Archive for October 2006

“Gil’s All Fright Diner” serves up a satisfying, scary main course

On a recent forage into the haunted and ghostly corner of a tony, upscale, and astonishingly bright bookstore, I discovered a garishly embellished softcover with the unlikely and totally camp title of Gil’s All Fright Diner. Forging bravely onward, I encountered a strong opening that reached evilly from its pages and clutched me about the […]

Rare books are now easier to find at Alibris

Interested in an $8,000 edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (inscribed by Harper Lee)? Or how about a hard-to-find $38,000 copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (U.K. edition)? You can find them via the new rare books gallery at Alibris. Of course, books at these prices are likely to interest only serious book […]

“Book by Book” makes a fascinating gift for book explorers

The idea of giving a book as a gift is not an unusual one. It becomes a pleasure to locate tomes that others might enjoy, searching numerous nooks and crannies for off-the-beaten-path and well-hidden jewels. In my own case, a recent Internet expedition yielded a comprehensive list of books about books, including Book by Book: […]

A bookseller takes you behind the scenes of book collecting

I’ve been a collector of books (and a few other things) for almost 25 years. I spent most of these years as a bookseller—first as a bookstore owner and later as a manager. My love of books has kept me connected to the book industry. Being in the trade has been very beneficial to my […]

“Lisey’s Story” is a Stephen King story to skip

Lisey’s Story will be published tomorrow, which makes October 24 a holiday for Stephen King fans—an early Halloween for those who revere the prolific author of horror tales ranging from Carrie to Cujo to Cell. Lisey’s Story is being positioned as an eerie account of the romance between a woman and her two-years-dead husband. The […]

Gift books for college students—favorites from a fellow student’s Facebook list

As a college student home for the holidays, I master the art of procrastination. When not busy avoiding work (I’ve had a long semester!), I’ll sleep or watch On-Demand. Call my friends from my car. Drink cider. Send text messages during dinner. A week or two in, though, I become an early riser like everyone […]

“Book Talk” discusses book collecting in depth

In Book Talk: Essays on Books, Booksellers, Collecting, and Special Editions, edited by Robert H. Jackson and Carol Z. Rothkopf, 18 perceptive and thought-provoking essays by noted collectors and sellers of books are presented. The result is a kaleidoscope comprised of the many textures, flavors, tones, and hues found in the book field. The authors […]

Food for thought: Give cooking books for the holidays

It seems books for foodies are everywhere nowadays—and I’m not just talking cookbooks! From the wonderfully written and journalistic Heat to the off-kilter comedy of Amy Sedaris to collections of recipe favorites, here’s a short list of books that are sure to be holiday hits with the food lovers in your life. (Warning: You may […]

Book-collecting musings from a lifelong bibliophile

I caught the book-collecting bug at an early age. Growing up in Boston, I found our apartment filled with them—the teetering stacks at every turn. Henry Miller mingled with Virginia Woolf, Julia Child, and Kurt Vonnegut. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys nearly bricked up an entire wall on their own. Books were exchanged on […]

Award-winning books make prized holiday gifts

Leaves are turning color. Halloween is upon us. And, unless you’re somewhere like Florida, there’s a chill in the air. But there’s another way to determine that fall is here: It’s high award season in the book world. From the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature to the populist Quill Book Award for General Fiction—presented this […]