After a summer slumber, Baltimore’s literary scene will pick up this month. Some events that you should place on your calendar now:

One Maryland One Book. In the first statewide reading program, Marylanders are being asked to read and discuss A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind, the true story of a young man who journeyed from one of Washington’s roughest neighborhoods to an Ivy League university. The Maryland Humanities Council, which organized the program, has scheduled discussions at libraries and community centers statewide.

Baltimore Book Festival, Sept. 26-28. This year’s event, which will be held in Mount Vernon in the 600 block of N. Charles St., includes more than 150 author appearances. Among them: Dr. Cornel West, Naomi Wolf, Walter Mosley, Daniel Mark Epstein and Omar Tyree. At 11 a.m. Sept. 28,  Nancy and I will appear on a panel with Heather Johnson, a local book blogger, to talk about changes in book reviewing. Hope to meet some of you there.

Charmed to Death, Oct. 9-12. Baltimore will host an international convention of mystery writers, including Lawrence Block, John Harvey and Baltimore’s own Laura Lippman. There is a registration fee for convention events, which include panel discussions, but many authors will also appear at local libraries.

National Book Festival. Sept. 27 on the Mall. Unfortunately it overlaps with the Baltimore festival, but if you insist on heading south, you'll find a slate of authors that includes Salman Rushdie, Philippa Gregory, Tony Horwitz and Geraldine Brooks.

Baltimore Comic Con, Sept. 27-28 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Another Baltimore Book Festival overlap, but if Diary of a Wimpy Kid is as popular as I've heard, you might want to take a trip downtown on Saturday. Featured guests include Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, Bernie Wrightson, Jim Lee, Brian Bendis and Mike Mignola.

Henry Louis Mencken Day, Sept. 13 at the Central branch of the Enoch Pratt library. The daylong celebration honoring H.L. Mencken includes exhibts, the annual meeting of the Mencken Society and the Mencken Memorial Lecture, presented by Susan Jacoby. Jacoby is the author of The Age of American Unreason and Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Sunday's YOU section offers a look at Legally Dead (Simon & Schuster/359 pages/$26), the latest crime novel by former Miami Herald police reporter Edna Buchanan. She introduces readers to Michael Venturi, a U.S. marshal for the Witness Protection Program. He's charged with relocating an important witness who also happens to be a dangerous pedophile. The assignment tests Venturi, whose focus is the victims of crimes, not the perpetrators.

Also, you'll find capsule reviews of new children's books, including Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully by Audrey Penn Tanglewood, Stanley and the Class Pet by Barney Saltzberg Candlewick, Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton, and Beware of the Frog by William Bee.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Children
        

What's even better than a book blog named Read Street? How about a bookstore named Read Street, located on that very road?

Read Street Books is another perfect example of the thriving local literary scene in this city.

"When people in the neighborhood found out that the space was going to be a bookstore, bags of books started showing up at the front door," owner Chris Bittner says. "We decided that these books would be placed on a cart that we keep in front of the store and that all sales of donated books would be given to Chase Brexton Health Services."

You can find Read Street Books in a cute residential/small business section of town, in a gorgeous building that screams Baltimore. And Bittner does her fair share of supporting local artists, as well as providing good books to local readers.

"This past February, we started offering entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings," Bittner says. "We feature original singer/songwriters. Our next performance is scheduled for August 29 when the group Vote Yourself a Farm will be on our stage."

A little background

"After experiencing a decade of 'downsizing' during the Reagan Administration, I got the idea to try do to all I could to become self-employed," Bittner explains. "Since I’ve always loved books and reading and coffee, I thought that a bookstore-coffeehouse would be the perfect solution."

So after four years of renovating the Read Street property, she opened the store in February of 2006. "The mission of the business is to support and enhance the creative community and hopefully to do a little good along with way," she says. To that end, their house coffee is from the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co., and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Save the Bay Foundation. 

Clientele 

While Bittner didn't outline a particular demographic, she did highlight the importance of the store being a welcoming spot to all who enter.

"Customers often tell me that the bookstore makes them feel like they are in their own living room. Others have said that being there is 'just like Paris or London.' Either way it is great to hear that people feel at home at Read Street Books," she says. 

Popular sections 

"Our book selection is rather 'eclectic;' we have something for everyone one." she explains. "Basically if I think the book is interesting and would like to read it, I get it."

She names the classics, history and art section as crowdpleasers, as well as the store's selection of vintage paperbacks.

 "You may not find the books that are listed on the New York Times Best-Sellers List, but you will find books that will get you thinking and entertain," she says. For example, the store has a vintage magazine sale this week, with celebrity and fashion magazines from the 1950s to 1970s.

Events 

On Sunday, September 21 the store is hosting a Ladies Singles Tea featuring local author K.I. Thompson. "K.I’s debut novel, House of Clouds won the 2008 Golden Crown Award for Fiction," Bittner says. "She will read and sign her new book, Cooper’s Deale."

And the store offers a wide array of local artist's space to display their talents. You can find the performance schedule on the Web site and the Read Street Books MySpace page, as well.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Bookstores
        

The shattered glass has been repaired in the display window that had advertised the Sept. 16 appearance of Eleanor Herman, author of Mistress of the Vatican. But this morning, the display still stood empty, a sad gap among the tall, metal-framed windows that front Cathedral Street.

There's no sure proof that the vandal who shattered the window was protesting Herman or her book, about a woman who ran the Catholic church through her brother-in-law and reputed lover, Pope Innocent X. But Herman, who grew up in Roland Park, wrote to Read Street that a Pratt security camera showed a man "who appeared to come from across the street, where the Basilica of the Assumption is located, though they don't know if he came out of the church itself.  He was white and well dressed, in his thirties, and stared at the display before leaving the range of the camera, where he picked up a rock from construction and threw it at the window.  This doesn't seem to be a random act of vandalism.  He seemed deeply perturbed by the poster. I would like to think that the Catholic Church, with its rich, colorful 2,000 years of history going straight back to Jesus, need not be threatened by a history book."

Unfortunately, books are often seen as a threat -- to youth, to politicians, to religions. We all recall the death threats heaped on Salman Rushdie after The Satanic Verses was published. And just this month, Random House acknowledged pulling Sherry Jones' debut novel, The Jewel of Medina, about Muhammad and his child bride, because of fears of violence. 

Jones, like Herman, calls for reason and clear-thinking. "I'm optimistic, but not naive," Jones wrote in an eloquent appeal. "I expected my book to spark controversy. The Jewel of Medina is a novel of women's empowerment, never a popular theme among fundamentalists of any faith. I was also aware that some would take offense at any fictional portrayal of Muhammad, especially one by a non-Muslim American woman. Given the respect with which I treat the Muslim prophet, however, I never expected to be killed because of it. I still don't. ...

"So far, discussion has centered around my not-published book, which almost no one has read. Soon, I hope, we will address the text itself, in published form, and my ideas, derived from research and experience, of moderate Islam as a religion of egalitaranism and, yes, peace.

"In the meantime ... I challenge all to do as I am striving to do: Rise up against the culture of fear that pervades our society, refuse to succumb to racism, stand up for our rights, and live courageous lives."

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Whatever
        

It looks like this weekend is going to be a busy one for Baltimore book lovers.

First up, Ukazoo is holding a bookbinding class at 11 a.m. Rebecca Bridges returns to teach patrons how to create handmade books using old books. You will learn how to make a hardcover book using the Japanese Stab Binding technique. For $15, you get all the materials you need, refreshments and a new, old book of your own making. Call 410-832-2665 to sign up ahead of time, as this course filled up fast last time around.

If 11 a.m. is too early for you, perhaps you and Dave could join the Eat Pray Love discussion at the Pennsylvania branch of the Pratt library. As a woman who HASN'T read the book (gasp!) I am relying completely on Dave's opinion thus far. And he says he intends to enlighten us with that opinion in a future post. I hope you guys enjoy Book Report Dave as much as I do.

For a sophisticated afternoon, head over to the Watermark Gallery Sunday at 2 for their Lit and Art series event. Featuring writers Lauren Beth Eisenberg, Eric D. Goodman, Nitin Jagdish and Cliff Lynn, there will be plenty of lit to go with the live music, surreal artwork and complimentary wine. You can even share your own work during an open mic session.

And if that's not enough for you, go visit the Read Street calendar.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Book It
        

Remember that time that I bit the bullet and read Twilight? While I wasn't terribly impressed, I am definitely in the minority, as millions of teenage girls can't be wrong.

And while the delay in the latest Harry Potter movie has Rowling fans crying into their pointy little hats, Stephenie Meyer's fans have scored an earlier release date for their movie: Nov. 21st.

Meyer is already working on yet another book in the series, and you can read the first chapter on her site, in which she retells Twilight, from the vampire's point of view.

Has anyone heard of an author doing this before? Sure writers will retell their favorite authors' works years later, but I don't think I've ever seen an author reimagine her own work -- and so soon.

Anyway, the real reason I'm writing this post? First, check out the movie trailer. Blah, blah, I've got to protect you from myself, blah blah.

OK. NOW watch the spoof trailer. (Don't worry, it's safe for work.)

I want to be friends with these people.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

To cap our food-themed week on Read Street, we're giving away six -- count 'em -- six books.

Among the choices are several hardcovers: Tim Stark's Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer; Christina Arokiasamy's The Spice Merchant's Daughter; and Julia Reed's Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialities.

We also have Devil in the Kitchen by bad-boy super-chef Marco Pierre White; Alone in the Kitchen with Eggplant, a collection of essays on dining; and Super Cleanse, recipes to de-tox your body.

The next six commenters will win a book, starting ... now.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

I just received an e-mail from the Enoch Pratt Free Library's director of communications, Roswell Encina. He says early this morning, someone decided to trash a display for a Writers Live series event.

"Sometime during the early morning hours, a person threw a big rock [through] one of the windows," Encina writes.

"The featured author is Eleanor Herman and her book Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini, The Secret Female Pope. She is scheduled to be at the Central Library on Sept 16.

"I'm not sure if its the title of her book or the huge display across from the Basilica that set this person off. But I can't believe people will vent their views in this manner (and be very less open minded about books!). I'm just a bit saddened by this incident," he concluded.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

(Photo courtesy of prattlibrary.org)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Whatever
        

Have you ever gone to a restaurant, had an amazing meal, and then wondered how in the world the chef even thought to pair pork and pumpkin in the first place? Well, you're not the only one. And in an attempt to get into a local chef's brain, I e-mailed a few.

Most didn't get back to me as of posting time, but I'm going to assume it's because they're too busy making amazing food for me to eat. Don't worry, if they ever get out of the kitchen, I'll be sure to share their favorite reads that lead to our favorite eats.

But the incomparable Donna Crivello of Donna's made it easy for me, and responded with a few culinary classics. As a Charles Village resident, Donna's is a staple of mine. She shares insight into her inspirations, after the jump.

"One of my oldest (and well worn):
The French Chef Cookbook by Julia Child (Knofp, 1968). I really learned to make some wonderful dishes many years ago from that book. Her recipes for: onion soup, ratatouille, coq au vin, pate brisee.

"Another well worn favorite: The Food of Southern Italy by Carlo Middione (Wm Morrow & Co. 1987) Authentic southern italian recipes that you really want to make. (and I have) A hearty Pizza Rustica: Neapolitan Rustic Country Pie, Sicilian Stuffed Artichokes, and Quail with Pomegrantes.

"My newest favorite: The Essential Mediterranean by Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Harper Collins, 2003) Authentic and well researched with stories about chefs and cooking teachers from just about all of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Tunisian grilled summer vegetables, North African Chermoula (marinade for fish), Turkish yogurt soup with meatballs."

And if you ever wanted to decorate a cake like Chef Duff, the Charm City Cakes Web site has some literary advice for you: "If you’re looking for cake technique info, check out the books Cakewalk by Margaret Braun, Cakes To Dream On by Colette Peters, and Larry Powell’s Big Book of Cake Decorating."

Happy reading/eating!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Check It Out
        

Dave Freeman, an advertising executive who co-wrote "100 Things to Do Before You Die," an adventure-seeking, unconventional travel guide that personified his approach to life, has died, the Los Angeles Times reports today.

Freeman, 47, died Aug. 17 after falling and hitting his head at his home in Venice, said his father, Roy. Published in 1999, "100 Things" was one of the first contemporary books to create a travel agenda based on 100 sites and market it with a title reminding readers that time was limited. That approach later swept the publishing industry.

Among the 100 Things:

-- Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska

-- Mardi Gras in New Orleans

-- Carnival in Brazil

-- Bastille Day in France

-- Oktoberfest in Germany

-- The Running of the Bulls in Spain

-- Yom Kippur at Israel's Western Wall

-- The Pushkar Camel Fair in India

-- The Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Obituaries
        

Here's a bite-sized (146-page) but thoughtful food-related book that hasn't received much attention.

Stewart O'Nan's tale of the closing of a Red Lobster restaurant in New Britain, Conn., held plenty of personal appeal for me. It takes place in my hometown, and O'Nan captures the spirit of a once-vibrant city that has slipped into post-industrial obsolescence. I also felt the poignancy of a business shuttered by larger events (here a corporate edict), because I watched my father's retail business close due to  a bone-headed decision to put a highway through the center of town.

O'Nan perfectly captures the homespun pride of workmanship still found across America. There are no grand epiphanies here. But he offers a closeup of the everyday slights and hustles that we endure; the relationships we nurture or neglect in quiet ways; and the push to mark each day with a measure of accomplishment -- even if it's measured in grilled shrimp platters.   

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Recommended
        

In the spirit of this week's food theme, I started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. I know, I know, it's been read by everyone on Earth -- at least every woman on earth. But this gave me a good reason to see what all the fuss was about.

At the outset, I'm a bit confused. I think I'm in the Eat section, but after 46 pages, she's had only one meal. She has talked about God a lot, so maybe it's the Pray section. Based on the descriptions of her collapsed marriage, this sure isn't the Love section.

Despite the confusion, I'm enjoying the book. I like Gilbert's subtle humor (there's even an inside joke for us Connecticut natives) and her self-deprecating style is endearing. She has a keen sense of language, such as calling Italian tomato sauce "gravy". I also appreciate that she didn't use the book to needlessly bash her husband, even though he treated her horribly during their divorce. I am a bit skeptical of the God-like voices she's been hearing (on the bathroom floor, no less).

But so far, I'm hungry for more.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Whatever
        

That's what Parenting magazine and audiblekids.com are hoping.

The two have partnered in an effort to turn kids on to books. Parenting will make recommendations and carry promotions in the magazine, audiblekids.com will provide the downloadable books.

On the Web site, you can find books by subject, age and grade level. The site even hopes to provide books that mom might listen to in the rare moments when she is alone.

I hope it works. Anything that inspires kids to read is a good thing. But I am not sure the reading shouldn't come first and then the listening.

Let's hear from teachers. What do you think?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Audiobooks, Children
        

Or at least sex and drugs, according to previews. We'll hear from half of rappers Salt-N-Pepa (perfect for this week's food theme) and from Steven Tyler's daughter, Mia. We also get the latest from Kathy Reichs and Dick Francis. Coming Tuesday:

Creating Myself: A Memoir by Mia Tyler (Atria, $25) The world-renowned plus-size model and daughter of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler tells the story of growing up in a poverty-stricken childhood in New Hampshire and running with troubled rich kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She shares scintillating details about her rock-’n’-roll family, as well as battling her own personal demons.

Let’s Talk About Pep by Sandy "Pepa" Denton (MTV/VH-1, $23.95) The spiciest ingredient in the legendary rap group Salt-N-Pepa and the outspoken star of VH1’s smash-hit reality show, Sandy "Pepa" Denton talks about sex, music, life, love, fame and so much more.

Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, $25.95) Dr. Temperance Brennan’s quest to identify two corpses pits her against citizen vigilantes intent on a witch-hunt in best-selling author Kathy Reichs’ 11th thriller featuring the forensic anthropologist.

Silks by Dick and Felix Francis (Putnam, $25.95) After receiving threatening messages from a former client, London barrister Geoffrey Mason, a jockey by avocation, reluctantly accepts the defense of a jockey accused in the pitchfork murder of a fellow rider at a steeplechase event.

The One Hundred by Nina Garcia (Collins, $19.95) Fashion authority Nina Garcia highlights fashion essentials for every woman, and provides a tangible style map to follow when planning a shopping trip and stocking one’s closet.

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs (Mira, $24.95) Comic strip writer Sarah Moon is happily married to Jack Daly — until she comes home to find him entwined and naked with a business associate. After five years of marriage, including months of infertility treatments because of Jack’s cancer, infidelity is the last straw, and Sarah leaves Chicago for her hometown of Glenmuir, Cal.

The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks (Del Rey, $27) Eighty years into the future, the United States is a no-man’s-land: its landscape blighted by chemical warfare, pollution and plague; its government collapsed; its citizens adrift, desperate, fighting to stay alive. But allies of good unite to challenge the rampaging evil. Logan Tom, wielding the magic staff of a Knight of the Word, has a promise to keep protecting the world’s only hope of salvation — and a score to settle with the demon that massacred his family.

Publishers Weekly and amazon.com

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I love food. When going over our vacation pictures, I was amused to find that many of them are simply us eating something amazing. These are the memories we want to cherish, and hopefully relive.

So when you add food to books, I get excited. And I don't just mean cookbooks, although those are definitely good, too. (My favorite kind are the ones that focus on one particular food, cooked in an obscene number of ways. That's imagination, my friends.)

And so I'm thrilled about the trend in modern literature to focus not just on what the characters in a given story are saying, thinking and feeling, but the things they choose to eat -- and how that moves the story and the characters forward.

An April New Yorker article by Adam Gopnik sums up the trend nicely: "Cooking is to our literature what sex was to the writing of the sixties and seventies, the thing worth stopping the story for to share, so to speak, with the reader." No longer are authors dawdling over bedroom scenes or sweeping landscapes; it's the kitchen that interests them.

I adore tomes like The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and Salt: A World History, probably because I'm also a huge history nerd. And the search for Marcel Proust's beloved madeleines both amused and intrigued me. What books get you salvating?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

Amazing how  fast the publishing world can move to take advantage of a hot trend -- like Michael Phelps. Simon & Schuster announced Friday that it would publish the Oympic swimming star's new book, called Built to Succeed, in time for the holiday season. 

It also noted, according to Publishers Weekly, that the imprint is still looking for a co-author (someone who can type fast, I hope).

But that hasn't stopped the S&S website from publicizing details of the book, including the price ($26), release date (Dec. 16) and even the page count (256), 

“We’re going to have to work very hard to get it done in time, but I think it is going to be a great book,” said Martha Levin, who heads the S&S division that is handling the book, according to Publishers Weekly. No joke. There are only 114 days until the release date -- I wouldn't expect War and Peace.

Photo from the Associated Press

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Whatever
        

As we mentioned in the column, this week we’ll discuss books about food. And not just the classic Better Homes & Gardens cookbook we all grew up with. Foods have inspired modern classics such as Chocolat, social commentaries such as Fast Food Nation and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winner Empire Falls, a work that focuses on the history and future of a family and the place it calls home, with a diner backdrop.

We'll also give away food-themed books, including Tim Stark's Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer, which Kirkus Reviews described as a "lovingly crafted memoir about the author’s days producing organic veggies on his small farm in Pennsylvania Dutch country." Stay tuned.

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Whatever
        

 I bit the bullet. I e-mailed the fine friendly folks at Amazon, and requested a Kindle of my very own (for two weeks). The packaged arrived at The Sun before my vacation was even finished, and I have to admit I was excited to open it up and get started, even though I went in with major doubts.

 And so this past week I've sacrificed my books, I've read a user manual, I've read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight, all for you, my Read Street constituents.

OK, maybe I'm exagerating a bit...it wasn't THAT bad. But as one co-worker noted while walking by my desk, "A Kindle? That doesn't seem like your style."

Regardless, I'm a professional. So I approached this assignment as professionally as I knew how: with a pro-con list.

So let's start with the positives:

Pros

1. The Kindle is super lightweight, and everyone who saw it immediately said "ooooh." Winning cool points with usually reserved roommates and technophobes is a big plus.

2. The e-ink technology makes the screen look like the page of a book. No eyestrain usually associated with reading from a screen of some sort, and the font was extremely attractive. We all know how important fonts are to me.

3. Buying e-books via the Kindle is fast and easy. You simply go to the Kindle store from the Kindle, which is browser capable, pick what you want, and since it's already in sync with your account, it is charged directly to your account, with no fields to fill in.

4. Even better, buying the e-books on the computer is just as easy. Your Kindle uploads them just as quickly, and you don't have to bother with the smaller screen while searching for the titles you'd like.

5. You can make electronic clippings of portions of the books, newspapers or blogs you read from your Kindle, and find them immediately -- no more searching through a dog-eared copy of a book or sifting through notes to find the point you made back in Chapter 3.

Cons

1. No touch screen? Really? As one of my friends noted, that alone makes it feel like a gadget from the 1990s, not 2008. Many of the buttons are counter-intuitive (back takes you to the top menu, while previous and next navigates you through the book's pages), and the scroll on the right side is difficult to navigate.

2. It's possibly because I was sent a test Kindle, and who knows how much torture it's been through, but it simply didn't hold a charge. When I looked for advice on keeping it powered up, ithe manual mentioned turning off the wireless capability. That still didn't seem to help much. And don't bother using the USB to charge it up, it just isn't worth waiting around a whole day.

3. I wasn't sure how to hold the Kindle. I was constantly accidently hitting those buttons I mentioned, which are on the extreme edges of the Kindle, and at many points lost my place in the book completely.

4. I know I noted that the screen was easy to look at, but not in the dark. And I don't understand why they couldn't at least have included a reading light for those who want to read while their bed partner is sleeping the night away.

5. The screen only holds about 15 lines per "page," and it was very difficult for me to assess where I was in the book. While there are little dots at the bottom that light up to note your progress, I wasn't given any page numbers to give me a more concrete feel of where I was in the story. Personally, I find that annoying. However, I recognize that may not bother everyone.

6. E-books are way too expensive. I'm paying for a file that I can only access via my Kindle, and they're usually $10 a pop. I can buy a paperback for that much or less. And when I can get The Last of the Mohicans for free at Project Gutenberg (which I can read on any computer or PDA) or on my iPhone, why should I pay $8 or even 99 cents for the Kindle version? If I'm paying $350 for the reader, I want to see a major price break on the content -- and fewer typos.

So in the end, I have to say the extra power cords and expense leave me cold -- I will not be asking for a Kindle any time soon. I'll see about Kindle 2.0, but there would have to be many changes before I invest in one of these.

There is a definite market for ereaders, though -- namely, anyone in academia. The student in your life would adore you, and there's something to be said for being oh-so-cool.

(Photo courtesy of Amazon)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Reviews
        

Sunday in the new YOU/Arts & Entertainment section, get a peek at Garrison Keillor's new book, Liberty: A Novel of Lake Wobegon (Viking / 257 pages / $25.95). Sixty-year-old Clint Bunsen reassesses his life in a story that "supplies the sights, slights, smells and swells of Lake Wobegon with a stir-fry of satire and sentimentality."

You'll also find capsule reviews of several books with Balimore connections. They include: Treasure in the Cellar by Leonard Augsburger, a tale of two boys who stumble onto riches in 1934; The Wave-Maker, Elizabeth Spires poetry that confronts the mystery of death; and Baltimore’s Alley Houses by Mary Ellen Hayward, a look at the Irish, German, Bohemian and blacks who arrived in Baltimore from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

OK, so Baltimore Reads isn't exactly a bookstore. But I figure since I write the posts, I make the rules.

And the vast amount of books this organization has provided to the community for the past two decades makes them profile-worthy to me.

The organization's primary focus has been to combat adult illiteracy, but with the birth of the book bank in 1992, Baltimore Reads has donated more than 1 million books, new and used, for families to read together.

If you ever want to donate books to the cause, their warehouse is in a pretty familiar place: The Baltimore Sun building at 501 N. Calvert St. And the friendly staff are always happy to receive both donations and volunteers.

The Ripken Adult Learning Center, which is housed in the Baltimore Reads main location on Frederick Street, services hundreds of adults every year, helping many earn their GEDs.

In other words, this is an extremely worthy enterprise, manned by people who care about books and making them available to everyone.

A little background

It all begain in 1988, when Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke created the Baltiomre City Literacy Corp. to address the illiteracy rate in the city. Baltimore Reads was founded through funding from the city's agency and the United Way to teach basic reading, writing, math and employment readiness skills, according to the profile provided by Apriel N. Jefferson, the organization's development coordinator.

Baltimore Reads also aids teachers, with curriculum development and even providing tables and chairs for classroom reading areas, as I was shown in a recent tour of the warehouse with CEO Shirley Bigley LaMotte, Jefferson and the staff.

Clientele

With a focus on the family, Baltimore Reads reaches out to residents of all ages. The Ripken Adult Learning Center, which opened in 1990, offers weekly daytime and evening classes that are open to both walk-in and referred students. According to the profile, 300 students were reached in fiscal 2007, and the organization hopes to expand their services to 500 students with online options and more locations.

And children are definitely not ignored in the literacy mission. The book bank has provided books to "schools, churches, Head Start programs, neighborhood service centers and families," and the bank received 18,000 more books during the Books for Kids Day held in May, according to Jefferson.

Volunteers

Baltimore Reads depends on its steady group of volunteers, who tutor and support the annual events, including Phatom Ball and area festivals. If you're interested in helping out, you can download an application at their Web site. I can tell you, the staff appreciates any and all who come to help them on their mission.

(Photo courtesy of baltimorereads.org)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Bookstores
        

Nancy must have had some inside information about Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps. Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced this morning that he will write a book about his historic eight gold medals -- just in time for the holiday season, the Associated Press reported,

In Built to Succeed, Phelps will also cover his philosophy on training and competition, as well as his life being raised by a single mother and coping with an attention-deficit disorder, the publisher said. The book is scheduled to be released in December.

The 23-year-old Phelps, who grew up in the Towson area and will return to live in Baltimore after the Olympics, became the winningest Olympian ever at the Beijing games. He won eight gold medals to add to six previous Olympic golds.

p.s. In response to Nancy's question, as much as I admire Phelps' accomplishments, I doubt I'll read his quickie book. For sporting inspiration, I'd rathe re-read It's Not About the Bike, in which Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong detailed his fight with cancer.

p.p.s. On Sunday, The Sun will have a front-page story about Phelps' return to Baltimore, and a special sports section recapping his record-setting Olympics.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

 Looking back on Dave's vow never to read biographies of those younger than 30, I'm wondering how Dave feels about 1) Phelps' 2005 biography that is currently Nos. 8 and 9 (paperback and hardcover) on Amazon's sports best-sellers list; and 2) rumors that he's being offered a million-dollar deal to detail his experiences in Beijing.

There's no doubt about it: This guy has made history and earned a little bit of attention for it, especially in his hometown. Watching this guy prepare for race after race, and winning each one, was incredible. And if I were interested in swimming at all, I wouldn't hesitate to crack open this book.

But after watching the creepy NBC montage of Phelps swimming, his mother looking on, and Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes playing in the background, I may now be all Phelpsed out.

I'm not trying to be anti-Phelps. Somebody help me out here: Is this memoir worth a read? And who's interested in reading about this young man's conquests in China?

Or are there athletes who you feel are more worthy of your bookshelf?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

If you're looking for some fun tonight, I jealously point you toward Ukazoo Books for their Haiku Review at 7. Signup starts at 6:45, so go make a date of it. Meanwhile, I will be at work, writing poetry to my co-workers in between headlines and the like.

Saturday afternoon, you can join the gang at Constellation Books for tea with authors Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine to discuss Morris' The Case of the Pitcher's Pendant: A Billibub Baddings Mystery and Ballantine's Digital Magic. And there will be cookies! Win-win, I tell you.

Head to Annapolis Sunday afternoon to catch Nancy Whitney-Reiter, author of Unplugged: How to Disconnect from the Rat Race, Have an Existential Crisis, and Find Meaning and Fulfillment, before she moves on to Asheville, N.C. And if you do, tell her to check out Salsas in downtown Asheville; their empanadas are amazing.

And if you want more science fiction in your life, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and the Lutherville Borders science fiction book club both meet Wednesday evening. Go forth, live long and prosper.

Need more bookish options? Check out our calendar. Have more events you want to share? Send them my way!

Posted by Nancy Knight at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Book It
        

Asked to name their favorite writer, Brits came up with a surprising answer. You might think William Shakesperare, Jane Austen or even J.K. Rowling would lead the pack. Nope. No. 1 went to Enid Blyton, who hasn't written a word for more than four decades. (And people say Baltimoreans are too nostalgic!)

Blyton's kiddie-lit characters included the Famous Five, sort of a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/Bobbsey Twins combo.

I can understand the reaction from readers, though. Some of my fondest memories of reading come from the stream of Dr. Seuss books that I devoured as a kid. Or from discovering imaginary worlds in Ray Bradbury's science fiction. Even from Batman and Superman comics. I have favorite authors today, but there's a critical aspect to reading now that seems to block the sort of raw, emotional appeal I felt as a kid. So, cheers to Enid and the Five!

Here's the Top 10 from the poll of 2,000 adults for the 2008 Costa Book Awards. according to the Guardian:

1. Enid Blyton

2. Roald Dahl

3. J.K. Rowling

4. Jane Austen

5. William Shakespeare

6. Charles Dickens

7. J.R.R. Tolkien

8. Agatha Christie

9. Stephen King

10. Beatrix Potter 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Children, Whatever
        

Ever wonder what kinds of books all these technologically inclined readers are browsing through? Well, here's a sneak peek for the Kindle, Project Gutenberg and even the iPhone readers.

As for myself, I'm giving this Kindle business a test drive right now, and I downloaded Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible -- which so far is just absurdly good -- and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It reminds me a lot of my L.J. Smith days, but it's not hitting me as hard. Possibly because I've moved past any semblence of angsty teen years...

My Kindle review will make its appearance later this week. I'm already deep into my pro-con list.

But I digress. Here are the Top 10 ebooks, as of this morning.

Kindle

1. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
2. The Shack, by William P. Young
3. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch 
4. Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer
5. Smoke Screen: A Novel, by Sandra Brown
6. New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer 
7. Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer 
8. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson
9. sTORI Telling, by Tori Spelling 
10. The 19th Wife: A Novel, by David Ebershoff

 Project Gutenberg

1. Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Miles and Thomson 
2. The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) by J. Arthur Thomson 
3. Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period by P. L. Jacob
4. Illustrated History of Furniture by Frederick Litchfield
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 
6. The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English by Ray Vaughn Pierce 
7. Searchlights on Health by B. G. Jefferis and J. L. Nichols
8. Sex by Henry Stanton
9. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
10. History of the United States by Charles A. Beard and Mary Ritter Beard

iPhone reader

1. Shadows Never Sleep
2. Security for People and Computers
3. A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
4. The Art of War, by Sun Tzu*
5. Tao Te Ching, by Lao-tzu
6. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
7. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
8. Mobile Holy Quran
9. Manga/Yoshitoshi ABe/Pochiyama at the Pharmacy
10. Dracula, by Bram Stoker

* OK, technically, there are two books before The Art of War, but the titles are written in Japanese characters that I can't translate, and the reviews consist of a bunch of people saying "WTF" a lot. So I skipped them. But if you can tell me what they are, that would be really nice.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Check It Out
        

I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird, which I had somehow avoided for years and years. While reading it, I took an informal poll and found that Harper Lee's classic seems to be assigned more in Southern schools. That, combined with my Connecticut upbringing, may explain why I missed out as a student. Still, it feels good to plug a huge hole in my TBR list.

I was surprised by the book. Because it is a staple of school reading lists, I thought the racial strife would resolve itself in a cute tale of Deep South harmony. I was unprepared for the dark plot, and the unremitting class warfare reminded me of another favorite: House of Sand and Fog.

Apparently, there are many admirers of wily Atticus Finch: Hachette is preparing to release Lorilee Craker's A is for Atticus. Baby Names from Great Books. It offers a literary synopsis for names such as Abra (East of Eden) and Anne (Anne of Green Gables and Persuasion). Here's an excerpt. 

Do any Read Streeters carry literary names? Mine has a Biblical heritage; hardly as chic as Scout or Jem or Dill.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Once upon a time, I was very bored at work and decided to read George Eliot's Middlemarch. On my computer, so it wasn't quite so obvious I was reading for pleasure and not the newspaper.

While I enjoyed the somewhat long-winded tale, I felt I had somehow cheated. Yes, technically, I read the book. And it was free, thanks to the incomparable Project Gutenberg, but since I never held the words in my hand, I often forget that I ever saw the thing. Maybe that's my biggest problem with ebooks in general: It makes the experience thinner, somehow.

Regardless, Project Gutenberg is a great service, with thousands of books available for your perusal, at absolutely no cost, and they have made the text compatible with any number of PDAs and readers.

But as this BBC article explains, all is not right with the ebook world. With no clear picture of which readers will be left standing, it might be a good idea to keep a few old-fashioned books around.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Whatever
        

During the dog days of summer, or when you just need the real world to go away, there is no place like England and no one like Agatha Christie.

After a heavy dose of the scatological humor from David Sedaris, I took a break with Joan Hickson's delightful rendering of The Tuesday Club Murders. Hickson, who died in 1998, not only narrated a great many of Dame Christie's stories for the BBC, but played Miss Marple in a number of television films as well.

In this recording, first released in 2004, Miss Marple's regular group - an actress, a lawyer, a doctor, a retired director of Scotland Yard, a social couple and Miss Marple's nephew - decide to entertain each other with mysteries. No one gives Miss Marple much credit because she has never gone far from the village of St. Mary Mead. But she solves each of the 13 cases using the keen understanding of human nature she has developed from careful observations in her village.

Hickson's crisp English accent and Christie's archaic language and her humorous rendering of Miss Marple's cohorts is, well, transporting. You feel as if you are in the drawing rooms of the privileged in an England of 70 years ago.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Audiobooks
        

While we're on the topic of the intersection of spam and creative writing, here's a poem from Steve Stinson, a friend and one of the most creative people I know:

SUBJECT LINE SUITE

Congratulations, you've been selected to
Double up your manhood. Laugh more. Worry less.
Or maybe just to reward yourself with a gift.
Very discrete shipping and billing. Get smart!

Be self in bed independ of circumstances
With 100mgCanadianGeneric
Money to lend for any business purchase.
Just 1 more day by popular demand.

Hey 1000 sunsets! Some lengthening helps
Grow a rose. Add more length and volume to your
hihg - qaulity erplicas bets lcock of wrold!
Next day delivery on herbal orders.

Hi openair man! Get a full measurement,
Reduce absenteeism. Beat your foes!
ac-wercs! akuogiti! atwill! rubiform!
It's really work! For limited time only.

FriendlySupportWelcome! Mak woman hap with
An unmatched level of aesthetic precision.
FDAapproveBestQuality50mg
Free movie passes. You wait too long for prestige.

Hey Steve, spruce up your yard this summer with
nerawdio! SchlongElephantinKara!
We saw these deals and thought of you.
You have nothing to lose, just a lot to gain

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

I love novels, but for sheer creativity nothing beats the e-mails offering me millions of dollars to help some overwrought African bank administrator who needs to clear his books of extra zeroes. The complex plots and international intrique make for great reading. And for comic relief, there's the mangled syntax and punctuation. Some recent excerpts:

-- I discovered that my branch in which I am the Manager made Twelve Million Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar [$12,850.000.00] which my head office are not aware of and will never be aware of ... I have since place this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary. As an officer of the bank I can not be directly connected to this money, so this informed my contacting you for us to work so that you can assist receive this money into your bank account for us to SHARE, while you will have 35% of the total fund. Note there are practically no risk involved ...

-- MY OFFICE MONITORS AND CONTROLS THE AFFAIRS OF ALL OTHER BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN LONDON (UK). I AM THE FINAL SIGNATORY TO ANY TRANSFER OR REMITTANCE OF HUGE FUNDS MOVING WITHIN BANKS BOTH ON THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS... MY CONDITIONS. 1. THE SUM OF USD$2M.ONLY WILL PAID INTO AN ACCOUNT I WILL PROVIDE YOU AFTER YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THE TRANSFER OF YOUR SUM INTO YOUR ACCOUNT ...  2. THIS DEAL MUST BE KEPT SECRET FOREVER ...

Have examples of your own? Here's your chance to enter them in the Read Street Spam-a-lot Hall of Fame.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

Watching hours of Olympic coverage while lazing around a hotel room has inspired me.

Not to get out and actually move, mind you. But to create my own kind of competition.

My first idea, which my friends and I are still working to perfect, is Xtreme Street Bowling. But since the city probably frowns upon closing roads and installing special hazards to thwart urban bowling competitors, I brought the spirit of the games down a notch.

Instead, I've decided to take the Kindle challenge and see how it fares against more modest competitors. You know, like books. Or even the iPhone reader.

And for any of you who have experienced one or all of these media, I encourage your participation. It just doesn't seem right to have one judge, and this way we can avoid an embarrassing scandal. You know what I'm talking about, figure skating judges. I know you all have plenty of opinions, so let the games begin.

(Photo courtesy of ademkader at stock.xchng.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

Just in time for the Democratic and GOP conventions, Michael Moore unleashes his satirical whip. We also find out what happened to another political leader: Sanator Palpatine.

Monday

Mike’s Election Guide by Michael Moore (Grand Central, $13.99). Trying to make sense of the races for the White House and Congress, Moore answers questions such as: "Why is John McCain so angry?," and "How many Democrats does it take to lose the most winnable election in American history?"

Tuesday

Rough Justice by Jack Higgins (Putnam, $25.95). The 15th entry in the Sean Dillon series finds aging, ex-gangster Harry Salter retired, leaving Dillon, once the IRA’s most feared enforcer, to lead a loose gang of stalwart lads who covertly battle the foes of Western civilization.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams (Del Rey, $26). The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious — better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine.

Being Elizabeth by Barbara Taylor Bradford (St. Martin’s, $24.95). At 25, Elizabeth Deravenel finds herself the head of a worldwide business empire. But she knows many people want to take down the company — and her with it. With her enemies circling, she finds herself at a crossroad of choices involving her mind, her heart and her destiny.

First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader (Forge, $25.95). Alli Carson, the 19-year-old daughter of the U.S. president-elect, is abducted a month before her father’s inauguration to be programmed to do something truly terrible at the inauguration ceremony.

The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters (Morrow, $25.95). Who stole one of Egypt’s most priceless treasures? That is the question that haunts the authorities after a distinguished British gentleman with an upper-crust accent cons his way past a security guard and escapes into the desert carrying a world-famous, one-of-a-kind historic relic. Beautiful, brainy Vicky Bliss is back in the spotlight for one last investigation.

Man in the Dark by Paul Auster (Holt, $23). Seventy-two-year-old August Brill is recovering from a car accident in his daughter’s house in Vermont. When sleep refuses to come, he lies in bed and tells himself stories, struggling to push back thoughts about things he would prefer to forget — his wife’s recent death and the horrific murder of his granddaughter’s boyfriend, Titus. After his granddaughter falls asleep, he at last finds the courage to revisit the trauma of Titus’ death.

The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel Levitin (Dutton, $25.95). Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force.

From Publishers Weekly, Amazon.com

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This week in the Arts & Life section, we'll review America, America by Ethan Canin. The political drama recounts the story of Sen. Henry Bonwiller, who is seeking the presidential nomination. But after victories in several primaries, his campaign unravels amid a scandal that harkens back to Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. This novel deserves a place alongside political works such as All the King’s Men and The Gay Place.

Also, we'll look at books about the home. Among them:

Casa San Miguel Inspired Design and Decoration by Annie Kelly and Tim Street-Porter (Rizzoli / 240 pages / $55). Seventeen colorful and stylish homes of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, are on view in this book, which features more than 250 photos. 

Dr. Johnson’s Doorknob And Other Significant Parts of Great Men’s Houses by Liz Workman (Rizzoli International Publications / 208 pages / $25). Washington Irving’s desk, Sir Winston Churchill’s banisters and Charles Darwin’s bookshelves are among the many household items shown in close-up detail. We peek at what these men saw in their day-to-day lives and some items that added style to their homes: Mirrors, doorknobs, crockery and chairs.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It's not every night that you can mingle with Christian Siriano, get a chance to win one of his designer dresses and help with literacy efforts -- all at the same time. Saturday night, join the drive2thrive fund-raiser at Maserati of Baltimore. It benefits Baltimore Reads and other literacy campaigns by the Greater Baltimore Urban League and the American Academy of Pediatrics Foundation.

Tickets are $100 and up for the event, which runs from 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Maserati dealership, 1628 York Road, just north of the beltway. For details, click here or call 443.802.0454. 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The birthplace of writers such as John Keats and John Donne and the setting for countless novels, London was described as "the home of literature we have spent so much time learning and loving", according to a Reuters news story.

Seems like a lot of 19th-century chest-puffing to me. New York only merited fifth place, and Paris seventh! Didn't even mention Baltimore, onetime-home of Poe, Fitzgerald, Stein, Sinclair, Dos Passos and Mencken. Or Hartford, where the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe sit side-by-side, and Noah Webster's isn't far away.

Do you have other nominations? For TripAdvisor's Top 10, keep reading...

Here are TripAdvisor's top 10 literary destinations, with a famous author linked to the city in brackets.

1) London (Keats)

2) Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare)

3) Edinburgh (Arthur Conan Doyle)

4. Dublin (James Joyce)

5) New York (Arthur Miller)

6) Concord, Massachusetts (Louisa May Alcott)

7) Paris (Victor Hugo)

8) San Francisco (Allen Ginsberg)

9) Rome (Virgil)

10) St Petersburg (Dostoevsky)

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Whatever
        

This mystery discussion group of the Bel Air library was formed in February by librarians Nancy Smith, an avid mystery reader, and Amy Kraft, a newcomer to the genre. Sometimes the entire group reads a designated book, and at other times a theme is chosen, allowing each member to pick a related mystery. Recently members toured Tudor Hall (shown here), the boyhood home of John Wilkes Booth, and discussed not only the “mystery” of a conspiracy, but also assassinations in general.

Now reading: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

Liked a lot: Ruth Rendell's End in Tears, Kate Atkinson's Case Histories and Charles Todd's A Test of Wills.

Kraft adds: We are a varied group with members enjoying everything from the more intellectual stimulating Josephine Tey to the less encumbered comedic abandon provided by Janet Evanovich. There are no mysteries that we would rule out as being unworthy of some sort of discussion or another!

We meet every first Wednesday of the month in the library at 7:00 p.m. and welcome newcomers. For more information, contact the Bel Air Branch of the Harford County Public Library at (410) 638-3151.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Book Clubs
        

For those who have had trouble wading through  Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner, truly one of the great Southern writers (even Nancy can't dispute his lineage), folks at the University of Virginia have created this helpful site. Chapter by chapter, it pulls apart the novel's narrative threads and reassembles them into a single timeline.

And here's another site for all things Faulkner, courtesy of Ole Miss.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Whatever
        

I'm going to step away from our Southern theme and head across the Atlantic for Friday night's event at breathe books: Angelo Solera, a local Latino community activist turned author, will discuss his memoir is about his 400-mile pilgrimage from Santiago to Compostela, Spain. The free event includes a video of Solera's spiritual pilgrimage.

Saturday at noon, you can head to Ukazoo for some free pizza as the store celebrates its anniversary. The food and festivities will last through 6 p.m.

After you get your fill, join a discussion of poetry by black poets Margaret Walker, Langston Hughes and Dudley Randall at the Cherry Hill branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

If that's not enough poetry for you, the Maryland State Poetry & Literary Society and Three Conditions Press sponsors the 2 Heads Poetry Series at Clayton Fine Books on Sunday.

As always, check out the Read Street calendar for even more events.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Book It
        

One hallmark of Southern writing is the Civil War. Even if the war isn't mentioned outright, its heroic and tragic themes loom in the background. For recommendations about war-related books, I turned to local author Charles Mitchell, whose Maryland Voices of the Civil War is a collection of letters, diary entires and other contemporaneous writings. To get grounded in the war, he suggested these five great reads:

1. Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz

2. The Fate of Liberty by Mark E. Neely

3. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

4. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation by Allen C. Guelzo

5. Mary Chesnut's Civil War and/or A Diary from Dixie by Mary Chesnut

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Check It Out, Recommended
        

Barnes & Noble's Web site has an interesting new feature: readings of famous literary works matched to original animation. The first offering in the occasional series is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo reading an excerpt from Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

The animation is haunting, just perfect for Russo's reading of Huck's words. But the excerpt, only a minute and a half long, sure left me really hungry for more.

p.s. For those (like Nancy) who might in good faith, but mistakenly, assign this post to the theme of Southern writers, please note that Twain started Huck Finn in 1876, two years after moving into his new house in Hartford, Ct.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Though summer is almost over, we're still expanding our United States map of favorite bookstores. We've been adding recommendations each week, and now have more than 160 great stores from Maine to California (and lots of points between) to help your trip planning.

We've already had more than 20,000 visitors to the map, so we hope it's been helpful in finding those out-of-the-way stores that can enrich a vacation or business trip.

Thanks to several fellow bloggers, including those at the Dallas Morning-News, the National Book Critics Circle, Minds Alive On the Shelves and Write to Travel (a New Zealand-based blog for travel writers), the map continues to grow. So when you plan your next trip, check it out. (Headed to Denver for the Democratric convention? The map will guide you to The Tattered Cover, just a few blocks from the convention center.)

And when you come across a great store, let us know, and we'll add it to the map.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Bookstores
        

So while I was doing a little research for this week's topic, I came across an article proclaiming Edgar Allan Poe as a Southern writer.

And I immediately started laughing. OUR Poe? The guy who writes about torture and stuffing corpses beneath the floorboards, the guy who spent his life romanticising death to the point that he is widely considered to have been a major contributor to the Romantic and Gothic movements, and a little bit crazy besides? (My favorite quote in the above article blames his "instability" on his chosen profession, journalism. Don't even get me started on THAT.)

What about that says Southern?

And that's when my dear friend over at Baltamour, Maryann James, got a little bit heated. See, she's a Richmond girl, and she insists that yes, Mr. Poe is a Southern writer. And p.s., he's from Virginia, not Maryland.

Well, I'm here to tell you that's just ridiculous. Yes, the man may have spent 15 (that's being generous) of his 40 years on Earth in Richmond, but simply spending time in Virginia does not make you a bonafide Southern author.

And since my definition of a Southern writer was never objected to, I will now use it.

First, the man was born in Boston. Second, he was first published using the anonymous credit of "a Bostonian." And third, the subject matter of his works includes burying an Italian man alive and a collection named Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. He is considered the father of the short story and the genre of detective-fiction, and a major contributor to the science fiction genre, as well.

And finally, he didn't write about, as the Southern Literary Review describes Southern literature, "the significance of family, a sense of community and one's role within it, the community's dominating religion and the burden religion often brings, land and the promise it brings, and the use of southern dialect."

Poe was and is many amazing things, including one of my favorite authors, but he is no Southern writer.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Edgar Allan Poe
        

Those who have read David Sedaris' bizarre essays in The New Yorker and who have also heard him read on NPR's "This American Life" will understand why the recording of Sedaris reading his latest collection, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is such a hoot.

No doubt. Sedaris is an acquired taste. Sort of a morbid, raunchy Jerry Seinfeld at his confessional best -- picking apart the most mundane daily experiences for humor.  Very dark humor.

But it is Sedaris' delivery, at once quirky and deadpan, that will have you laughing out loud. You can understand why he makes his living this way, trying out his essays in front of live audiences, refining the exquisite timing and then kind of publishing them in book form as an afterthought. Certainly much is lost in the translation to the printed word for Sedaris.

One more note. Lots of audiobooks have background music. It is often how producers signal the beginning or end of a chapter or a segment or the CD itself. Usually something New Age or jazzy. As you might imagine, Sedaris is over the top here, too. Although how he was able to record the sound of scrambling mice on fire is a mystery to me.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Audiobooks
        

Hey, y'all! We made it to Nashville, (Ahead of schedule because time zones are magical things that actually make the time, you know, different between Tennessee and Maryland. Crazy.) and our hotel is lovely. I have high hopes the rest of the city won't disappoint.

OK, so I realized after we decided to focus on Southern literature this week, that I wasn't sure exactly how to define the term. What makes a novel Southern? Or an author, even?

 So, of course, I turned to the experts. Lucky for me, the Southern Literary Review has an entire section devoted to "What Makes Southern Literature Southern?

They define the South as extending from Virginia, down the coast and then as far West as Missouri.

Missouri! The homestate of Mark Twain, the self-proclaimed father of Southern literature! Isn't that interesting, Dave? Don't worry, you'll always have that Mark Twain house in Hartford. And it is a beauty!

So what do you think? Does the Southern Literary Review's definition get it right?

(Photo courtesy of marktwainhouse.org)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

For starters, here are five for a Southern must-read list. It's not my list -- as a Connecticut Yankee (just like Mark Twain, one of the great Northern writers) I disqualified myself. But I enlisted Mark Flinchum, a college roommate who grew up in Atlanta and has taught English for years.

His picks: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, Three by Flannery O'Connor, Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns and The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart.

If we were to expand it to a Top 10, what would you add to the list?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Whatever
        

Next week, we'll get a novel mix of detectives, sudden death and time travel, incuding the latest from Faye Kellerman and Anne Rivers Siddons.

Tuesday

Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown. When newswoman Britt Shelley wakes up to find herself in bed with Jay Burgess, a rising star detective in the Charleston, S.C., Police Department, she remembers nothing of how she got there ... or of how Jay wound up dead.

The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman. Billionaire genius Genoa Greeves never got over the shocking death of her favorite teacher, Bennett "Dr. Ben" Alston Little, murdered execution-style and stuffed into the trunk of his car. No arrests were ever made, and when a similar murder occurs 15 years later, Greeves thinks the time is right for justice to be served.

The Walk-In by Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo. Gary Berntsen, longtime CIA operative and the field commander who cornered Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, writing with award-winning novelist Ralph Pezzullo, offers in this edge-of-the-seat thriller a terrifying vision of where the next threat to America may come from.

Wednesday

Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons. Lilly Constable McCall, 53, has led an enviable life — marriage and children with a successful architect, her own success as a sculptor — but husband Cam’s death sends her spiraling and back to her coastal family cottage in Edgewater, Maine.

Thursday

The Little Book by Selden Edwards. Wheeler Burden, California-exiled heir of the famous Boston banking Burdens, philosopher, student of history, legend’s son, rock idol, writer, lover of women, recluse, half-Jew and Harvard baseball hero, is 47 and living in San Francisco. Suddenly he is — still his modern self — wandering in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: fin de siecle Vienna. It is 1897, precisely 91 years before his last memory and a half-century before his birth.

Publishers Weekly and Amazon.com

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This Sunday in the Arts & Life section, read a review of The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule by Thomas Frank. If you like muckrakers, Michael Moore and moveon.org, you’ll like Frank, a  hell-raising populist. In his new book, Frank contends that conservatives, using "bad ideas that still chew through the nation’s brain," are well on the way to installing "a free-market utopia."

You'll also find capsule reviews of several compelling life stories, including those of activist/protester John Dear, writer Sidney Offit, and the Cone sisters, whose incredible art collection graces the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If you're not careful, you may mistake Constellation Books as another well-loved home on Reisterstown's Main Street. Only the star-studded banner and book display belies the impression.

 But once you walk in, it's nothing but books, and book lovers. Lauretta Nagel and her staff has converted this 19th-century house into a home for all bibliophiles who wander by. Just park your car in the back parking lot and wander through the air-conditioned rooms. You can even plop down on their comfy couch and peruse the selection at your leisure.

And of course, the friendly folks inside will help you with whatever it is you need.

A little background

Nagel's bookstore, which she launched in May of 2007, all began when NASA's funding started to fizzle. "I worked on the Hubble space telescope for 18 years," Nagel says. "But after that, I started researching for this business."

NASA's loss was Reisterstown's gain. When Nagel saw this location, she knew it would be perfect for her bookstore.

Clientele

While Nagel sees many customers from around town -- "They'll come out to The Cow, get some ice cream, then head down here," she says -- there are many who travel from Glyndon, Owings Mills and Columbia to explore her selection of mostly new books. "They see my blog or Web site and come to check it out," she says.

Many area schools also order from her, so she keeps displays of all the required reading up for the families that come in.

Popular sections

Nagel counts mystery, history and kids sections as her strongest. While she also offers a small selection of CDs and DVDs, "I've tried to order ones that you can't find anywhere else."

And with a large selection of staff picks and local authors desplayed prominently, it's obvious that Nagel has succeeded in building a sense of community at her store.

Events

The local sponsorship is also evident in the events held at Constellation Books. Local authors and musicians are often invited for tea or wine tastings (snacks and conversation included), and kids events, such as an oragami class, have proven popular, Nagel says.

(Photo courtesy of www.constellationbooks.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Bookstores
        

If you want to wean your college-aged daughter off of her iPod, this might be the summer to do it.

Macmillan Audio has issued, and re-issued, a "colorful" collection of chick books on CD in packaging bright enough to catch a young girl's eye.

"Girls Gone Audio" is a campaign to introduce new readers to some of Macmillan's most successful authors. Some audiobooks are abridged; others are not. Some have been re-issued at the bargain price of $14.95; others are full price at $29.95.

"These titles are perfect for the 20-something reader, but older women will like them as well," said Liz Noland of Macmillan Audio.

The titles include: Fearless at Fourteen by Janet Evanovich; Married Lovers and Lovers & Players by Jackie Collins; Austenland, by Shannon Hale, Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin, Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison, as well as Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham (also known as Sophie Kinsella.)

Let's hear it for the girls! And from the girls as well. Any chick book recommendations out there?

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Audiobooks
        

Sad news from the Mother Country: Pauline Baynes, who brought the fantasy world alive with her illustrations for the works of J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis, has died. She was 85.

An obituary in the Guardian describes the artist's move from crafting charts and maps during World War II to professional commissions. Her breakthrough: creating artwork for Tolkein's Farmer Giles of Ham. Then came a commission to illustrate the book for which both author and illustrator are best remembered, Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Guardian says.

The task of a fantasy illustrator must be extremely difficult. You have to put some flesh on the author's words, while still leaving room for the reader's imagination to roam. But Baynes was a master, and we can thank her for helping to popularize some of the world's greatest fantasy novels. 

To see some of her work, try this site from the publisher Zondervan. 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Obituaries
        

Tonight, Dave can write an ode to his guilty pleasure, baseball. At 7 p.m., Towson library hosts a poetry reading and discussion group, led by Mary Ann Lechowicz of Towson University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. This month, they're focusing on sports, as described by various American poets. I think we should all encourage Dave in this worthy endeavor.

On Saturday afternoon, you can join Toby Devens at the Pennsylvania Ave. library as she discusses her new novel, set in Baltimore, My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet).

If you want to add a little more music to your weekend, the Creative Alliance holds its release party for Paper Kingdom on Sunday. I glanced through Elena Johnston's book last night, and for anyone who's been paying attention to Baltimore's music scene during the past decade, it's some good nostalgia.

Finally, get to know the glamorous life of a food critic at the Miller library discussion of Ruth Reichl's memoir, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. Maybe afterward, you can compare notes with our own Elizabeth Large. I will admit that until three weeks ago, I didn't even know what she looked like.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Book It
        

For my last act of self-flagellation -- 100 lashes with wet dulse, someone might order -- I confess to my guilty pleasure. It's baseball, especially books about the N.Y. Mets and Boston Red Sox. I've read the great hardball writers, including Roger Angell and George Will, but I've also wasted hour after hour on Can't Anybody Here Play this Game?, The Bad Guys Won and Beyond the Sixth Game. I've spent entire nights poring over the 1971 edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia. I will read about baseball anywhere you can print words: on calendars, placemats and coffee mugs. Doesn't seem so bad, but you haven't had to plod through book after book on Baseball as metaphor for Life. 

OK, I feel better. So what's your guilty pleasure?

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

In my experience, the hardest part about picking up a masterpiece like Don Quixote is that it's just way too intimidating. It's a huge work, and I don't even know if I like this author. I'm too young to commit myself to just one book for the next six months!!

So I asked Olivia Tejeda from Towson's Ukazoo Books to help us ease into some of those oh-so-scary classics. She and her staff gave some great suggestions:

Read Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse before reading Mrs. Dalloway.

Read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men before reading East of Eden.

Read Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms before reading For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Read Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables before reading The Scarlet Letter.

Read Ayn Rand's Anthem before reading The Fountainhead.

Read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose before reading Foucault's Pendulum. (NOW she tells me.)

Read Don DeLillo's Libra before reading Underworld.

Read Toni Morrison's Sula or Bluest Eye before reading Beloved.

Read Philip Roth's The Ghost Writer or I Married a Communist before reading American Pastoral or The Human Stain.

"Also recommended was reading Moby Dick twice," Tejeda reports. "It's much better on the second reading."

Posted by Nancy Knight at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Check It Out
        

Nancy and I were so busy over the weekend that we did not notice an approaching milestone: comment #300, which we had planned to celebrate with a book giveaway. Well it came and went, in a flurry of confessional comments about unread books. So now we're setting a semi-milestone. To show our appreciation, we'll give new books to commenters #330, #331 and #332. Choices include Books by Larry McMurtry, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, and The Condition by Jennifer Haigh. To honor this week's theme of unread books, we will also offer a new 1,376-page translation of Les Miserables. (We are not responsible for injuries sustained in trying to lift it.)

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

In preparation for my trip to Nashville next week -- love you, vacation -- I was checking out a few travel tips. Time's 25 Gotta Have Travel Gadgets caught my eye, mostly because I wanted to see how the other half vacations.

(The joke's on me: Thanks to my tech-nerd boyfriend, we are roadtripping with both a GPS device and his oh-so-sleek iPhone 3G, which both made the list.)

And there, at No. 9, is that Kindle contraption. OK, OK, maybe it's a good idea for students...and people lugging five or six or 10 books halfway across the country with them on a regular basis. But while I have a pile o' books that will probably need their own suitcase for this trip, I only do this vacation thing once a year; I can deal with the extra luggage.

In other words, I'm still not convinced. You may have seduced Time, Amazon, but you're going to have to work a little harder for my love.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Continuing our confessional theme, here's a different take on "unread" lists. Maureen McLane, writing on the Critical Mass blog of the National Book Critics Circle, recapped books that she did not, and had no intention of, reading. Her list included: Unread: any book whose title is constructed thus: "How X Came to Rule the World!" ... and Unread: any memoir by a Bush appointee, crony, servant, etc.

What a great way to approach our book choices! Instead of drowning in guilt for not reading classics, we can feel exhilarated and liberated by acknowledging the books we avoid. My unread list features: any memoir by an entertainer under 30 and any book with a title longer than 11 words (you know how I hate colon-ized titles).

What's on your Unread list?  

Note: an earlier version of this mistakenly attributed the Critical Mass post to another writer. McLane was indeed the author.

Photo of Britney Spears by Jae C. Hong, Asociated Press
 

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The New York Times carried an obituary last week for the cassette tape, a staple for audiobook fans since the late 1970s and the introduction of the Sony Walkman. 

The best thing about books recorded on cassette tapes - as opposed to CDs - is that you can easily rewind just a sentence or two if you missed something instead of jumping back a whole track, which might translate into an entire chapter. You also can pop the tape out of the dash in your car and pop it into a cassette player in your house without missing a word - or having to remember your track number.

And there's nothing like the Walkman for listening to a book while gardening, walking or doing housework. That's possible with portable CD players, too, but they skip if jostled too much.

Are you still a cassette holdout, or have you switched entirely to CDs?

Some publishers are still recording books on cassette tapes and some libraries are still buying them. That's because there is still an audience for books on tape. As the Times points out, the average age of the automobile in this country is nine years, and most of those cars still have cassette decks. But only 4 percent of the new cars sold in 2007 had them.

As the Times story notes, the cassette tape died years ago as a vehicle for sharing music, but it lived on among audiobook fans.

RIP old friend!

Posted by Susan Reimer at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Audiobooks
        

...mostly because I found the Disney movie TERRIFYING. But after seeing this Wonderland kit, I'm starting to rethink my position.

It seems that this incredible boyfriend hired an incredible artist to create this, yes, INCREDIBLE gift. They even provided a clever little back story:

"When Alice fell through the rabbit hole, she tore a rift between our two universes. Through this open rift, 'nonsense' began leaking out of Wonderland. With a decreasing amount of nonsense, Wonderland became a more logical place, and since vanishing cats and singing flowers cannot exist in a logical universe, Wonderland began to die.

"Professor Jonathan Lake, of Miskatonic University, traveled to Wonderland in attempt to catalog and archive the remaining flora and fauna so that Wonderland would not disappear into the forgotten depths of history. This is his collection of specimens, artifacts, and ephemera salvaged from the Wonderlands."

Did any of you catch that? That was the bar going up on any future presents you give to a bookworm. And I'm heading off to find this children's classic; any book that can inspire that kind of devotion is worth a look.

(Photo courtesy of absinthetic.livejournal.com)

Posted by Nancy Knight at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Today, we'll take our literary confessional a step further, to discuss classics that we never quite got around to reading. I think everyone short of an elderly English professor is included here; I sure am. Somehow, all my teachers in junior high forgot to assign To Kill a Mockingbird, and when I got older, I never picked it up. Until yesterday, that is, when my guilt overwhelmed me.

Nancy says: Don Quixote has been on my shelf for nearly a year and I haven't picked it up yet. I don't know what's wrong with me. And Harlot's Ghost -- I read somewhere that it has a pretty unsatisfying ending, so I'm not sure if I want to start it just to be disappointed.

I suppose we shouldn't feel too guilty. There are just too many great books, and it seems another is released every month. Authors have the problem too; here's what some confessed to the Guardian. Still, it feels good to acknowledge my debt to Harper Lee, and to act to resolve it.  After 40 pages, I already sense the greatness of her novel.

How about you? What great book have you been putting off?  

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Just got the news that Solzhenitsyn, the great writer who became a symbol of the repression of free speech during the Cold War, has died. I recall reading his searing novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and learning about the brutality of Soviet prison camps. Refuseniks and gulags seem so distant now, but many of us can recall the days of bomb shelters and shoe-banging Soviet leaders. He should always be honored for his courage in standing up to repressive leaders and fighting for freedom of expression.

(In the spirit of our weekly theme, I confess that  the Gulag Archipelago is sitting, unread, on my bookshelf. Maybe it's time to pick it up.)

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Obituaries
        

Consider this a week of confession, a chance to clear your conscience. We'll discuss unread books, including those we started but never finished.

I have one of those in front of me now: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. I put it down when I was less than halfway through (page 389 to be exact), and now I'm afraid to pick it up because I'd be lost in the complexity. I feel doubly guilty because it was widely acclaimed, and written by Taylor Branch of Baltimore.

As for Nancy, she stalled about halfway through Foucault's Pendulum; hasn't read a page in about four months. And she says of Only Revolutions: "While I love the rhythm of the poetry, it's really difficult to stay focused on what the heck the storyline is supposed to be. I THINK it's a love story? With time travel? And history? I don't know."

So, in the spirit of shared confession, what book have you started but not finished? Get it off your chest; you'll feel better.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Over on Poe's Deadly Daughters, a lively and informative blog by six female mystery writers, Lonnie Cruse describes a problem that many readers face. She often reads more than one book at a time, and finds it tough to keep the characters and plot twists straight. Lonnie's obviously a lot sharper than I am, because I often have that problem with just one book, especially if I walk away from it for a few days.
Read Streeter Patrick recently emailed me a similar complaint, and posed this suggestion: Why don't long novels carry an index showing where characters have been introduced and referenced. If I were King of Books I would recommend an index for any novel of more than 300 pages, and make it mandatory for family sagas that span generations and countries.

Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Whatever
        

 On their Web site, Red Emma's bills itself as a "collective, in which the real management of the company is carried out in a directly democratic and egalitarian manner."

So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when they responded to my e-mail in a collective manner.

"Credit the text to Cullen Nawalkowsky, John Duda, and myself, members of the books coordinating committee at Red Emma's," Kate Khatib requested. And so, reflecting their democracy, all further quotes in this post are credited as such.

It's pretty hard to miss Red Emma's while strolling down or driving up Saint Paul Street. And if you haven't had a chance to steal inside yet, you may be surprised at the breadth of material they offer for activist and capitalist alike.

"We are informed by anarchism, but we never had any desire to be an 'anarchist bookstore," the committee explains. "We are also informed by feminism, queer theory, Afrocentrism, Marxism, Dada and the avant-garde, literary modernism, and dozens of other traditions."

A little background 

The collective "inherited" the inventory from Black Planet Books, which failed under traditional ownership, and so the collective was formed.

"We ... lacked the resources or credit to really establish relationships with major publishers or distributors. We relied primarily on the kindness of AK Press, one of the best radical publishing projects in the biz, who's helped many a radical bookstore get up and off the ground over the years," the committe says. "We made journeys to some friends in Philadelphia and Massachussetts who had good lines on remainder titles, and that helped sustain us for a long time. As the coffeeshop side of the business developed, we were able to establish more and more relationships with publishers and distributors, attend trade shows, etc."

Clientele 

While Red Emma's boasts of a wide range of customers, they are very conscious of their mission to Baltimore radical and activist communities.

"We have casual customers who are just kind of walking around Mount Vernon and stopping in for a cup of coffee. They gravitate towards the music titles, popular fiction and classics," the group says. "Academics and teachers come in looking for texts for class or for research projects. We have regulars who keep up with the latest releases of Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein, bell hooks, etc. Activists come in looking for books on consensus, organizational models, and historical texts on social change."

"I'm hesitant to say we have a 'favorite' type of customer, but we get a good measure of glee when visitors from out of town come through and just start making a stack of books because they 'have never seen any of them before,' " the collective says. "People come from New York and other way larger cities and tell us they've never seen a selection like ours. That makes us really happy."

Popular sections 

"We definitely have certain "pet" sections that different collective members enjoy curating," the group says. "We take pride in our philosophy section, which has the best selection of Continental philosophy in the city. We have more Foucault and Zizek than you have ever seen in one place.

"We try to always keep on hand biographies and histories of great movement organizers and groups -- Ella Baker, Che Guevara, Gandhi, WEB Dubois and the Pan-African movement, Joe Hill and the IWW, Students for a Democratic Society, and so on. There is so much neglected knowledge, even within the activist community. We're trying to fill those gaps."

Events

With a bevy of guest speakers, authors, activists and screenings, the store is never short on entertainment. But they don't forget to support other local artists and musicians.

The collective has partnered with St. Johns United Methodist Church to run 2640 Saint Paul St., their events venue. With workshops, concerts and popular Do-It-Yourself events, like Pile of Craft, it's no wonder Red Emma's is attracting Baltimore's everyman.

But I'm betting the organic foods, coffee and air conditioning don't hurt.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Bookstores
        

Nothing says party like a book documenting Baltimore's art, music and literary scene.

So on Sunday, Aug. 10, the Creative Alliance is throwing a little shindig for Paper Kingdom, a book that collects posters and Baltimore's "print culture" from the 1990s through today. Elena Johnston (no relation, that I know of) will be signing copies of the collection, which includes concert poster art and interviews with the bands and artists who make them possible.

According to the book's blog, (yes, books have their own blogs, now...they don't even need me) artists featured in the book include Jordan Bernier, Kevin Sherry, Nolen Strals of Post Typography, Caleb Stine, Dan Deacon, Lexie Mountain, Red Prairie Press, and Wildfire Wildfire.

It's a limited first press, so all interested parties should probably order their copy now. And if you have the time and $12, check out the show Creative Alliance is hosting, featuring Beach House, Viking Moses and Cass McCombs.

Posted by Nancy Knight at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Whatever