Books as personality identifiers

In an article in this week's New York Times (the Fashion & Style section no less!) author Joanne Kaufman addresses the Kindle's affect on literary snobbism. She points out that seeing what other people read is for many a way to compartmentalize an individual. We have all scanned a friend's bookshelf and whether you want to admit it or not, you are impressed to see a dog-eared collection of Jane Austen's novels. Or someone who actually made it through one of Pynchon's doorstop books. With the Kindle, the ability to be surreptitious in your nosiness is a lot harder. Maybe the Kindle will become some kind of class equalizer (once they are free of course) and we will no longer judge a book by its cover?

I have mixed feelings about the Kindle. I touched my first one last week. It wasn't an entirely bad experience. Am I going to buy one? No, they are far too expensive for me. But I appreciate that they can be quite handy and imagine in some settings (especially academic circles) their usefulness is being embraced with arms wide open. Frequent travelers too would also appreciate the ease of use. However, for me, part of the fun of traveling is in visiting other bookstores and picking something up that I missed in my own. There are many arguments in favor of e-readers, but for now I am going to stick to my ink & paper reader.

-Sylla

Must-Reads

We booksellers are lucky enough to get advanced copies of forthcoming titles. Here are some excellent titles from the first half of this year. A few of them aren't published yet, but that will give you time to get caught up on the author's other books!

Last night I finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave. What an amazing book. I'm not sure I even have words to describe how wonderful it is. Before its release the publishers didn't say very much about the book because they wanted readers to discover its content on their own. All I will say is that this is a very good novel about immigration, globalization and refugees. And it is definitely worth buying in hardcover.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This book is a must read for any teenager who is uncertain about leaving home for any reason. If you have a 16-18 year old in your life make sure they read this book. It's great for adults too, but I think it will really resonate with teens in the midst of making big life choices. If I Stay follows 17-year-old Mia for 24 hours after she and her family get in a horrific car accident. This is a fantastic story and it's available now.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind and it is full of the intrigue and drama that Zafon does best. (June 16th 2009)

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

This is the second book in a planned trilogy by Swedish author Steig Larsson. The series was going to feature at least ten books but Larsson only completed three before dying suddenly of a heart attack. I don't usually read crime fiction, but these books are so compelling and well written I found myself wishing Larsson would return from the grave and write seven more titles. (July 28th)

Border Songs by Jim Lynch

Jim Lynch is my new favorite author. He has two fiction titles under his belt, Border Songs and Highest Tide. Highest Tide is the Mac Reads pick for this year and Mr. Lynch himself will be in town at the end of April. If you haven't read Highest Tide you have plenty of time left to do so. Both of Jim Lynch's books are set in Washington state and feature spectuacular characters. He will be in the store on April 30th from 3-4 pm for a signing before his 7:30 talk at the Nicholson Library at Linfield. (Border Songs pubs June 16th).

- Angela

Thanks for partying with us!

Starting to get busy.
Happy Birthday Oregon display. Also, if you look closely, you can see my face directly under the red arrow! Fortuitous, non?
Husband extraordinaire (thanks babe!) and my grandmother!
Employees kissing their mothers. It was a really family friendly event!
More partying.


We had a great time. If you missed it, we are sorry. Maybe in five more years we will do it again!

-Sylla

Happy Birthday to Us!

IT'S A PARTY!
AND YOU ARE INVITED!

Saturday, February 28th from 5-8 pm, join us at the bookstore to celebrate our fifth anniversary! The store is in fact much older than five, but we wanted an excuse to celebrate, and this seemed like a good one. Live music, bubbles and snacks will great you that evening. Everything in the store will be 5% off for the whole day. Print out this email and bring it in for an additional 10% off! That means you could get a whole 15% off your purchase for that day! And we would get to say "thank you" to you for sticking with us!

Saturday, February 28th from 5-8 pm.
Bring your friends!

Before I get too mushy and weepy I have to say, thank you. Owning a bookstore has been a dream of mine for a long time. Once, during a performance review that I was having with a supervisor at Border's, she asked me where I saw myself in five to ten years (note: DO NOT ASK THIS QUESTION. It is really lame.) I honestly told her that I saw myself owning my own store. She thought I was nuts, and told me so. Well, if this is crazy, I'll take it.

Being a part of this community has been filled with all sorts of fun. Little things like walking down Third Street and waving to people as they pass by reminds me that my children will never get into too much trouble in a town where lots of people know their parents! Wearing my pj's to Roth's for some morning food shopping, and being caught by a customer who wants to know if I have a book in stock. Having the best staff ever help me guide this store into a real community bookstore. Working with other business owners and neighbors in town to ensure that people know about our great downtown and the importance of supporting locally owned businesses. Since I have taken over the store, not once have I woken up and thought, "Ugh! Today I have to go to work".

So to all of you who have watched us expand, stock the store, try different events, etc. and have stuck with us, we thank you.

NOTE: I have just been informed that almost all my postings and e-newletters have at least one spelling error. For the record. I am a lousy speller. LOUSY. I know, I own a bookstore for crying out loud, isn't there a dictionary around? Well, yes, but that would mean I would have to move. I am lousy, and lazy. You will still read this, won't you?

-Sylla

Citadel of the Spirit

I know Sylla mentioned Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon's Sesquicentennial Anthology in December sometime, but now that I've read it I have to throw in my two cents. I bought my Dad this book for his birthday. I had a few days before I was going to see him so I started reading excerpts from the book. After 4 or 5 essays I was hooked and had to buy a copy for myself.

I thought I would read the book over a long period of time (it's 400+ pages) but I read it in about 2 weeks! Matt Love did a wonderful job putting this book together and I found myself fascinated and enthralled with Oregon's history. I read some of the pieces out loud to my husband and after I finished the book he settled down to read through it for himself. My husband and I were both born and raised in Oregon and had no idea we knew so little about Oregon history.

We have lots of copies of Citadel of the Spirit. If you are at all curious about Oregon history, you need to read this book!

Angela

Happiness is...

As you may know, dear reader, there are many things that make up the workings of our bookstore. Book ordering, customer service, displays, cleaning and organizing... Ah yes, cleaning.

D'you know what a mulching vacuum is? A vacuum that, rather than picking up dirt and depositing it in the collection bag instead spins it around and deposits it right back on the floor, sometimes flinging (at warp speed, no less) bits and pieces of dirt and pebbles willy-nilly. Apparently last week, our trusty Eureka-with-special-mulch-feature gave up the ghost. Finally. I walked her down to Boersma's to see if anything could be done, her wheels screeching a funeral dirge along the way. Dragging her back to the vacuum repair area, I asked if anything could be done, and the nice man at Boersma's asked me if I wanted her to be fixed. Do what you can, sir, I replied, and left her in his capable hands.

Fast forward to Sunday, finding me in the back of the bookstore turning on the heat, and there, in the corner, shining like a beacon, is a Miele Calypso Power Plus upright vacuum with automatic height adjustment and swivel neck. Swivel. Neck. That's power steering in vacuum speak, folks. This thing practically vacuums the place all by itself.

Anything to make our job easier. I thank you Sylla, (and Boersma's) for this wonderful gift.

-Anna

Happy Birthday Oregon!

Ok, I know the official day isn't until next week, but who cares? It is a beautiful sunny day, great for meandering down Third Street. I rode my bike around this morning and look forward to more errands taken care of by bike this afternoon. I have also been looking for some neat little Valentine's Day gifts for my family. Don't tell my husband, but I think that this year, I am going to go all out. Yep, I am going to give him what he really wants: a crossword puzzle dictionary. My poor children are always so bummed that we are not more romantic. Ah well. I will make them each a sweet Valentine and sooth their hearts with chocolate.

On Thursday, we are excited to host Matt Love, author and editor extraordinaire, and several authors from his book, Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon's Sesquicentennial Anthology - A Merging of Past and Present Oregon Voices and Stories. This event will be a great way to celebrate our state's birthday. Matt is a wonderful speaker, compassionate and inspiring, and we are looking forward to hearing other authors from the book as well. Just a little shameless self-promotion there.

I forgot to mention that we have an electronic newsletter. Maybe you already get it, I don't know. We announce our cool events, sales, and book reviews there. If you are interested in receiving it, please send your name and email address to:info@thirdstreetbooks.com and we will add you to our list!

Off to hang out in the sun!

-Sylla