Subterranean Books is very excited to welcome James W. Erwin to the University City Library for a signing of his book, Guerillas In Civil War Missouri  on Thursday, April 26 at 7:00PM.

In his book Erwin has taken a forgotten chapter of Missouri’s difficult history during the Civil War and brought it to life in vivid detail. Beginning with the Kansas-Nebraska Act and how its passage rippled through our state through the bloody Centralia Massacre and winding up with the postwar violence that devasted the state, Erwin has richly rescued this turbulent chapter of our history from fading away into obscurity.

Like any good novel Guerillas In Civil War Missouri has its own share of great characters. Athough this is a work of nonfiction you could not ask for a more colorful or intereresting group of characters. Joseph C. Porter, ‘Bloody Bill’ Anderson,  General Thomas Ewing Jr, the soon-to-be-even-more- famous Frank and Jesse James and of course Willaim C. Quantrill (the most famous guerilla leader in the State’s history) all leap from the pages, larger then life. Erwin is dead on in that in order to understand the impact of guerilla warfare in Missouri you must also know who these men were and what drove them. 

A lot of people do not know what a bloody and dangerous place Missouri was during the Civil War. Its strategic location made it not only a coveted prize but also a hotbed for spies, recruting and especially guerilla warfare on each side.

As Erwin points out,  guerilla warfare in the Missouri was more then a series of random nasty skirmishes or petty raids. It was, in its own way, an ugly, bloody theater of the American Civil War. 

What: James W. Erwin Book Signing

When: April 26, 7:00pm

Where: University City Library (6701 Delmar Blvd.)

This event is free and open to the public.  Subterranean Books will have copies of Mr. Erwin’s book for sale at the event.

Missouri State Representative Rory Ellinger will introduce Mr. Erwin at the event.

For more information call (314) 862-6100.

This 2008 young adult novel and its follow-up titles have been big sellers for us at the store this month. As booksellers we get excited when a book gets some hustle to it and sells like crazy. There’s the fun of getting the book on the shelves and into the hands of customers. There’s also the joy of knowing we have a book that, in some cases, someone went all over town looking for. Plus, there is the joy of having the money come in which is, sadly, an essential part of the business. But the best part is that people are buying books and reading.

As for the book itself, it is set in the post-apocalyptic country of Panem where peace is kept by having an annual ‘tribute’ which collects warriors from 12 districts and throws them into a nihilistic gladiator arena of sorts where the participants must hunt, track and kill each other to survive.  It’s a very esoteric substitution for war that has been glossed over by the government and media and turned into entertainment.  However, when Katniss Everdeen volunteers for the Games all hell breaks loose.

One of the reasons for the success of The Hunger Games is that it touches on a lot of ideas. There are cultural and social clashes, the morality of killing for sport, sexual politics, regular sneaky politics, the ideas of family and community. Collins also tackles poverty, oppression, war while turning the notion of self-preservation on its ear. She’s also thrown in a wacky love triangle just to make things interesting.

Collins has also taken the Orwellian idea of Big Brother and merged it with our culture’s strange predilection for reality TV.  It’s a book with  a lot going on in it. We’ve found that kids and adults both are devouring the series and enjoying the books. It has a lot of intrigue, action and is written at a breakneck pace that makes it a pretty quick read.

I was told by a customer the other day that these books are not the next Twilight or Harry Potter series that get charged by Hollywood and turned into a pop culture event. It was pointed out to me that The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are, like lots of other great fiction, books that have a soul that enables them to resonate with the times they mirror when they were published. 

Check out our website for all of your Hunger Games needs.

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

You can read the Rolling Stone review of the film here: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/being-flynn-20120302

Nick Flynn is a diverse poet, essayist and teacher who has won the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award and been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.  His other books include The Ticking Is The Bomb, The Captain Asks For A Show Of Hands, Some Ether, Blind Huber and A Note Slipped Under The Door (W/ Shirley McPhillips).

Subterranean Books is giving away three prize packs to celebrate the release of the film. Each pack contains Flynn’s paperback memoir plus a free run of engagment pass for two people to any Monday-Thursday screening of Being Flynn at The Tivoli Theatre.

All you need to do is be one of the first three people to repsond to this blog’s posting on our Facebook site.  We will select the winners who will be notifed via Facebook. Winners will then need to come by the store to claim their prizes.

Getting a free book and a free film on us is a pretty great deal. However, if you want to buy this book or any of Nick Flynn’s other titles from us you can do so as well coming by the store or visitng here:

If you want more info on the film visit the Landmark Theatres website: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Films/films_frameset.asp?id=113922

This captivating novel about motherhood gone crazy tests our perceptions of what is evil by centering the plot around the fractured relationship between a mother named Eva and her manipulative and devious son. 

Eva wants to be a good mom very badly. But sadly she realizes early on that she is the mother of a particularly nasty son. Kevin has a proclivity for evil and houses a darkness inside of him that is worrisome and troublesome. As mother and son combat each other the tense drama of the book ascends to an unexpectedly powerful climax.

The New York Observer hails the book as ‘An Underground Feminist Hit.’

The Independent called it ‘An awesomely smart, stylish and pitiless achievement’

Following the success of the novel, Shriver has teamed up with co-writer and director Lynne Ramsay for a film adaptation starring Academy Award Winner Tilda Swinton and Oscar nominee John C. Reilly. Both stars turn in amazing performances in the film with Swinton being nominated for several drama awards. The film has also been a success on the film festival circuit and was a nominee for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2011.

We have the book in stock and are excited about the release of the film. In fact we are so excited that we decided to give our patrons the hook up! We Need To Talk About Kevin is opening at The Tivoli Theatre on March 9th and to celebrate Subterranean Books is giving away free passes!

Beginning today we will be giving out FREE run out of engagment passes (good for free admission for two people to any Monday-Thursday screening of the movie at The Tivoli) to our cutomers with any purchase. We have a limited number of passes so don’t dawdle.  We also are giving out free posters to all customers.

For more information on the film & showtimes visit the Landmark Theatres’ Tivoli website: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Films/films_frameset.asp?id=109212

You also can visit the official site for the film: http://kevin.oscilloscope.net/

To learn more about this potent book vist our website:  http://store.subbooks.com/book/9780061124297

These selections cover almost every movement and even consist of catalogs of entire collections. If you dig deep enough there is some nifty stuff to explore.

We also have a kickass selection of new art books as well. The new Caravaggio biography is getting high praise, revealing an entirely new dimension of the artist and his work.

There also is a new biography of Vincent Van Gogh out that has the art world abuzz with new theories about his death. Van Gogh’s life and work is reevaluated like never before with a freshness and renewed spirit.

In addition to these best sellers, there are  many great Taschen titles to choose from as well. Taschen never disappoints in their titles which are wonderfully written and exquisitely designed.

 If you are a stickler for the classics, fret not. We have the hits as well; Monet, Holbein, Klee, Gaughin, DaVinci and even Munch who screams off the bookshelves for your attention. Graphic design, poster art, contemporary art and even surrealism are represented as well.  We also have a mighty fine selection of photography, grafitti art and contemporary art as well.

We have tried to build an art book selection that is expansive and covers a broad variety of movements, artists asnd subjects. Come in and browse the section on your next visit and you will find a treasure or two.

John Hendrix has returned with another amazing art show in our gallery to coincide with the release of his book,  A Boy Called Dickens.

John’s art show features the drawings and sketches that featured in his new book. This offers us a glimpse of how the book came together while highlighting his incredible talent.

Below are some of the pictures from his current Gallery show at Subterranean Books which you can see in our store! We think you need to see these in person because they are amazing.

 John has previously written and/or illustrated several books.

Nurse, Soldier, Spy : Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero   

John Brown : His Fight for Freedom 

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend

Each of these titles sees a historical person brought to life in an enthralling way.

Finally, we really appreciate the support John gives the store by having his event in an independent bookstore. we think he’s the bees knees!