Requires supervision
It's all the Sureshot fiance's fault - he knew that if he sent me to a book fair unsupervised with a credit card it would all end in tragedy. The only thing that limited me was my arm strength, which has gotten fairly prodigious lately thanks to yoga. I ended up coming home with 8 books for myself, 2 for my mom, and 1 for my dad. One of my dad's favorite authors, Henning Mankell, gave a talk and I got one of his (The White Lioness) signed for him for Father's Day. I got my mom a signed first of Peter Robinson's Blood at the Root and a signed copy of Tomie de Paola's Strega Nona - both should be hits.
Reviews of the books I picked up for myself will emerge eventually - right now my to-be-read stack stands 35 strong so I've got a lot of work to do! Much to my delight, I did manage to snag a signed first of Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots from Booked for Murder, a mystery bookshop in Madison, Wisconsin. Since a friend of mine is moving up there here soon (her going away party is tonight, in fact), I'll have an excuse to go to their store. I also had good luck at the stall for St. Louis' Big Sleep Books - they had a great selection of signed mystery firsts and the proprietors (a mother/daughter team) are very friendly and really know their stuff. I've added links to both stores in my sidebar.
As the t-shirt of one of the vendors at the fair proclaimed, "Friends don't let friends shop at chain bookstores." Support your local independents - they have great selection and true 'book people' for staff. Yeah, they may not be as cheap as some of the big chains, but they often have stock you'll never see at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Part of what's so enjoyable about reading is the wonderful community that readers build, and independents are a huge part of that. But they can't survive without our support. One of my all-time favorite independents, John Rollins Books in Kalamazoo, Michigan, recently went under because it couldn't compete with the B&N just down the road. It's a shame, and the loss has prompted me to support independents whenever I can. It's not always possible, but it's worth making the effort. When you're traveling, make a point to pick up the phone book in your hotel room and see where the independents are in the area. Swing by - you just might discover a hidden gem. For those of us who can't travel as much as we'd like (such as myself), more and more independents are taking advantage of the Web to expand their reach. As I discover more of these stores, I'll add links to them so you'll be able to check them out for yourself.
Well, it's time to sign off and see if Smarty Jones can pull off the Triple Crown today. Belmont has proved to be too much for a lot of great horses. Will Smarty break the trend? We'll just have to wait and see.....
Reviews of the books I picked up for myself will emerge eventually - right now my to-be-read stack stands 35 strong so I've got a lot of work to do! Much to my delight, I did manage to snag a signed first of Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots from Booked for Murder, a mystery bookshop in Madison, Wisconsin. Since a friend of mine is moving up there here soon (her going away party is tonight, in fact), I'll have an excuse to go to their store. I also had good luck at the stall for St. Louis' Big Sleep Books - they had a great selection of signed mystery firsts and the proprietors (a mother/daughter team) are very friendly and really know their stuff. I've added links to both stores in my sidebar.
As the t-shirt of one of the vendors at the fair proclaimed, "Friends don't let friends shop at chain bookstores." Support your local independents - they have great selection and true 'book people' for staff. Yeah, they may not be as cheap as some of the big chains, but they often have stock you'll never see at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Part of what's so enjoyable about reading is the wonderful community that readers build, and independents are a huge part of that. But they can't survive without our support. One of my all-time favorite independents, John Rollins Books in Kalamazoo, Michigan, recently went under because it couldn't compete with the B&N just down the road. It's a shame, and the loss has prompted me to support independents whenever I can. It's not always possible, but it's worth making the effort. When you're traveling, make a point to pick up the phone book in your hotel room and see where the independents are in the area. Swing by - you just might discover a hidden gem. For those of us who can't travel as much as we'd like (such as myself), more and more independents are taking advantage of the Web to expand their reach. As I discover more of these stores, I'll add links to them so you'll be able to check them out for yourself.
Well, it's time to sign off and see if Smarty Jones can pull off the Triple Crown today. Belmont has proved to be too much for a lot of great horses. Will Smarty break the trend? We'll just have to wait and see.....
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