Just in: The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Brett Helquist (HarperCollins, $12.99) The story begins with a lump of coal, who for the sake of argument could think, talk, and move itself around.  Like many people who dress in black, the lump of coal was interested in becoming an artist.

If you were a pet, your name would be? Winner by a landslide: Hoss Next up and pretty much tied: Miss Buttercup & Abner Far below and about the same: Gladys & Madame Rouge Way, way at the bottom: Bo, Jr. 

Abandoned Cars, live and in-person   

RFT  Best Of : Writer Luc Sante likens looking around a room full of books to taking a journey; as your eye skips from title to title, images spring to mind and connections are made, snippets of data about the author bubble to the surface, times distant and long gone snap back to the present. It’s [...]

I picked up the generously provided beer from our co-sponsor Schlafly this morning and they gave us Hefeweizen and Oktoberfest.  Thanks Tom Flood! And, and…the debate might get canceled.  I’m crossing my fingers.  Add to that the Neko Case tickets and the RFT write-up (our record continues–yes!–except for the invisible year we’re not mentioning further),  [...]

She came in, bought a bunch of books, and put some of us on the guest list.  We poorly paid bookstore workers always like that.  And she was nice and friendly to boot.

Leningrad: State of Seige by Michael Jones (Basic, $27.95).  Maybe this was what was really keeping me up at night.  After reading City of Thieves by David Benioff (Viking, $24.95) I was telling one of our sales reps what a great novel that was and how it got me really interested in the Siege of Leningrad.  [...]

but Kelly Link does not. I have a crush on Kelly Link.  Every time I read her I just keep thinking, “How, how does she come up with this stuff?”  She is so imaginative.  These scenarios are just so fantastic.  Clearly, I am not the writer she is since I have such trouble just describing her works.  [...]

So, yeah, I’m really late with these.  In the fiction category it would almost appear that we’re some sort of children’s/ya store.  I think it really just means that the young people are kicking the old folks’ A this summer. Fiction: Stephenie Meyer: Breaking Dawn Meyer: Twilight Meyer: New Moon Trenton Lee Stewart: Mysterious Benedict [...]