Radiance & Please Take Our Survey!

First of all please, if you have not done it yet, take our survey!  

And now… Radiance of Tomorrow by Ishmael Beah...

I picked this up the other day and read the first few pages.  I can't wait to sink  my teeth into this one.  Here's what got me:

…The places I come from have such righ languages, such a variety of expression.  In Sierra Leone we have about fifteen languages and three dialects.  I grew up speaking about seven of them.  My mother tongue, Mende, is very expressive, very figurative, and when I write, I always struggle to find the English equivalent of things that I really want to say in Mende.  For example, in Mende, you wouldn't say "night came suddenly"; you would say "the sky rolled over and changed its sides."  Even single words are this way  -- the word for "ball" in Mende translates to a "nest of air" or a "vessel that carries air."

If I express such things in written English the language takes on a kind of new mode… When I started writing this novel, I wanted to introduce all these things to my work.  They are part of what makes language come alive for me.

Independent Bookstores

Yesterday, while still being one with the couch after a stretch of the flu, I heard Fresh Air on NPR.  Ms. Gross interviewed Ann Patchett about her new book of essays, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.  What struck me was what Ms. Patchett had to say about independent bookstores:

Terry Gross:  So even though you have a bookstore now, do you ever buy your books online?

Ann Patchett:  NO

Terry Gross:  Because as you pointed out, your store, little independent stores like yours can’t carry everything...

Ann Patchett:  Right.  Well we can order it for you.  You know, it’s not that I think no one should order books online... there are a lot of little towns that don’t have bookstores or you might not enjoy going to the bookstore and I think that that’s fine, too.  Buy books online.  But i think that what’s important is that if you value a book store -- if that’s something you want in your community -- if you want to take your children to story hour, if you want to meet the authors who are coming through town, if you want to get together for a book club at a book store or you want to come in and talk to the smart booksellers, if you want to have that experience of a book store then it is up to you -- it is your responsibility to buy your book in the bookstore and that’s what keeps the bookstore there.  And that’s true for any little independent business.  You can’t go in to the little gardening store and talk to them about pesticides and when do you plant and what kind of tools do you need and use their time for an hour and their intelligence and then go to Lowe’s and buy your plants for less.  THAT you CANNOT do.  So that’s my message.

With the return of the light -- and the rain -- and then back to the snow and the cold -- what are you hoping to be reading over the winter?  Here are what some of the Galaxy Bookshop booksellers will be reading in the coming weeks:  The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, Let Him Go by Larry Watson, Transatlantic by Colum McCann, and Falling For Eli to name a few.

And you?  What are you reading as we go from the dark back into the light?

Out of Print Totes

We have Out of Print tote bags in the Galaxy right now that are well worth mentioning. Above, The Hungry Caterpillar.  On the flip side it has the fruits with the holes in them you will remember if you have read this story to someone you love 5,647 times.  We also have totes featuring The Great Gatsby, Alice in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, and Moby Dick.  Could you put a copy of the book in the matching tote?  Yes, you could!

 *Velvet dress and twinkle lights not included.*

Book Jam Picks & Miscellaneous Good Things

Thank you to all of you for coming out and helping us celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Galaxy Bookshop last Sunday!  It was so nice to fill in the spaces between good books with lots and lots of good people!  At the end of the evening it was like this:

David Budbill went above and beyond the call of duty reading stories to the youngest partygoer until closing time.

Were you able to join us for the Book Jam?  If not, I have for you a list of the recommendations that were given out that evening while we were cozied up at Claire's sipping drinks and listening to story lines…

MEMOIR FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH OTHERS’ EXPERIENCES:

End of Your Life Book Club, Schwalbe.  As mother dies, she and son read. 

NON-FICTION/REFERENCE BOOK/POETRY: FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO THINK AND CHAT WHILE SITTING BY THE WOOD STOVE:

Maps, Mizielinska.  The world unfolds through fun illustrations.

Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson.  Classic glimpses of small town lives.

Boys in the Boat, Brown.  Gripping and inspiring window to a world and time.

50 Foods, Behr.  Opinionated culinary guide with fun illustrations.

ADULT FICTION:  FOR A MAN WHO HAS ENOUGH TECH TOYS BUT NOT ENOUGH GOOD FICTION:

Yellow Birds, Powers.  Two friends. Iraq War.  Poetic.  Tragic.

Where I'm Calling From, Carver.  Shows why Carver is the best!

ADULT FICTION:  FOR A WOMAN WHO ONLY HAS TIME FOR THE BEST FICTION:

The Interestings, Wolitzer.  Follow friends from camp.  They mature!

The Signature of All Things, Gilbert.  Not eat, pray, love.  Just great fiction.

ADULT FICTION FOR ANYONE:

Bitter almonds, Cosse.  French woman tutors.  Immigrant teaches.  Sparse.

11/22/63, King.  Can Jake alter events around JFK?

Transatlantic, McCann.  Spectacular storytelling, expansive scope, real and imagined.

Bad Monkey, Hiaasen.  Pure laugh out loud fun.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION--FOR TEENS AND TWEENS AND ADULTS WHO LOVE THEM:

The Ruby Red Trilogy, Gier.  Time travel, mystery, adventure, and romance.

Wonder, Palacio.  Can classmates get beyond an extraordinary face?

BOOKS FOR YOUNGSTERS (8-12) BEYOND TOYS BUT NOT READY FOR TEEN TOPICS:

Bo at Ballard Creek, Hill.  For Little House fans.  Gold rush.

True Colors, Kinsey-Warnock.  Heartwarming, historic, memorable characters & mystery.

PICTURE BOOKS:  FOR FAMILIES TO READ TOGETHER DURING SNOWSTORMS:

The Christmas Wish, Evert.  Horses!  Reindeer!  Travel with Anja in a magical dream!

Journey, Becker.  Red marker, imagination, and a spectacular journey!

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.  For littles who love machines and need sleep!

The Day the Crayons Quit, Daywalt.  Crayons protest.  Readers laugh.  Great gift!

And finally, the galactic cupcakes that were eaten up at the anniversary:

A Christmas Wish by, Lori Evert

Christmas books come and go, full of snow and elves, mangers and angels, stockings and jingle bells. Once in a while, one of those books comes with a little extra magic that marks it as a future classic. For us, The Christmas Wish, by Lori Evert, has that magic, the kind of book to share with the family each year, making it as much a part of holiday tradition as A Christmas Carol or The Polar Express.

Plucky and kind-hearted Anja has one wish: She wants to be one of Santa’s elves. After studying hard so that she can find her way to the North Pole and performing several thoughtful tasks for her loved ones before she leaves, Anja starts her journey north. Her kindness is rewarded by offers of help along the way, from a bright-eyed cardinal, a steady horse, a shy musk-ox, a friendly polar bear, and, finally, one of Santa’s own flying reindeer.

The story is gentle and satisfying, and the photographs by Per Breiehagen is beautiful and inviting right from the cover. With a color palette informed by the whites and grays of the snowy north (“a place so far north that the mothers never pack away the wool hats or mittens”), the one spot of color drawing the eye through the story is the holly berry red of little Anja’s hat, plaid dress, and rosy cheeks, also found in the red feathers of the friendly cardinal.

A Christmas Wish captivated all of us, right out of the box, and we are excited to share it with you so that you can share this joyful little book with your loved ones this Christmas.

Coming Soon :: Galaxy Bookshop

There are some exciting goings-ons around the Galaxy in the coming weeks that you should know about.

1.  This coming Saturday, November 23, from 2-4 PM the Galaxy is hosting a space for writers to write in at Claire's.  November is National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, but you don't have to be working on your 50,000 words in 30 days to join us.  You can just drop in  with your pen and paper or your laptop and spend some time writing in the company of others!  (We need to wrap up swiftly at 4 PM when the dinner staff comes on.)

2.  Sunday, December 1st, from 8 AM to 5 PM is the Galaxy's 25th Anniversary Celebration!  There will be the annual customer appreciation sale as well as guest booksellers: 11 AM will find Natalie Kinsey-Warnock in the store, Howard Frank Mosher steps in at 1 PM and 3 PM will bring David Budbill.  Please come out and celebrate these 25 years with us -- we would love to see you!

3.  And last but not least, mark your calendar now for Tuesday, December 3rd, 7 PM the second ever Galaxy Bookshop Book Jam!  From our web site:

Last spring, we hosted Pages in the Pub, with the Book Jam blog and Jeudevine Library. It was such a popular event, that we're bringing it back, just in time for the holidays! 

Gather some friends and join us for drinks and an evening of great conversation about books with our expert panel. Lisa Sammet, of the Jeudevine Library; Linda Ramsdell; Lisa Christie, of the Book Jam Blog; and a special guest from the community will present a list of the books they are the most excited to share with others this season. It's a great opportunity to make your list of winter reading, as well as to get gift ideas for your friends and family!

Tickets to this event are $10, and the cost includes one beer, wine, or soda and a donation to the Jeudevine Library. Tickets are available for sale in advance at The Galaxy Bookshop and the Jeudevine Library.