Another Book of the Year winner

From Bookselling This Week:

On April 12, the American Booksellers Association announced that Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of WWII by Robert Kurson (Random House) was the winner of the 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year in the Adult Nonfiction category. The award honors independent booksellers' handselling favorite during the past year, as voted by the owners and staff of ABA member bookstores.

With all the drama and tension of a battle story, journalist Kurson dissects the discovery and identification of a German Type IX U-boat, which lay 230 feet underwater, 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Long thought to have been sunk in waters off Gibralter in 1945, U-869 was found by two recreational scuba divers, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, who were mentored by washed-up former diver Bill Nagle. After a perilous six-year search, which resulted in the deaths of three other divers, the two former rivals became allied in their search for the wreck's provenance, as well as in their desire to contact survivors of the victims. The identification of U-869 forced alterations in the historical record of World War II. Considered in league with Sebastian Unger's Perfect Storm and Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Shadow Divers combines in-depth research, military history, science, and mystery with heart-thumping adventure.

Classic Unearthed at Canny Lad

"Dr. Ernest Drake is the author of the rediscovered DRAGONOLOGY: THE COMPLETE BOOK OF DRAGONS, first published in a very limited run in 1895."

Said to be a noted dragonologist and founder of the Secret & Ancient Society of Dragonologists in London, Dr. Ernest Drake was determined to bring the subject of dragons under the burgeoning umbrella of the nineteenth-century natural sciences."

The spectacular popularity of his book DRAGONOLOGY has sparked a great deal of interest in the study of dragons and spurred much rummaging in antiquarian bookshops and attics in search of new Drake material. Happily, this earlier volume created for students, THE DRAGONOLOGY HANDBOOK: A PRACTICAL COURSE IN DRAGONS, turned up recently in an old public house called the Canny Lad in Edinburgh."

From the Author's Notes
Dragonology Handbook: A Practical Course in Dragons (ISBN 076362814X) Candlewick Press.

$12.99, releases in May 2005.

Delights & Shadows

This has been the hardest book for us to get and keep in the store after Ted Kooser was named the Pulitzer Prize winner for this book of poems.

Recently named Poet Laureate of the United States, Kooser is known for his unique correspondence in poetry with Jim Harrison, among other things. This Copper Canyon Press title is at the store now, in paperback at $15.

Here is a sample from Delights & Shadows, Student, one poem in this collection:

The green shell of his backpack makes him lean
into wave after wave of responsibility
and he swings his stiff arms and cupped hands,

paddling ahead. He has extended his neck
to its full length, and his chin, hard as a beak,
breaks the cold surf. He's got his baseball cap on

backward as up he crawls, out of the froth
of a hangover and onto the sand of the future,
and lumbers, heavy with hope, into the library.

"Heavy with hope..." quite a nice turn of phrase, don't you think?

For Those in the Know

If you haven't been in the store for a few weeks, you won't have noticed the dramatic expansion of our complement of Manga titles. Although I have some appreciation of the genre, there's no substitute for a fresh eye on things. That's why we've arranged for young Adam Booth to work with us in crafting our selection.

Here is Adam's first contribution.

Manga Blog
courtesy of Adam Booth, store consultant

Hey all you Manga patrons out there, I've got some exciting news!

Destinations Booksellers
604 East Spring Street

In the historic district of downtown New Albany, Destinations Booksellers is expanding their Manga selection in order to fit the needs of local enthusiasts. We already have a few mainstream titles: Rurouni Kenshin, DragonBall Z, DragonBall, DN-Angel, Yu Yu Hakusho, Full Metal Alchemist, Ranma 1/2, FLCL, and this is just to name a few from a plethora of wonderful titles. However, we need your help in order to tailor the selection to the individual's needs. This can range from picking even more titles that appeal to the general majority of fans (utilizing your suggestions) or discussing it at our club meeting on Friday at 7:00 P.M.

I'm really excited to see such a wonderful passion appreciated. I wish to expand that feeling for Manga to the public. I believe it can be achieved! For all those who don't know what Manga is let me fill you in. It's a graphic novel from Japan that possesses deep plots, character conflicts, and all the other literary elements that you can find in a novel. However, this novel comes alive and takes you into a world that fits your fantasy whether it be horror, action, drama, adventure, or love. If you would like to know more come check Destinations Booksellers out.

Every month I will be writing reviews of Manga titles and this should let people know more about it before they purchase the title. Anyway, I'm really pumped to expand my love of Manga to the community and I'm also looking forward to your support. If anyone would wish to have an inquiry on a specific title before they purchase it, I would be more than happy to answer questions. Just e-mail the store and I'll get back with you..

Thanks a bunch :)

Adam Booth

We've set up a separate blog where you can comment on Adam's work and opinions, or just discuss the latest issues of your favorite Manga, at DB's Manga Log.

National Magazine Showcases New Albany, Preservation

I have in my ink-stained hands the first copies of the May-June issue of American Spirit, the delightful magazine published by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Joy of joys, this issue is jam-packed with items on our own little burg, with a cover feature on Kentucky's horse country and a spotlight on New Albany and the Scribner House in full color.

Here's a snippet from Reclaiming New Albany:

"In 1850, a prosperous New Albany reigned as Indiana's largest city. In recent years, however, the city of 40,000, like many other small communities across the country, has struggled to pump life back into its business districts hit hard by disinvestment and urban sprawl."

Develop New Albany's Jane Alcorn is quoted in a liftout as saying, "There's something constantly being restored or preserved. We're committed to preservation, and we have our own historic review board to ensure appropriate work is one on historic structures.

With a six-page color spread on the Scribner House and the sidebar seventh page quoted above, this is a must-have for all New Albany collectors. Race down and get your copy before they're gone. We arranged to get extra copies this month, but these will disappear fast.

What to Give

Spring seems to bring a lot of gift-giving occasions and at Destinations Booksellers we are happy to help you solve all of your gift-giving dilemmas.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and we have several recommendations. If you are looking for something humorous Ilene Beckman has learned that there is more to happiness than finding the right hairstyle. She shares her wisdom in Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness.

Ya-Ya’s In Bloom celebrates the friendship of women and continues the tale of the four friends of the Ya-Ya sisterhood. Author Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood became the blockbuster movie of the same name.

And for the mother who refuses to “run with the herd” try Mustang Sallies. Fawn Germer celebrates the secrets of more than seventy-five successful women. The book includes interviews with Hilary Clinton, Susan Sarandon, Ann Richards, Erin Brockovich, and others.

If you are bored with receiving blankets and sleepers The One-
Armed Cook is a more original baby shower gift. This cookbook is designed specifically for new parents with advice for cooking and entertaining while coping with the demands of caring for an infant. It includes recipes and plans for entertainment ranging from a dinner party to baby’s first birthday.

And once the baby is born you will be looking for the perfect gift. When You Were Born is a poem by Dianna Hutts Aston which celebrates the joy of a new baby. Designed as a gift book for a new baby, this book features interesting illustrations from the baby’s point-of-view by award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis.

For newlyweds consider an addition to the home reference library such as Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To. This invaluable resource includes concise, easy-to-use instructions for hundreds of home repairs and projects from fixing a light switch to building a patio.

Whether the couple will cook a lot or a little a good all-purpose cookbook will come in handy. Joy of Cooking is a classic that could be either the only cookbook they will ever need or the foundation for an entire library of cookbooks.

If you are looking for something for the graduate Furry Logic may be just the book. It pairs watercolor paintings of animals with updated versions of some old adages for just the right mix of inspiration and humor.

The good stuff

We're being rather prolific today, but I wanted to add just one more piece to the information puzzle. This has been a dramatic week for new arrivals, so you might want to think about making today your "bookstore" day.

New in the store:

The new travel memoir You Can't Get There From Here by Gayle Forman.

A new biography of Augustine by James J. O'Donnell.

Kazuo Ishiguro just released Never Let Me Go, and was called one of the finest prose stylists of our time by Michael Ondaatje.

Bob Dole sends us One Soldier's Story.

Alicia Erian launches her career with Towelhead.

The estate of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle commissioned a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Caleb Carr: The Italian Secretary.

The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong by Donald Kroodsma is back in stock after a big rush. It includes a CD of birdsong.

There's so much more that's new at the store. I haven't even mentioned Richard Florida's The Flight of the Creative Class and the much-anticipated Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

Come on down to Spring Street, sidle up to the bar, order a German Chocolate Cake gourmet coffee or a chai tea, and browse to your heart's content.

It's all relative

Just got alerted to a story in today's papers that I had missed.

My cousin, Hector "Cito" Cervantes and his contemporary Christian music group, Casting Crowns , were triple winners at last night's Dove Awards.

Congratulations to Cito and all the guys in the band.


Cousin Cito fronting the band

Here's an excerpt from the wire story as it appeared in The Daytona Beach News-Journal Online, the news site named top Web site in Florida. In fact, winning that honor was one of my last official acts as an employee of that newspaper.

Casting Crowns won three awards - group of the year, pop/contemporary recorded song ("Who Am I"), and inspirational recorded song ("Voice of Truth") - while lead singer and songwriter Mark Hall won individual honors for song of the year and songwriter of the year.

"This is such an encouragement," Hall said. "There are so many people in the world who need hope and it's so cool to be a tiny part of that."

Hall said the idea for "Who Am I" came to him as he was driving home late one night with his wife and children asleep in the car.

"In the midst of my own little worship time, I stopped and wondered, 'Who am I to think I can just call up to God whenever I want, from the middle of nowhere, and expect Him to hear me.'

... That's where it started," Hall said.

It was the second consecutive year that the 35-year-old youth minister won the top songwriting honor at the Dove Awards.

Switchfoot, Crabb family top Dove Awards

Dove Award winners

Is Someone Reading Over Your Shoulder?

One of the (unintended?) consequences of the rush to pass the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001 received a smattering of attention last year when the librarians, independent booksellers, and various other groups rallied support for the Freedom to Read Protection Act.

You may recall that in July, a majority of the members of the House of Representatives voted to cut off funds for bookstore and library searches under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Unfortunately, that result was wiped out when extraordinary political pressure was used to force enough members of Congress to change their votes.

Destinations Booksellers is proud to join the effort to restore the privacy safeguards stripped from our civil liberties by the hasty inclusion of this provision in the act and the failure to exempt library and bookstore records from its effects. The Freedom to Read Protection Act restores the requirement that federal law enforcement agencies demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe the individual whose (library and bookstore) records being sought (under Section 215) is involved in espionage or terrorism-related activities.

Section 215 significantly expanded the government's power to seize business records, even the records of individuals not suspected of terrorism or any other crime, by using orders from a secret foreign intelligence court; a bookstore or library receiving such an order has no legal avenue to challenge the seizures and is barred by a gag order from informing anyone that the records have been searched.

We invite you to join our patrons in signing a petition that seeks changes in the law to prohibit bookstore and library searches under Section 215. If you like, you may sign the petition online at
http://www.readerprivacy.org/.

---------------------------------------------------

DID YOU KNOW: Although it's a clever, evocative shorthand designation that most people think of as a patriotic "Patriot" Act, the entire law is actually the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, and it is scheduled to expire under the terms of its emergency passage in 2001. Although we're not offering you a petition to join us, we lean toward letting the act expire and replacing it with a law that gives adequate protection to our civil liberties.

Oh yeah, here's what the acronym really stands for:

Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

Cute, huh?

Independent Booksellers Pick Their Favorites

The American Booksellers Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards. The winners in both adult and children's categories are those titles independent booksellers most enjoyed handselling during the past year, as voted by the owners and staff of ABA member bookstores.

The 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year winners are:

Adult Fiction -- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)

Adult Nonfiction -- Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II by Robert Kurson (Random House)

Children's Literature -- Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist (Scholastic Press)

Children's Illustrated -- Duck for President, by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

The winners will be feted at ABA's annual Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo America on Friday, June 3, in New York City. The gala event is open to all badged trade show attendees.

"We are looking forward to presenting the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards to these outstanding authors at the Celebration of Bookselling," said ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz.

"These books are representative of what independent booksellers do best -- recommend and handsell wonderful books to their customers."

Now in its sixth year, the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards include, for the first time this year, four Book Sense Honor Books in each category. These are:

Adult Fiction: Eventide by Kent Haruf (Knopf); The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Random House); The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin); and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin Press).

Adult Nonfiction: Candyfreak by Steve Almond (Algonquin and Harcourt); The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, Robert Mankoff (Ed.) (Black Dog & Leventhal); Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's); Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett (HarperCollins).

Children's Illustrated: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henke (Greenwillow/HarperCollins); Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books for Young Readers); Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle (Philomel/Penguin USA); and Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown (Knopf Books for Young Readers).

Children's Literature: Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic); Ida B ... and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan (Greenwillow/HarperCollins); Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (Disney Editions); and The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (Richard Jackson/Antheneum/Simon & Schuster).

The Book Sense Book of the Year winners and honor books were selected by booksellers from titles most often nominated for the Book Sense Picks recommendation lists in 2004. Booksellers were also able to write-in titles on the ballot. Only books published in 2004 were eligible.

Winners will receive a plaque, as well as a gift from Book Sense partner Levenger, Inc., a catalog and Internet seller of high-quality tools for reading and writing. The Celebration of Bookselling brings together independent booksellers, publishers, and the media to toast the spirit of independent bookselling in America.

Many of the honor book recipients will be among the dozens of authors being recognized at ABA's Book Sense Picks Author Luncheon on Friday, June 3, at BEA. This year's event, sponsored by The Quills Literacy Foundation, is being emceed by bookseller and Book Sense Picks author Betsy Burton of The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah.

What's That Smell

It's true. We've opened our Browser's Bar at Destinations Booksellers.

A selection of coffees and teas are now available, fresh-brewed a cup at a time. We use the "Cadillac" of single-cup brewers to bring you what you've been asking for. Combined with our Browser's Bar, the new reading area, and the expanded book and magazine selection, we're edging closer to the store S.E. Indiana demands.

We're offering infused and bag teas, herbal teas, hot cider, light/medium/dark roast coffees, and a large array of flavored coffees. For now, we're pricing it all a $1 including tax. So come in, throw a buck into the Ball jar, and enjoy a cup brewed fresh for you. With the selection listed below, just about every taste can be satisfied.

Be adventurous and try one of the gourmet or flavored coffees with a biscotti and a fine magazine like Other, The Futurist, or any of the 5 newspapers and 250 magazines we sell here at the store.

And check out the expanded manga section and the vastly larger gardening books inventory we've added in the past few weeks.

Here's the menu at Destinations Booksellers' Browser's Bar:

Van Houtte Gourmet Coffees
100 % Colombian (Medium Roast)
French Roast (Dark Roast)
Midnight Express (Dark Roast)
Costa Rican Tarrazu (Light Roast)
Kenyan Kilimandjaro (Dark Roast)
Decaffeinated (Medium Roast)

Van Houtte Flavored Coffees
French Vanilla (Medium Roast)
Chocolate Almond (Medium Roast)
Irish Cream (Medium Roast)
Pecan Praline (Medium Roast)
Macadamia Nut (Medium Roast)
Hazelnut (Medium Roast)
Hazelnut Decaffeinated (Medium Roast)

Timothy’s World Flavored Coffees
German Chocolate Cake

Gloria Jean’s Flavored Coffees
Cappucino

Heath & Heather Herbal Teas (bag)
Raspberry Leaf
Lemon & Lime
Mango & Apple
Apple & Cinnamon
Morning Time
Camomile
Wild Blackcurrant

Bigelow Teas (infuser)
Earl Gray
English Breakfast
Mint Medley Herb Tea
I Love Lemon Herb Tea
Orange & Spice Herb Tea

Celestial Seasonings Teas (infuser)
Green Tea

Gloria Jean’s Teas (infuser)
Chai Tea

plus a variety of bite- and full-sized biscottis

In the news

Last week, booksellers throughout the area were bombarded by requests for Under the Heaven Tree, a memoir by William Bridges.

The only problem (for all of us) was that the book is a "print-on-demand" (POD) book. With no warning that the book would be splashed across the pages of the metropolitan daily, none of the local booksellers, chain or independent, was able to fill the demand.

Fortunately, we were able to get the book in a matter of days (Thursday), and have filled our customer back orders. But books by micro-publishers and POD books aren't marketed or promoted in a way that puts them on our radars.

That's scant excuse; we'd like to be able to anticipate your needs in advance, but we aren't mind-readers, tycoons, or partakers in a leisurely life of the mind. We're retailers.

I would be interested to know if any of the other local stores had the book in stock last Sunday morning when the C-J reviewed the book. FYI, we still have copies in stock. If you don't remember or didn't see the review, read it here for a limited time.

Judging it a fair use, I have saved the review in our store archives if the link expires.

Also last week, Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, was interviewed. Her future appearance with our friends at the Speed Art Museum hasn't had a noticeable impact on demand, but only because the book is a regular top seller here at Destinations. We almost always have the book on hand, but we recommend you call to have us put one aside for you if you want to pick this one up.

Read the C-J interview here.

Today's top review is of Jon Lee Anderson's The Fall of Baghdad. We have this book in stock, too. Read the review here.

Charles Barkley, Jane Fonda, and the late poet Donald Justice have received mention today and last week in the C-J's various book pages and we have those books available this week, too.

On NPR this morning:
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin. This imagining of a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes in retirement is creating a real stir among Holmes-o-philes and other lovers of creative mystery. We'll have it here on its release date of April 21.

In the New York Times Book Review today:
No Place to Hide by Robert O'Harrow Jr. (due Tuesday)
Chatter: Dispatches From the Secret World of Eavesdropping by Patrick Radden Keefe (in stock)
Towelhead by Alicia Erian
Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan
I Got Somebody in Staunton: Stories by William Henry Lewis
Alibi by Joseph Kanon
The Position by Meg Wolitzer
Highway 61 Resurfaced by Bill Fitzhugh
No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark
The Serpent on the Crown by Elizabeth Peters
Long Spoon Lane by Anne Perry
Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio by Jeffrey Kluger
Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika by Giles Foden
Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game by David Block
Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan
Charlotte: Being a True Account of an Actress's Flamboyant Adventures in Eighteenth-Century London's Wild and Wicked Theatrical World by Kathryn Shrevelow
Ponzi's Scheme by Mitchell Zuckoff (previously reviewed here)
A Land of Ghosts: The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia by David G. Campbell
The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in 1948: Learning the Secrets of Power by Lance Morrow

Children's books:
Jungle Gym Jitters by Chuck Richards
Paisley by Maggie Smith
La La Rose by Satomi Ichikawa
The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen by Jane Yolen
Gifts by Ursula K. LeGuin
Shlemiel Crooks by Anna Olswanger
The Secret Seder by Doreen Rappaport
The Matzo Ball Boy by Lisa Shulman
Luna by Julia Anne Peters
Betsy and the Emperor by Staton Rabin
The Bremen Town Musicians: And Other Animal Tales From Grimm by Doris Orgel

_________________________

The Book Review alone is reason enough to buy the Sunday New York Times. The list of reviews above is just a fraction of what is offered each Sunday in the NYTBR. Add the New York Times Magazine, and the Sunday Times is indispensable reading. But call ahead if you want one. Supply is limited and we are the only outlet in Southern Indiana where you can get The New York Times, daily and Sunday. We always sell out.

Waving the Flag

The official flag of the City of New Albany, Indiana

If you have an interest in displaying this flag at your home or business, please let me know by e-mail or by posting a comment below. A number of us have talked about doing this and I think it's time to start waving the flag.

Worth another look

From Wednesday, January 19, 2005

University press spotlight

All editors and most reporters know the invaluable contributions made by The Poynter Institute with its seminars, education materials, and Web sites. Now, the University Press of Florida has produced a compendium of essays from the institute, as edited by Roy Peter Clark and Cole Campbell. The Values and Craft of American Journalism (0813028477) releases in May and serves as an idealistic, yet practical guide for journalism scholars, analysts, students, and professionals. To make it available to as many folks as possible, UPF has published it in paperback at $24.95.


Also available from this fine university press from their spring list:

Big Dish: Building America's Deep Space Connection to the Planets (0813028051)

Before and After Jamestown: Virginia's Powhatans and Their Predecessors (0813028175)

Biblical Interpretation and Middle East Policy: The Promised Land, America, and Israel, 1917-2002 (0813027985)

Unlocking the Past: Celebrating Historical Archaeology in North America (0813027969) For

Patron Passport members, we invite you to join us during this time of year when we are receiving our publishers' lists. Come in, sit down, and preview the books coming out in February, March, and later and help us as we craft the inventory for a new season.

A Spring Street Reviewer Chimes In

With only brief edits, I wanted to share this review from a woman many of you know, but whom I have yet to meet. On the occasion of an outside appearance by yours truly, I distributed advance reading copies to the luncheon party (great food, by the way).

Some of those books found their way to our reviewer, who shared the following by e-mail:

Hi Randy,

[My mother-in-law] shared two books with me. I'm also in a book club with some Children's Lit professors from IUS, but we generally read adult works:)!

Everything She Thought She Wanted was an enjoyable easy read - and quick read. It put me in mind of Ann Tyler's Ladder of Years and a more recent novel -How Does She Do It?

The actual quality of the writing wasn't truly fantastic, but as a working woman who has struggled with marriage, relationships, and the question of raising a family is very easy to identify with the younger woman's story.

I've encouraged [my mother-in-law] to read the book so that we can compare Barbara and Sienna's stories to what we know of "real life." I think any book club would enjoy debating the comparisons made between the so-called freedoms of today's modern woman versus the repressed woman of yesterday.

The other novel loaned was Berti and Hedwig. I could not even give it a fair chance. I got to page 30 and stopped. I've got too many other great books to read.

If you need any other advance reads let me know. I've always got my nose in a book!

Thanks,

Lea Marlow, M.D.

Patron Passport members are eligible to receive advance reader copies of books we are evaluating for the store. In return, all we ask is that you share a brief review, even a paragraph, with our other patrons.

Look to the Sky

From the metropolis that is Los Angeles arises a new wordsmith. Some of you have had the opportunity to read her work before; for others, this would be your first opportunity.

Is she a novelist? A journalist? A broadcaster?

Maybe all three, but first she was my daughter.

Read Schuyler's latest blog posting, now online at http://www.trojansasha.blogspot.com/

No fooling

Just a few quick notes for those of you who check in regularly. I'm going into hibernation this weekend in the back office, so Ann will be charging $5.63 per minute for anyone who wants to talk with me on Saturday or Sunday.

We have the "Cadillac of single-cup coffee brewers" on an evaluation basis through the weekend as we try to determine whether this is the way to go. Come by and have a free cup of coffee...we have a large assortment, including decaf, and will have herbal and regular teas, too, if we decide to purchase this equipment. Let us know what you would pay for a fresh cup and how important that would be to you, too.

The second installment of Pat Holt's story about the making of the movie based on her partner's book/memoir of childhood, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," came in this morning and it reminded me of my Dad.

"Tuff's" mom, the eponymous prize winner, had a special talent for spotting four-leaf clovers, Once on a family drive, she remarked that there was a beautiful specimen in the field they just passed. Unbelieving, Tuff's dad circled the block and challenged her. Walking deep into the field, she returned with the talisman.

My Dad has much the same talent. He could sit on our porch and point 20, 30, 40 feet away to a four-leaf clover, year after year, and amazed us all. Dad's living in a hotel right now after a house fire, and going a little stir-crazy waiting for contractors to get to work, so remember him in your prayers this weekend.

Oh, yeah. We have the book in-store, so come on down and talk to Ann about joining our new fiction book discussion group. And it's still not too late to join the Shredders, who've decided to meet here at the store on Monday nights, 7 p.m. The next meeting is May 9.

If you are going to Florida, or just returned, scavenge any Sunshine State kitsch to add to our Serge Storms collage. Serge, Tim Dorsey's outrageous anti-hero, is an ardent collector of all things Floridian (which he keeps in an intricately-compartmented tackle box), so we're building a shrine to our favorite fictional character.

Twizzle sticks, NASA patches, coasters, matchbooks, alligator keychains...anything you would like to add will be welcomed.