Further adventures in book banning. The idea of stopping people from reading is appalling to me. And it seems that those who want to ban books most likely have never read them. There might be exceptions to the rule, but the banning of anything is rooted in narrow-mindedness and fear, not in liberty. It’s one [...]
The bloody time change! It gets to me every time. It makes me sluggish and groggy, and the darker days just don’t help matters. But darker days are here and it’s not just because it’s winter. More of that “us and them” mentality has reared it’s bizarre ugly head. I heard a customer discuss how [...]
I’ve failed you! Miserably failed you! I’m sorry. I think I’m offering you a service and in the end I’m not giving you what you really want! DIRT! Yes, I prattle on about new books, show you cover art but what you really crave is the behind-the-scenes gossip of life at a bookstore. Forgive me [...]
This is a strange and wonderful book. A wordless story that pulls you in and keeps your attention. The detail is remarkable. Come and take a look.
Upcoming releases that caught my eye: A few W.W. Norton titles are soon to be released that are tempting me. First is a novel set in India at the time of independence, The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri tells the story of imagined love and its consequence set against the backdrop of a country [...]
I Dated Dumbledore Now that it’s all over the press I guess I can finally talk about the love that dare not speak its name. It’s not easy dating a fictional character. You always want the guy to break out of character, and even a great wizard like Dumbledore is tied to the plotline. Still, [...]
Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain RecluseDavid BudbillCopper Canyon PressPaper, $14.001556591330 This is another of those books to keep in your “kit.” Poetry is survival. Spare words cut through the clutter of life to reveal what’s at the heart of the matter, or in our hearts. Only you can say. But in this collection [...]
Finding the Still Point: A Beginner’s Guide to Zen Meditation John Daido LooriShambhalaHardcover & CD, $149781590304792 There have been some useful books that come into my life from time to time. This one could easily be in the “basic tools for life” kit. John Daido Loori is the abbot Zen Mountain Monastery in Woodstock, NY. [...]
Confessions of an Igloo Dweller: Memories of the Old ArcticJames HoustonHoughton MifflinOut Of Print1995 With the surprise shrinkage of the Arctic ice this summer it would be wise of a publisher like Houghton Mifflin to reprint this book with an updated preface. A customer loaned his copy to me and I had low expectations, and [...]
Troy Then and Nowby Don RittnerThis series of books has been popular with locals for a while now. But this one is especially interesting because it compares the present to the past. Since I’ve been in Troy I’ve never heard more folks talk about how good a city “was” the way folks talk about Troy. [...]