This Just In: New Kids' Items!

Summer's coming, and with that in mind, we're getting in lots of new items for the store. Just this week, we've gotten in some shipments from Rich Frog (a Vermont-based toy company) and Peaceable Kingdom. I've had so much fun setting up new displays that I wanted to show you a little of what to look for next time you're here.

From stickers to flashlights (and books, of course, always books) there are lots of great little items here to keep kids busy over summer vacation. We have sticker sets that glitter and glow in the dark and kits that include entire scenes where the reusable stickers can be placed and repositioned to create as many stories as your imagination allows.

I love the Rich Frog wind-up toys. Rich Frog excels at simple and cute designs for their creatures--we've got dinosaurs, bees, frogs, sea turtles, and inchworms, each with their own special "personality": the dinosaurs walk, the frogs do somersaults, and the bees hop. It might not be scientifically accurate, but it's quite entertaining.

At left, see evidence of the inchworm's powers of entertainment.

Rich Frog also has some great little flashlights, which could be just as muchfun for adults as kids, decorated with designs like penguins, aliens, butterflies, and turtles. Each package includes some information about the pictured creature, so it's educational as well as fun! I particularly like the "anti-monster" flashlight, because who doesn't need one of those?

Not pictured, but we've also gotten a variety of eye-popping 3-D bookmarks, good for all ages, and a great selection of birthday cards for kids. AND, due to popular demand, we've finally gotten some cards to celebrate new babies.

One more thing, before the end: we know that summer isn't officially here until graduation season is over, and if you're looking for a special gift, we have some great suggestions for you--take a look at the table by the door for a quick browse or ask us for a more personalized recommendation!

Get Lost in a good book

As a fan of the tv drama Lost, I'd like to pay my small homage to the show that has entertained, mystified, frustrated, and amazed me and millions of other viewers over the past six years. In my mind, one of the best things that Lost brought to television was its writers' love of literature.  References to books popped up in nearly every episode, whether in a character's name, like Henry Gale (not to mention the plethora of philosopher's names that were used in the series); or the use of a book title as an episode title, such as 'A Tale of Two Cities;'  or a shot of a book cover, whether being read by a character or sitting on a shelf. It was a great way for the writers to both work in some of their own favorite stories and give fans a little extracurricular work to do--many 'Losties' read the books referenced in the show to try to develop theories about what was happening and why and where the show was headed.

So, in honor of perhaps the most literary-minded show on network television, here are a few links to suggested Lost reading.

The LA Times talks to the show's creators about some of the most influential books of the series.

Squidoo offers a fun selection of reading lists, from Sawyer's wide array of titles to the Others' book club picks.

TV Guide's choices for the 13 books that most influenced the series.

Dark UFO is a Lost blog with a whole section dedicated to chronicling books on the show.

Of course, for a full bibliography (and more information about a tv show than you thought could exist outside of the world of Star Trek) visit Lostpedia.

And just for fun--because it really doesn't have anything to do with books--Lost, as depicted in cakes.

This Summer's Big Read: The Passage (and a give-away!)

Now, when I say "big read," I'm not just using that term metaphorically. This is a BIG book--784 pages. And it's a big story--the end of the world as we know it, and what happens next. It's been getting buzz since the ARCs (advance reader copies) began to circulate among booksellers sometime last fall. If those of us who've had a chance to read it already have our way, Justin Cronin's The Passage is going to be the bestseller of the summer.

I'd read Cronin's novel The Summer Guest a few years ago -- a quiet story about the complicated love of family, set at a summer camp on a lake in the woods. Though many of the details escape me at the moment, I still remember the enjoyment of reading the book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written novel with a good story and good characters. When I heard about this new vampire novel coming out in the summer, I didn't even connect the Justin Cronin of The Summer Guest with this Justin Cronin.

Until I realized that they were one in the same person, I hadn't actually planned on reading The Passage, despite the reviews, because I didn't feel compelled to read a book about a vampire apocalypse. No doubt, some of you reading this may feel the same, and I'm not going to say it's for everyone. But. The same novelist who wrote a lovely story about a family at a camp has taken his writing talent and skillfully applied it to a new genre--and what a book he's written.

Cronin has been quoted as saying that he wrote The Passage in response to his daughter's request that he write a story about a girl who saves the world. That girl is Amy, an orphaned child kidnapped by FBI agents as the final test subject for a virus that is being studied in a top-secret bunker--a virus that has the potential to cure disease and lengthen life indefinitely. I'm sure you can guess how that will turn out.  The virus turns people into monsters with a bottomless hunger for blood. These are not your sparkly vampires, or your hypnotic-eyed caped counts; these are creatures that embody fear and violent, horrible death. The virus spreads through blood, which means that those victims who are not killed join the ranks of the "virals," as they are called. Their strength, speed, and numbers quickly overrun the country, leaving a veritable wasteland in its place.

The one chance of salvation lies in Amy, who is rescued by one of the same agents who kidnapped her, from the facility where she is being held. Her response to the virus is not the same as that of the infected adults--though she develops an aversion to sunlight and seems to sense the thoughts and movements of the virals, she is not one of them. In that fact lies a glimmer of hope that the human race may still be saved.

This book is bound to be compared to The Stand, and Stephen King's high praise, printed large on the back cover, will enforce that comparison: "Every so often a novel-reader’s novel comes along: an enthralling, entertaining story wedded to simple, supple prose, both informed by tremendous imagination."

While The Passage has all of the elements of your typical apocalyptic story (our government makes a hubristic attempt to harness an unknown element that ends up destroying life as we know it, etc.) I promise you that the care with which this story and its characters have been crafted elevate it from the ranks of run-of-the-mill, direct-to-mass-market* territory.

Just one more note (some might view it as a MILD SPOILER, but I was glad to have the information in advance) - there is a cliffhanger ending. I'm anticipating the sequel already!

Intrigued? Here's your chance to win my dog-eared ARC, before the book is available in stores:

Leave a comment here, between today and Tuesday, May 18 . We'll choose a winner at random from the comments.

Or, if you don't want to take a chance with luck, Pre-order your copy today! (Available June 8)

For more about The Passage:

Justin Cronin's website

Find Subject Zero

*In case you're not familiar with the term, mass market is the small, fat type of paperback often associated with romances and thrillers found in the supermarket. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Great moments in bookselling

There are a lot of reasons to love working in a bookstore--a bookseller is liable to wax poetic, and might even get misty-eyed, enumerating the reasons she loves her job.  "Making a lot of money" is never one of them, but a love of books and writing is usually at the top of the list. Some of the other reasons can be harder to quantify. For me, it's often small moments with customers that make it worth coming to work each day.

Sometimes, it's a turn of phrase that strikes me in a particular way. One customer, while perusing our shelves, told me that she waits for a book to call to here, that she was "dowsing for words." I love that image, and the idea of books calling out in special ways to certain people.

A young teen made my day once when she came in with her sister and began gushing about how she loved books and loved how they smelled. "When I'm old and crippled, I'm going to come in here and just sit and breathe," she said. It might sound like an odd thing to say, but this girl, with all her joy and bright energy, said it as if it were the most wonderful thing in the world to imagine. I hope this store is still here when she is old and crippled and that there is a chair waiting to welcome her.

I love observing the ways that books bring people together. Complete strangers, overhearing a mention of a title, might walk over to share their excitement about that book. A few weeks ago a customer asked about a book her book group was reading, and another woman held up that very book in her hand, saying, "I'm looking at it right now!" The two struck up a conversation and exchanged contact information, should the second woman be interested in joining the book group. It was one of those reminders as to why it's important for people to get off of the computer and shop locally--making connections with people, sometimes connections that you weren't expecting but that will enrich your life.

Seeing the excitement of young readers over books is always a treat. Just yesterday, a young boy came in with a gift card in his hand, searching for a book about horses. He'd just seen the movie The Black Stallion and decided that he wants to be a jockey when he grows up. After handing him a book of horse photos to look at, I did a little more searching and discovered that we had several of the Black Stallion series of novels in the store. When I brought those out to show him, his eyes lit up like birthday candles. He even had enough money on his gift card to get TWO books! That was one happy kid walking out the door, planning to start reading as soon as he got home. My smile, watching him leave, was almost as big as the one stretching from ear to ear on his face.

Working in customer service can be tough some days, but when moments like these make you say, "I love this job," then the other stuff doesn't even matter. Well, except as far as you can get a good story out of it...but that might be a post for another day.