illness and mankind has been entwined for centuries, and much of the book is dedicated to what the future of treating cancer patients might be. "[The book] is a chronicle of an ancient disease - once a clandestine 'whispered-about' illness - that has metamorphosed into a lethal shape-shifting entity imbued with such penetrating metaphorical, medical, scientific, and political potency that cancer is often described as the defining plague of our generation" Mukherjee writes in the prologue. It is a well thought out historical and modern account that I feel most anyone can relate to.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

A wonderful biography of how Will Schwalbe and his mother, Mary Anne, became closer during her two-year fight against pancreatic cancer. As I said before, reading is something I did (and still do) a lot of during my own treatment, so this story of mother and son bonding and connecting over shared books brought tears to my eyes. My own family and I shared movies during my treatment sessions as I was too nervous, tired, and stressed out to focus on a book while receiving my chemo therapy. But the idea is similar, and "The End of Your Life Book Club" will shine a light on how Will and his mother, and how others, turned the horrific experience of cancer and treatment into something wonderful.

Summer Syllabus

Having just finished school, I find myself with some long-overdue extra time and a whole lot of reading to catch up on. I wonder what should the form of my reading take. Because, while school may be over, I still have this strange need to be told what to read. So, I'm working on my syllabus for the summer. In doing so, I've been looking into the reading related goals of others, here a few that I'm pondering:

• of course there is the practical and money-saving read every unread book in my house. Read it or get rid of it could be my new mantra.
• I could pick one new author and read all of their books...I probably wouldn't try this with Charles Dickens.
• I've always been a fan of theme reading. Maybe Moby Dick followed by a non-fiction tome about whales.
• My mom is slowly making her way through all the presidents, reading a biography of each...though I think one presidential historian in the family is enough.
• Maybe I should read every book that's won a literary prize in the last three years. That would get me caught up.
• I have one friend who is reading the favorite book of each of her friends.

Those are a few ideas. But I'm still not set on a specific course. I should probably just go back and re-read the Harry Potter books while I figure it out. Any ideas for me? What's your summer syllabus?

Unread & Dusty

Spring approaches... or is that just wishful thinking on my part?  Well, spring will arrive someday, and with it, spring cleaning.  Cleaning our homes, our lives, our bookshelves.  If you are tackling a bookshelf this year, I offer you the following story:

I've been working in bookstores over ten years now.  And the past couple of years have been at Third Place Books.  I started at the Lake Forest Park store, took some time off to become a full-time student, and am now at Ravenna Third Place Books as a part-time, bookseller extraordinaire.  I joke that I work at the bookstore to support my habit.  And it is a habit, sometimes as burdensome as other, more destructive habits.  Customers often ask if we ever leave with any money left in our paychecks...and sometimes they aren't far off.

I envy people like Wendy, who posted last year about her small, but meaningful book collection.  I wish that I had that kind of discipline.  But there is something about books as objects and intentions; I just want to surround myself with them.  It's comforting to think of all the words just waiting for me tucked between those covers.  And then again, sometimes it's not so comforting.  Sometimes those unread words weigh heavy on me.  How do I reconcile my desire to own books, and my increasing need to live a simple, more streamlined life?

Upon returning from my break from bookselling, I noticed how much my reading habits had changed.  Spending less time in a bookstore meant I was buying fewer books, and when I returned and began to stock up again, it was clear that there was a difference in the books I was interested in.  My bookshelves were now laden with unread books that I no longer had any intention of reading.  I felt guilty and wasteful.  And it was with a heavy heart that I boxed up those books and brought them in to sell back to the store as used books.

But then a funny thing happened a few days later.  A customer came up to purchase a used book and by chance, it was one of my old books.  I mentioned that the book had been mine and his face lit up.  He said, "I have been looking for this book for years!"  All this time he had been looking for the very book that was wasting away on my bookshelf at home.  Unread and unloved just waiting for the right reader who could truly appreciate it.  How many other books in my house were destined for the same fate?

I know this was a lesson in not buying what I don't need, but I also choose to see it as a lesson in letting go when it's time to let go.  Once upon a time, that book meant something to me. I really, truly meant to read that book.  But then circumstances changed, life got busy, and I became a different person and a different reader.  I will never stop buying books, the comfort they give me read, unread, or passed on is too important.  But I'm also going to work on letting go of those books I no longer intend to read, and maybe letting go a little sooner.

I buy fewer books now, even so, I am sure to eventually purchase one that will begin to gather dust, its spine uncracked, its pages unread. But rather than let that book molder away on my shelf, I will set it free.  Free to fulfill its book destiny with someone else who can give it a good home and the attention that all books deserve...and besides, selling books means store credit!

-Erin B.

Cookbooks! International Edition

The Chef at work

Something about the fall really has the publishers churning out the cookbooks.  Must be the Holiday cooking season on their minds.  Here at Third Place Books, we are lucky enough to have Emily, a bookseller devoted to all things food!  She's always trying new recipes and often sharing the delicious results. She has kindly offered some of her insights on this season's hot new cookbooks, including some of the recipes she's tried.  Because there are so many cookbooks out right now, this will be the first in a 3 part series.

Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolengh and Sami Tamimi

From the author of Plenty (which has sold steadily here since it arrived in March 2011) comes another beautiful book, this time written with his friend and fellow chef Sami Tamimi. Together, they explore the cuisine of their home city and the wide variety of cultures and cuisines that have come together there. Each recipe is preceded by a vibrant description of its origins and variations. I made the basmati and wild rice with currants and herbs - wow! Delicious and satisfying - a bit nutty, a little sweet, a little spicy. A few fried onions add an enormous amount of flavor to the dish, and I was content to eat a big bowl of it, unaccompanied, for dinner.

Emily's Basmati & Wild Rice with Currants & Herbs

Burma : Rivers of Flavor, by Naomi Duguid

The clearly written, approachable recipes aren't too intimidating but are interesting enough for the experienced cook looking to expand his or her horizons. Having a few specific pantry items from the first chapter on hand makes many of the recipes quick weeknight dinner options. I plan to try many more of the recipes - this cookbook is a keeper!  

Here is an expanded review from Emily's Blog...it all looks so delicious!

Emily's Green Mango Salad

So if you have any questions on what to cook, or what to buy that foodie on your Holiday list, come down and find Emily, she's got all the food answers!
Stay tuned for our next edition...Baking!

A Whale-Sized Obsession

I love Moby Dick.  I LOVE IT.  It took me 30 years to decide that I wanted to read it, and when I did...it changed my life.  There's a long story about why I finally decided to read it, and it may or may not involve W.R.A.T.H. (Whales Rising Against the Humans (which also requires a disclosure that W.R.A.T.H. is a completely fictitious organization that I created consisting of 3 members...we have a logo)), but I did read it.  And I wear that as a badge of honor.

There are a lot of books out there, "classics," if you will, which enter into a sort of grand checklist- any self-respecting book lover/bookseller is assumed to have read them.  But no one can get around to ALL of them, especially the ginormous ones.  Out of the many bookstores I have worked in and even more booksellers I count among my dear friends, I find Moby Dick to be the one "classic" that is missed most...and it, the GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL!  Maybe it's the hefty size, or being forced to read it in high school, or the ever-feared chapters on knot-tying.  So yes, I take a certain pride in having read it.  Especially when all of my coworkers are so well read; slogging through David Foster Wallace, while I tuck into a romance novel (no judgment!).  Moby Dick is the heart of my bookseller street cred.

Another truly awesome adaptation

My love for Moby Dick could fill its own blog.  It has led me to non-fiction reading tangents, whale watching trips, collecting paint-by-number nautical art, boycotting aquariums, possible tattoo designs, and a belief that I can summon whales (another long story)...it doesn't seem to end.  Finally, I am so happy to report, that you too can share in this life-altering piece of classic American art.  And it's fun too...I promise.  Though I'm reasonably sure you can enjoy it without the obsessiveness that has affected me.

The Moby Dick Big Read, a new website/art installation, has undertaken the grand task of offering this magnificent tome to you, free of charge, downloadable, and read by some of today's most awesome people.  I'm talking Tilda Swinton, and Stephen Fry, and so many more.  Ah-mah-zing!  As of September 16th, this awesome art collaboration has been posting a chapter a day; downloadable, completely free, and accompanied by the most amazing original art.  Here is a little bit from their website:

Queequeg By Timothy Woodman
Featured with Chapter Six: The Street

‘I have written a blasphemous book’, said Melville when his novel was first published in 1851, ‘and I feel as spotless as the lamb’. Deeply subversive, in almost every way imaginable, Moby-Dick is a virtual, alternative bible – and as such, ripe for reinterpretation in this new world of new media. Out of Dominion was born its bastard child – or perhaps its immaculate conception – the Moby-Dick Big Read: an online version of Melville’s magisterial tome: each of its 135 chapters read out aloud, by a mixture of the celebrated and the unknown, to be broadcast online in a sequence of 135 downloads, publicly and freely accessible.

So this is it.  If you've ever wanted to be a part of that select group of people who have tackled, and adored Moby Dick, now is your chance.  I myself can't wait to submerge once again into the depths of this truly remarkable, life-altering masterpiece.  Join me, won't you?

-Erin B.

Where Star Wars and Books Collide

Why is there such a pervasive Star Wars/Book Culture?  Is it just that Star Wars creeps into simply everything, or is there more to it?  Are books and Star Wars just the ideal nerd cross over?  It must be.  Because the rash of Star Wars/Book collisions is far too frequent to be coincidental.  Here are a few of my recent sightings.

***

Artist, Jason Peltz has combined Seuss and Star Wars in these clever and adorable mash ups.  More Here.

Man, don't you wish these were real books!  Hint, hint, Mr. Peltz.

***

TPB bookseller Annie has an awesome blog that she co-writes with her friend.  The idea behind the blog is to re-read all those Star Wars Universe sequels and prequels and all kinds of quels, and then record their adventures.  Her is more in Annie's own words...

The authors, a long time ago...you get the idea

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...." These words still give me tingles for so many reasons, both personal and nerdy. I saw the Star Wars movies for the first time as a young girl and fell instantly in love with the characters, the universe, and the story. So much so, that when I met my dear friend Tess in elementary school and discovered she also adored Star Wars, we found a unique common ground.
  
Little did we know that bonding over the Force, Banthas, lightsabers, secret twin siblings, the Millennium Falcon, and nerdy books would lead us into a friendship spanning more than half our lifetimes. The Star Wars game we played in the woods at Tess's house and in my backyard ensured game nights at college, care packages when Tess moved to South Korea to teach English and when I went through chemotherapy, and many, many movie marathons when we saw each other in person. 

Star Wars didn't really create our friendship, of course; we did that ourselves. It just greased the s-foils a bit, if you will - helped us learn to embrace our differences because when the trenches of life came our way, it was "trusting our feelings," as Obi-wan would say, that helped sustain us and that continues on today. So this reading project and blog - which I'm sure to many non-Nerf Herders sounds completely silly - is just another way we celebrate friendship. After all, the Force is what bids us together and all that...

***

And of course, all the awesome books being released recently.  Here is a very small list...

Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown

Star Wars Origami, by Chris Alexander

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, by Tom Angleberger

And maybe, just maybe, I myself will pick up my first Star Wars Novel in many moons when this one comes out in December..come on, it's Han Solo-he was my first love, and you never forget your first love.

Scoundrels, by Timothy Zahn

Comic Con Recon

Steve surviving the apocalypse

Two of our favorite booksellers had the opportunity to hit Comic Con this year in San Diego. Both Steve and Vlad are longtime devotees of science fiction, superheroes, fantasy, steampunk...you name it, and one of them has read it, seen it, or owns the DVD of it. Here are Steve's top three from their epic weekend along with some epic snapshots...

1.  Joss Whedon, Master of the Nerd Universe. I love Joss and everything he does--from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to Firefly to Dr Horrible to The Avengers. However, there was no way I was standing in a line overnight just to see the 10th Anniversary Firefly Reunion Friday morning. Luckily, we were able to squeeze into the auditorium later that day for what was ostensibly Joss talking about his various comic projects with Dark Horse Comics. Instead it turned into Joss being Joss with some of the best Q & A ever. Next up for the busiest man in show business? Finding distribution for his already filmed black and white contemporary version of Much Ado About Nothing. Yes, Shakespeare!

Everyone's favorite tribute

2.  Love and Rockets 30th Anniversary Celebration. Hosted by Gary Groth, the publisher of Seattle’s own Fantagraphics Books, this panel featured Los Bros Hernandez (Gilbert, Jaime and Mario) discussing their groundbreaking and now classic independent comic Love and Rockets. I discovered Love & Rockets in college during the late 80’s and still read it today when I can. It was a real treat to see these talented artist/storytellers discussing their work that remains a huge influence today. Case in point: seeing Mike Allred, creator of Madman and iZombie, completely gushing like a giddy fanboy during the Q&A. Adorable!

Lego Gandalf

3.  Hark! A Pleasant Surprise! I’m not sure how I have missed it all these years, but my new favorite-thing-ever from the con is Kate Beaton’s webcomic (and now book) Hark! A Vagrant. Beaton pens erudite and hilarious cartoons of historical figures and literary characters mashed up with modern sensibilities and clever ironies... and the occasional fat pony. I only went to this panel in order to kill time until the next thing on my docket and I was totally blown away. Plus, it was certainly the funniest powerpoint presentation on medieval art ever, or any subject for that matter!

Bus Riders, UNITE!

When I moved here several years ago, I came without a car.  And in the intervening time, I have not yet felt the need to mobilize myself beyond my trusty bicycle (though only in the summer).  As a result I spend much of my time on various buses.  Which seems to work out because being a law student, devoted cat mother, crafter, and erstwhile bookseller, I don't always have the time I wish to devote to reading for pleasure.  So I read on the bus.  When others tune out to their tunes, chat with their neighbors, or focus on Words With Friends, you'll find me tucked into a window seat with my nose stuck in a book.

Today I was reading Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe.  And when another rider tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that it was her favorite book and that she hoped I loved it too; I got to thinking.  Here are all these riders, and lots of us read, and yet we are so cut off from each other.  Oh sure, I've posted here about my public transit voyeurism; my love for spying on others to see what they're reading, but I almost never talk to anyone about their books.  And if you've spent any time with me at all, you know I love talking about books.  So why not on the bus?

Well, Transportation Choices Coalition has solved the problem.  This summer they introduced Books on the Bus (BOB).  It's a book club for bus riders meant to create community among transit patrons.  The plan is to introduce a new book every three months.  This summer the choice is Hotel Angeline, a novel written in 36 parts; a collaboration among 36 great Northwest authors.  And as an added bonus, 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to local literacy nonprofits Powerful Schools and 826 Seattle.

I'm so excited for this idea!  So if you see me on the bus, devouring Hotel Angeline, please interrupt me, and let's start up a conversation.  For that matter, if you see me reading anything, let's talk.  Let's build a better bus ride, a better community, and a better Seattle.  Hope to see you reading on your ride.
Posted by Erin B.