Congratulations! Book Passage, which has stores in
Corte Madera and San Francisco, Calif., is celebrating its 30th
anniversary on Sunday, November 5, at the Corte Madera store with a
program of events featuring some of the stores' many author-fans. At
11:30 a.m., children's storyteller and musician Christopher Smith
performs. At noon, the store will serve up Georgeanne Brennan and
Frankie Fankeny, whose new The Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook,
inspired and illustrated by the late Dr. Seuss, is just out. At 2 p.m.
the store will toast independent
bookselling, and from 2-5 p.m., Isabel Allende will emcee appearances
by authors who include Dorothy Allison, Andrew Sean Greer, Robert
Holmes, Anne Lamott, Adair Lara, Richard North Patterson, Martin Cruz
Smith, Amy Tan, Jan Yanehiro.
Book Passage, which regularly puts on author events, runs writing and
language classes and hosts travel and mystery writer's conferences, is
donating part of the day's sales to the Marin Literacy Program.
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Red Fox Books opened in downtown Glen Falls, N.Y., on October 19, the Albany Times Union
reported. "The store stocks 10,000 titles from the usual literary
genres and subclassifications (fiction, nonfiction, new releases,
best-sellers, children's books, cookbooks, etc.)," the paper wrote.
"Special events like reading groups, classes, story hours and author
visits are also planned." Red Fox Books is located at 28 Ridge St., Glen
Falls, N.Y. 12801; 518-793-5352; www.redfoxbookstore.com.
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Bruce
and Laura DeLaney have opened the Rediscovered Bookshop in the Overland
Park Shopping Center in Boise, Idaho. The store, which has the motto
"New Ideas Arriving Daily," has 3,800 square feet of space and
currently stocks some 18,000 new and "gently used" books.
Bruce DeLaney has managed an engineering laboratory, keeps bees and
"enjoys many strategy games," and Laura DeLaney has been "a music
teacher, farmer's daughter and has degrees in both music and English."
The DeLaneys said in a statement that they aim to create "a warm
comfortable atmosphere combined with a knowledgeable staff that really
cares about books . . . a vibrant meeting place where people could
discover new ideas, exchange book recommendations and gain camaraderie
with others who share their love of books."
The Rediscovered Bookshop may be discovered at 7079 Overland Rd., Boise, Idaho 83709; 208-376-4229; rediscoveredbookshop.com.
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By the end of November, Tonya Lowe and Ashley Wallace plan to open a
bookstore in Williamson, W.Va., that will "offer scrapbooking
classes and classes geared toward children," the Appalachian News-Express reported. The store will called the Open Book. No contact information yet.
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On tour for his new book, The Audacity of Hope (Crown,
$25, 0307237699), Senator Barack Obama is drawing crowds like those for
a rock star, and the book has won election to a range of bestseller
lists. Among the many indications of the author-politician's popularity:
Changing Hands, Tempe, Ariz., had to turn away as many as 2,000 people
from an offsite reading by the Senator held last Monday, according to
co-owner Gayle Shanks. Some 1,400 people attended, paying $35 ($10 for the
event and $25 for the book--or a gift certificate at the store). Obama
talked with Changing Hands staff about bookselling and "knew a lot"
about how independents are faring, Shanks said.
AbeBooks.com reports that as of last week a bookseller on the site was
asking $1,698 for a signed first edition copy of Obama's 1995 title, Dreams From My Father. Another bookseller is offering a signed copy of The Audacity of Hope for $240.