One of the stranger road trips one can take in the Midwest is to Fairmount, Indiana. Fairmount has the distinction of being home to both James Dean (for a few years) and Jim Davis—creator of Garfield the cat. And the town doesn’t let you forget it, juxtaposing the images of a fat orange cat and [...]

Just wanted to join any ex-Yinzers in the Lou mourning the loss of a great, decent, and entertaining human being—Myron Cope.

I’m always behind the times. For years, the store’s favorite gadfly—Umar Lee—has been trying to get me to watch The Wire. Well, during a recent bout with the flu, I finally found some time to watch it. Fantastic! If you’re as behind the times as me and haven’t seen it, you must. The show is [...]

So NPR’s got this great series called “In Character” that takes a deep look at great American characters (duh). Recently they featured one of my favorites—Cookie Monster. I still remember the Cookie Monster birthday cake I had in 1980. It was a huge “cake sculpture” of CM’s head with a cookie the size of my [...]

The 30th anniversary of the Diagram Prize, honoring the Oddest Book Title of the Year. (shortlist no less) *I Was Tortured By the Pygmy Love Queen *How to Write a How to Write Book *Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues *Cheese Problems Solved *If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs [...]

Part II:

There are three interesting reviews in today’s NY Times, of three books we’re stocking: Roberto Bolano’s Nazi Literature in the Americas (fiction, New Directions, $23.95)–in stock now …a wicked, invented encyclopedia of imaginary fascist writers and literary tastemakers, is Bolaño playing with sharp, twisting knives. As if he were Borges’s wisecracking, sardonic son, Bolaño has meticulously [...]

We’ve never stocked travel guides because the whole idea terrifies me.  We really need to, though, so we’re going to take the plunge.  But we need help. Please let us know what kinds and what places we ought to stock.  Either post here or email info@subbooks.com . Do you use Frommer’s or Fodor’s?  Or Lonely [...]

I hate February.  Hate.  It.  It’s even a stupid spelling. We’re closed today (Thurs), so please come in tomorrow and spend twice as much as you would have.

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