Reviews of independent bookstores because buying and reading books is an adventure
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If I could pick anywhere in the world to be on September 12th, I’d choose the Brooklyn Book Festival. In the Brooklyn area next weekend? You have to go!
Who would I want to see? Paul Hardin, Paul Krugman and Sam Lipsyte top a long list. A weekend of events and several independent bookstores in the area, it sounds like paradise.
Tags: book festival, Brooklyn, literary festival, New York, new york city, NY
Our kids started school today. Once again, Claire’s son and mine have math together which helps since neither of them are huge fans of the subject. Kyle said he has 17 books to read this year in English and then rattled off a list of works by Tennessee Williams. I reminded him that most plays are anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours long, it’s not as if it was a stack of Edith Wharton novels. He doesn’t know who she is, so my snarky comment fell flat. The Great Gatsby is on the list, his teacher said it’s the best American novel ever written. I told him many would agree with her, and some would not.
As I watched my kids drive away this morning (Kyle is driving them for the first time), I recalled a book I bought for Kelsey when she started preschool, Oh My Baby, Little One by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Jane Dyer. With tender rhymes, the mother explains how her love stays with her child through each of her preschool activities:
But even when I’m far away,
this love I have will stay
and wrap itself around you
every minute of the day.
With each activity-singing, playing, napping-the rhymes describe where the mother’s love is secreted with her child.
I read this book to Kelsey over and over again during her first year of preschool. I inscribed it “Dear Kesley, This book is a special present to help you remember how much I love you when you are in preschool. Love, Mom.” After awhile we moved on to other books and it was stacked on her shelf. I saved this book from numerous ‘donations to the library’ sweeps. Now Oh My Baby, Little One sits on the bottom of my personal bookshelf. I’m saving it to send to Kelsey for her first day of college, so she’ll remember that even if she’s hundreds of miles away, that my love will go with her.
Save the jokes about how Los Angeles doesn’t read, we’ve heard them and we know they’re not true. First piece of evidence, the large turnout for last night’s Lit Crawl where 11 excellent authors read. Dennis Danziger and Graham Moore rocked the house to win. If you missed last night, no worries, here are a few events to make room for on your calendar:
September 26th – West Hollywood Book Fair is an intimate version of the the LA Times Book Festival. It’s full of author discussions and fun booths.Not in Los Angeles but live somewhere with a variety of literary events? Let us know and we’ll try to post them.
Tags: author book signing, author discussions, author readings, literary festival, Los Angeles
Diary of a Disappointed Book (click here for video, for some reason I couldn’t get it to download into the post)
I found this video (along with other fun posts) on The Casual Optimist, it’s produced by Studiocanoe. Studiocanoe has a selection of lovely videos on a variety of topics (mostly English oriented). Here’s a description of the website:
Studiocanoe is the name of a creative project originating from Falmouth, Cornwall in 2006. It takes its name from the large, antiquated canvas canoe that several close friends would take out on the open sea to go fishing. The project incorporates music, field recording, photography, illustration and film, and while occasionally involving multiple authors; is mostly the work of Temujin Doran.
Enjoy!
About a year ago, Keith came home from a business trip with a present for me. When the kids were younger, his business trips meant three things: 1) we all camped out in our bedroom while he was gone, 2) we had dinner at the Philly Cheese Steak place at the mall, and 3) Keith always came home with something for the kids. For the kids, not me, which was fine, I didn’t want any of the doodads from the airport that the kids craved. Now the kids are teenagers and all of our ‘Dad is on a business trip’ traditions are gone, so I was surprised when Keith arrived home with a present for me. Moreover, he brought the best present of all, a book. Keith visited Books Inc. in Palo Alto, told the bookseller about me, and she recommended that I read The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell. Keith said the bookstore is terrific, I should write about it. The problem was I didn’t have anything to say other than ‘my husband really likes Books Inc.’
Ronald's Recommended Books
Fortunately, on our way to dropping our daughter off at camp, we stopped at restaurant just across a parking lot from Books Inc; I ordered lunch and walked over. I spent most of my 10 minutes at a small table dedicated to Ronald’s choices (Ronald is one of the booksellers at Books Inc.). I’m not sure if it was his favorite books or the ones that were most meaningful to him, but I was struck by how much I felt I was getting a peek into the mind of a stranger by looking at the books he personally chose to recommend. Anchee Min said that she felt like she knew Mao because she read what he read, in her opinion the best way to learn about another person was to read his books. I didn’t think about the comment then, but it rang true as I perused Ronald’s books. Having never met him, I would describe him as thoughtful and searching for a sense of balance in his life.
It goes without saying that Keith is right, it’s a lovely store. Books Inc. isn’t huge, but there were a few bookshelves dedicated to each genre. I found the choices in literary fiction and YA (the two areas I can evaluate fairly quickly) well chosen. I didn’t have a chance to talk to anyone (lunch was going to be served), but I witnessed booksellers chatting with customers, a bright atmosphere, event and book club notices, and people buying books.
What did I find on the general recommendation table? The Pig Comes to Dinner by Joseph Caldwell, the sequel to The Pig Did It, which I bought to give to Keith over lunch.
Here’s a review of Compass Books located in the San Francisco Airport and a sister store to Books Inc.
Town & Country Village
855 El Camino Real #74
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Tel: 650.428.1234
Tags: CA, California, Palo Alto, Palo Alto independent bookstore
Claire
Kim
