Alex Is Reading...USED BOOKS!

It's easy to forget, looking at all the shiny new wonders we have upstairs in Kidsmith, that there's more than one place to shop for kids' books at the Booksmith. Head down the stairs at the front of the store, hang a right at the bottom, and you'll find our recently expanded and entirely awesome used kids' books section. A couple weeks ago I picked up a copy of Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen, a delicious Newbery-winning novel about fresh air, maple syrup, and coming alive in the country from 1957. Now, you can't have that, because I am keeping it forever, but there are lots of treasures in the Used Book Cellar. Here are a few.

TEN GREAT KIDS' BOOKS IN THE UBC AT THIS VERY MOMENT
(Subtitle: Get Them While You Can)

The Amelia Series by Marissa Moss -- Before Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries, there was Amelia--half doodles, half writing, Amelia's diaries are colorful, fun to read, and star a girl you will want to get to know.

Runaways vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona -- Surprise! Your parents are super villains. This series got me into American superhero comics. All the characters are perfect and the art inside is great.

The Good Neighbors by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh -- Holly Black's scary fairies in comic book form, with art by Courtney Crumrin author and artist Ted Naifeh.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray -- Apathetic teenage boy gets the human version of mad cow disease. Now he's on the roadtrip of his life (literally) with a pal from the ward and a lawn gnome that doubles as the god Baldur. This book is amazing. You will WEEP.

Skellig by David Almond -- Two kids find an angel in the garage. It is not a cute angel. It is a weird angel. This is a weird book. The otherworldly feeling you get from Skellig will stick with you for years.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith -- Combines Crown Duel and Court Duel. This princess may come from a poor kingdom, but it's her kingdom, and she'll do anything to protect it. Battle, magic, romance, and intrigue abound.

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff -- This novel is based on the true (?) story of a Roman legion in ancient Britain that simply disappeared. Rosemary Sutcliff is a sumptuous writer.

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy -- The author of the Magic Tree House series takes on Americana in this beautifully illustrated and highly entertaining collection of traditional stories.

Fade by Robert Cormier -- Sometimes when people say "YA has gotten really dark!" it means they haven't read Robert Cormier. His books are almost all classics, gritty, grim and sometimes disturbing, but they'll always stay with you. Fade is about a boy with the power to turn invisible--and he's about the last person you WANT to turn invisible.

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde -- Virtual Reality is awesome...unless you get stuck in the game and your only way out is to beat it. Vande Velde writes fun, fluffy fantasy that hits the spot like candy hits a sweet tooth.

And don't forget....sometimes we have more books in a series downstairs in the UBC that we do upstairs! See here: A LOT OF BOXCAR CHILDREN. You can also find plenty of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Popularity Papers, and more. Whatever you're looking for, there's always some surprise treat to be found.

Happy reading, and happy treasure hunting!

Buy These Before I Do, Please

New used book shtuff:

All these back issues of The Believer

Four bucks a pop.

One of Dave Eggers many impeccably curated brainchildren, The Believer is ostensibly a literary journal but goes all over the map in terms of content - music, art, food, politics, film, you name it. Like any McSweeney's offering, it never fails to look like a lucid acid trip and read like a jab in the ribs. 

Pictured on top: the October 2009 issue featuring a Charles Burns/Chris Ware mash-up cover because (breaking news) Chris Ware is my soul mate and I will marry him and he will make me sign a sassy illustrated pre-nup with some really breath-taking typography and things will end badly after a year or two (tops) because that's kinda how he rolls but I will worm my way into at least one book and it will be worth it, y'all. 

Hug me.

Sad Monsters: Growling on the Outside, Crying on the Inside

You could probably buy this on the basis of Colbert's endorsement (full disclosure: author Frank Lesser is a writer and humorist for Colbert's own show, but that conflict of interest is sort of eclipsed by the fact that you've gotta be pretty hilarious and brilliant to work a gig like that anyway), OR you could get the book just to adopt the tragically adorable fuzzball on the front who, as I type this, is staring at me with soulful little eyes like the last puppy at the pound. I'm dying here. Give the li'l guy some love. 

Sayonara Home Run!: The Art of the Japanese Baseball Card

In which Japan kicks our butts at graphic design.

Do I care about baseball? Is the pope Jewish? However, it's recently come to my attention that the proud American tradition of hitting/ running/ catching/ throwing/ spitting/ butt-slapping is kind of a big deal in this city. (Pro-tip for fellow sport-atheists: you'll never see an emptier bookstore than on a Sox world series night). Fun fact: this isn't the only country that considers baseball its national pastime. If you, like everyone else in Boston, are madly in love with Koji Uehara right now, may I suggest this toothsome segue into Japan's illustrious baseball history? 

Bonus: original owner's Bazooka
bubble gum baseball card bookmark

For the sports fan, collector, or anyone with an insatiable appetite for pretty pictures (hello).

Stuff Found in Used Books

Readers of our weekly b-mail newsletter will already be familiar with our Find of the Week, a feature of the the magical scraps and ephemera that used books never fail to yield. If you're not a follower, I promise there are few better ways to kill a weekday afternoon than a leisurely browse through the archives with a hot Cup o' Noodles in hand.

What you may not know is that Paul, the sassy voice of b-mail (email paul@brooklinebooksmith.com to sign up) and long-time curator of Find of the Week, barely scratches the surface. Our used book buyers field hundreds of new arrivals every week; by my estimation at least half of those books hold not just old bookmarks but ticket stubs, polaroids, business cards, notes, lists, sketches, pressed flowers, trading cards, even money.

So while you can still get your weekly dose of scavenged weird via our newsletter, I thought I'd feature a few of the passed over finds here every once in awhile. Paul might even let me dig through his huge box of all the old newsletter finds (eight years worth! That's 416 weeks of strange stuff, for you kids keeping track at home) and post some golden oldies for the newbies.

US Department of Homeland Security
Homeland Security Investigations
Special Agent
Violent Gang Unit

 

 

In the Emergency of an Event

It's a quiet weeknight after a long, hectic day. You're through putting up with people for the time being, and maybe it's starting to rain, but that's nothing a pumpkin spice latte and an hour of bookstore browsing can't soothe away. Nothing more therapeutic than sinking into the hushed hum of a new novel on a cool Autumn night - until 450 fans come stampeding in.

Last night, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri graced our store with her presence, signing copies of her new book for a line of fans that snaked its way up and down all the aisles and almost reached out the front door. I love these huge events; Booksmith staff keep a tight rein on the chaos while giddy readers meet their heroes face to face.

But I always feel a sympathetic twinge for the innocent browser caught up in the bustle unsuspectingly. It doesn't happen often, but if you find yourself in a quiet store one minute and thronged by voracious readers the next (on, say, October 22nd, October 30th or November 7th), just follow this simple guide.

1) Don't panic.

2) Stick close to the walls and edge your way toward the front of the store. With a crowd pouring in this may feel like spawning upstream, but if food can do it so can you.

3) Across from the front register you will see a doorway. This is your escape hatch. Go through it.

What's this? Suddenly the teeming hordes are gone. You descend the stairs in a slight daze. While the main sales floor fills to capacity, you have the Used Book Cellar all to yourself. Chairs, laid-back music, one-of-a-kind scoops... paradise at last. Consider it your fallout shelter from the mayhem up above.

Some new finds:

Calaveras: Mexican Prints for the Day of the Dead

Classic and antique postcard art from the Holiday Most Envied by White People. Printed on heavy, removeable card-stock.

Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom

And you thought Trekkies were obsessive.

The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present 

It was the Lautrec-esque cover that caught my eye, but the subject matter couldn't be more sordid and captivating. Check out the NPR review.

Harry Dickson: Les Spectres Bourreaux

Hardcover reissue of the classic pulp magazine. Great practice for French language learners, though the Parisians might mistake you for a gumshoe detective.

Insert Nautical Metaphor Here

Up at the register this morning, I witnessed the following exchange near the vestibule that leads to the stairs to the UBC:

Customer #1: They buyin' today?
Customer #2: (Wizened nod) A few.

followed immediately by this one:

Customer#3: Do you think I should check downstairs?
Me: (Mystically) Yeah, I'd check.  You never know what is down there.

The UBC. They're fishers of books.  They have their tackle box ready for books. They're netting tomes in a vast sea of publications.  They're putting worms on hooks and reeling them in (okay, that part isn't accurate at all, there are few if any worms involved in the used book buying process and mainly involves customers coming in Wednesday-Saturday from 10-4 with bags or boxes of books). I'm done with these poorly constructed nautical metaphors.  Catch my drift?

By the way, John Boyne is going to be here on Sunday at 2 for his new book, The House of Special Purpose.  I've read it, loved it, and there aren't any nautical references that I can think of, so let that cleanse your palate.