We're trying a little experiment here at A Novel Adventure - we want to know if people are really ready to reboot their idea of a book, to take the time and space to explore a world made in the imagination. This week, we're discounting all books in our store, with special sections taking a little extra off. It's time to kickstart the reading revolution, people, so help us get it started!
There are few things that all of us here agree upon. The greatest children's story (Wind in the Willows, of course), where to file Vanity Faire (is it current events or women's mag?), or whether Dave Eggers' pretention should be forgiven in light of his genius (undecided). If there's one thing we do agree on, it's that our work is easier when someone else does it for us. The guys and gals over at Green Apple Books in San Francisco have made a charming web series that expresses our sentiments (namely "white rage") about the Kindle reader. Lazy reading makes for lazy minds. But we're lazy too (about making videos), so we sorta understand.
A good friend of mine sent it to me today, and I wanted to share it with all of you. This is where we live!
There are some exciting new changes happening in the store. We have partnered with Spirit At Work, and they are now showcasing their products in the books store where the games used to be located. We also have moved the game section back by the children's section to make space for that. So don't be too concerned if things are a bit different next time you stop by. We still have everything, it is just hiding in different parts of the store.
One other thing I would like to point out, I mentioned that we have implemented a staff picks shelf in our store. It is pretty nifty and has a variety of different kinds of books spanning from best-sellers to children's books. If you need something to read but don't know quite what to pick up, stop by and take a look at our recommendations. And, obviously, any of us on staff will be glad to talk with you about anything. What I really would like to do is just encourage reading, especially reading for pleasure. At this point, there are few things more important, and there are few better things you can do for yourself.
The holiday season is drawing to an end, and I think that all of us are heaving a collective sigh of relief. Congratulations! We survived! Between NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now the New Year, there has been barely time to write in this poor, neglected little blog. Fortunately we have some big plans to change that.
Recently we have implemented a staff picks section in the bookstore. We write out reviews and put everything up in a nice labeled section so that people can come and see what we have to say about the books we are reading. As a part of that we are going to start featuring some of the picks on this blog as well. I am personally very excited about it. Another idea I have in the works currently is a "Customer Picks" selection. I would like to choose a few customer reviewed books to sell as well. I am hoping to get everyone more involved, and so if you have read a book recently that you just loved, and would recommend to anyone and everyone, leave a comment and let me know if you would like to participate in something like that.
Speaking of new additions to the store, we have a new member of the staff, a mini-boss if you will. Her name is Jade, and she was born December 11th (the day before my birthday!). Mike and Becky (the owners of the store, and two lovely people) are the lucky parents, and I think that there are few things that makes everyone in the store so ridiculously happy as little Jade. Here she is:
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That is all for now! I hope that all of you have a very happy New Year! We will see you soon!
I had mentioned previously how excited I was that NaNoWriMo was approaching, I was not aware, however, just how quickly it would arrive! November 1st and the beginning of the frenzy that will be Novel Writing November is literally just around the corner, with the Kick Off Party beginning tomorrow (10PM @ Rediscovered Bookshop), and then the month of November will crawl in on it's belly at midnight bringing with it, on it's back, the madness of 50,000 words. I must admit, I am a little panicked, as I am sure a lot of my NaNo compatriots are at this point. If you are unfamiliar with this process, it is entirely normal to get a little overwhelmed with the task that lies ahead. Just look at it as an adventure, an opportunity to prove to yourself that you are worthy and faithful, and the magic, and spirit, and gumption of such an adventure will carry you through.
Even the Boise Weekly is preparing everyone for the leap. Amy Atkins wrote an introductory article on NaNo, which conveniently also has the scheduled write-ins listed as well as contact info for our wonderful Municipal Liason, Megan Justice. As mentioned, there will be write ins both at A Novel Adventure and Rediscovered bookshop. I hope you can make it to as many as possible, and I especially hope to see you at the write-ins at A Novel Adventure (because that is where I will be!). This is part of this whole process for me. I am excited to come together with people that are of a like mind, people that go through the same trials, and people that understand that Writing can be a fickle, and tiresome, and cruel creature (but also lovely, and faithful, and gentle).
Just in case you haven't checked it out, here is a link to the National Novel Writing Month Website. Make sure you sign up, set up your profile and let all of us know who you are. This too is part of the process. I hope to see all of you in four days! Good luck as the race begins!
Halloween is my second favorite holiday, and only second to Thanksgiving (which is the best holiday on the planet earth). This year, outside of my normal preparations for the coming holiday, there is an added element of excitement. The bookstore is hosting a Mad Scientist party during story hour this Halloween, and it is going to be rather spectacular (even if I do say so myself). Just imagine being a kid. The prospect of entering into a secret laboratory (which we have!), conducting experiments, eating snacks, and then possibly going back for more experiment conducting is something that every kid dreams of every once in a while. I mean, they even made an entire show based around that basic principle (Dexter's Lab on Cartoon Network).
I think part of the reason it is so exciting for me is not only that it is going to be an awesome event at the store, but I really like being a part of something bigger. What is bigger and more awesome than making something that only exists on an imaginary plane a reality, especially for a kid? I am hoping that all of you, with kids or not, stop by and have some fun with us this Halloween. It is going to be a good time for those big and small, because, let's face it, all of us have a little mad scientist in us.
Every morning, as we enter the store to open, we are met with a littering of fresh fall leavings, bits of crunchy autumnal flora that have struggled, salmon-like, to follow the push and pull of nature and squeeze themselves under our door. As glad as we are to see this evidence that our earth orbit is still working to take us further from the sun, the detritus of its passage outward makes its unwelcome entrance just when we are least capable of handling it. With neither store vaccuum currently in working shape, the much reviled hokie is called upon to grind, mash and generally scatter the leaves in a wider pattern.
But the morning's gleanings, if a bit presumptive for entering without invitation, are a reminder, however subtle, of the mission of our bookstore. In addition to the cutesy/obvious connections (leaves refering to either tree aerials and book pages), their intrusive passage, the meager struggle to escape the outside buffeting gales is a picture of the book industry itself. Reading, once the pastime of the masses, isn't in popular fashion these days. Sad as it is to say, I've met folks who honestly can't remember reading a full book for pleasure. With the distractions of internet, movies and, most damning, sensationalist television, the luxury of allowing a fully story to develop at the pace of page-turn is seen as just that, a luxury. How often do I hear people complain that they wish they had more time to read?
This, friends, is an excuse, not a circumstance. Literature is a decision, a choice to put aside the harried and haggard activity of our daily life and allow an adventure to unfold. But a novel requires something of us, not just time, but an open and inquiring mind. We cannot be transported until we prepare ourselves to be. In this sense, reading is a form of meditation, a conscious readying of the soul and mind to move and grow. Our humble bookstore, a safe harbor for wind-tossed leaves, is a sanctuary designed for this practice. Here we find the tools of growth and enlightenment and a sanctum in which to learn, to gather wisdom from the thoughts of the past and to discover the adventures of our future. Or is this metaphor too far stretched?
Radclyffe Hall was one of the first, if not THE first, to write and publish a novel giving an in depth look at the life of a homosexual, specifically the life of a lesbian in Britain, early 1900s. I understand that homosexuality is a very controversial subject, but as it is banned books week, and as The Well of Loneliness happens to be a very old banned book, I figured there is no time like the present. Just to clarify, I am going to try and avoid expressing any of my own opinions about homosexuality. I really just wanted an outlet to discuss how I felt about the book itself—writing style, characters, and most of all the myriad of emotions I experienced while reading it (it is called The Well of Loneliness after all).
After completing the book I was left rather overcast with a chance of no conclusive feelings. In a quest for conversation on the subject, I defaulted to my good ol' standby, Goodreads. I read through some of the reviews and I must say I felt an instant sort of solidarity with Radclyffe and this book. So many people viewed the book as being melodramatic. This annoyed me. Honestly, it felt like I had to defend the honor of a friend, and, had I been born French and in a different and more elegant time, I may have challenged someone to a duel. I really wanted to start commenting like a crazy person and just say, "Come on! It was 1928! Have you ever READ F. Scott Fitzgerald? Everybody just LOVES him, and yet he is excessively melodramatic, self-indulgent and (sorry to say it) a big whiner. It was the 20s! Get over yourself." Invariably it would have trailed off into a rather overdramatic arrrrrrggghhhh at the end, and really I wouldn't have been helping my case at all by that point. So, I kept silent and instead thought for a very long time about why it is I had that reaction.
First and foremost, I personally find the main character, Stephen Gordon, to be wonderfully sympathetic. I related to her quiet personality and her quirky insecurities to the extent that, if I was not careful, I could actually be influenced through the narration. Occasionally I would find myself more self-conscious than usual solely because Stephen was going through a particularly awkward social encounter. In saying that, this one detail goes a long way to explain that feeling of solidarity I felt while reading terrible reviews.
For a little background, Stephen was born to upper-class parents in the late Victorian era. Her parents, like most expecting parents in that time, were hoping for a boy and thus became set on the name Stephen. Upon Stephen's birth, however, Philip and Anna Gordon were rather surprised to find themselves with a baby girl. Despite disappointment, they rallied on, but the name Stephen stuck. The rest of the book is a narrative about the rest of Stephen's life, beginning with her wonderful relationship with her father and the darker aspects of the separation between mother and daughter, and ending with … the ending. Peppered with several extraordinary secondary characters and pets, the story itself is visual and compelling even if a bit repetitive at times.
There it is! That is the entirety of my fondness for this book. It wound up being really remarkably simple. It took writing out a basic synopsis, not even a very good one at that, to realize that all of the merit of this little novel lies in simplicity. It is a great personal narrative, a wonderful insight into the autobiographical nature of fiction writing and author presence, and also just a simple life story that is relatable. I started unsure of how I felt solely because I thought entirely too much. I think that makes me like this book even more, though. There is great value in simplicity, and I like to be reminded that it exists and that I actually prefer it.
All in all, what I have to offer is this impression. I am not going to bother going into a deep analysis of character/plot development, or even historical merit (which is significant). I don't really want to. Thinking too hard about this is what got me in trouble in the first place, remember? I would not say that I loved this book in a vehement and passionate sort of way. No, I would say the love is of the more comfortable and quiet variety. I would recommend it to anyone, but at the same time I am content with keeping it to myself. I hope that some of you do decide to read this book. Hopefully there are at least a few that will become acquainted with the quiet familiarity of an old friend found.
I have always had a hard time containing my emotion-even if I don't give myself away by saying anything, my face has a tendency to completely betray me (happy: smile, sad: frown-use the corresponding face for the corresponding emotion). Of course, this can be rather uncomfortable, but I am glad to say that it is usually positive. For instance, ask me about NaNoWriMo. I dare you. :)
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I will never say National Novel Writing Month outside of the these two sentences. NaNoWriMo is just way too much fun to say, plus its quirkiness adds to the personality of the whole program itself (if a program were to have a personality, that is). What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It is my great honor to tell you that it is thirty days filled with fifty thousand words (quite literally). The goal is to pump out fifty thousand words and force start your way into your first, second, third, so on and so forth novel.
I know all of you reading this are probably dreadfully excited about the fact that there is a program out there to encourage and support writers' dreams and potential. In fact there is a whole community offering support, accountability, help against writers block, a place to waste time in a productive way, and so much more it gets dizzying trying to think of all of the things that are encompassed on http://www.nanowrimo.org/ (hint: you should go to the site). Even more exciting is the fact that I get to head up a way to converge the online realm and the actual physical realm by organizing a series of events to bring people together to generate a community of writers here in our store.
This is what I am most excited about. I get to be a part of something bigger than just my solo participation in a fifty thousand word month. I am really looking forward to putting my blood, sweat, and tears into a book, and also having a group of like-minded people to talk with about the trials and successes that go along with that process. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, gave a talk at a Monterey based convention called TED (a completely different area of excitement for me, but I will save that for another time) and she mentioned that it had become the standard perception of authors to work themselves into such a vicious depression that they wound up choosing to be alone, miserable, and often alcoholics. Actually, the choosing to be alone, alcoholism, and wallowing created the depression so it is really the epitome of a vicious cycle. Her point to this was that she thinks it a tragedy that we have allowed this standard to become so normal and expected of a good authors-she thinks that we should try to realize our potential as writers living happy and fulfilled lives. I think that something like this writing group will be a very large first step in realizing that. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am more than willing to try and see.
So as I said, ask me about NaNoWriMo. You will definitely catch a glimpse of unfettered excitement and enthusiasm, but on top of that I can steer you in the right direction. Keep a look out on the main page for updates on coming events and take a look at the website. If you are unsure about whether or not it is something that you can do, then I really suggest that you come and talk to me. Guess what. You can. I believe in you.
As an avid student of literature and lifelong book worm, I had always suspected that I would fit rather well as an employee at a bookstore. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to find out if I hypothesized correctly as I am one of the newest members on the staff of A Novel Adventure.
I am excited to have begun integrating myself into this world of chapters, pages, author signings, and ISBN numbers, and I am glad to have begun by introducing myself here. I am a relatively quiet person, and perhaps that is why from a very early age I became so attached to reading. It is a habit and a love that continues to this day and I am looking forward to sharing with you the gems that I happen upon in my quests. I must say, the ability to share experiences of books with people is really what excites me most. They can have a profound impact on our lives, and to be able to influence someone’s life because of a suggestion is such an exciting prospect.
I think that will suffice for an introduction. I hope to see some of you down at the bookstore some day soon (which should happen seeing all of the awesome events we have coming up, right?). )
