It is the season for giving.
Well this is it, the last blog of the year. No pressure though, it’s really just another one in a pretty decent sized list of them. After reading Bills' post from yesterday it got me thinking about the Gothic. In specific Bill touched upon the Gothic being like a family. I have always joked about Laura being my sister and Kathy being the cool aunt whose house you wanted to go to but now I think there’s a touch of truth to it. The feelings I have for the people I work with are stronger than those I have for friends, and it’s different than being someone’s best friend. It’s hard to put a finger on it. In reality I spend at least 8 hours a day here and 7 of those are with these people. It would be hard for even the most unwilling person to not form a bond of some sort.
So as the Gothic has become my extended family, I thought I might gift them via this blog with some things I would give them if they existed yet, so step with me for a second into the future when things are vastly different. I think I’ll do this via seniority:
Laura: Stephen Fry in America (she’s been waiting for this forever), all the VH1 reality shows made from 2009 forward on BluRay DVD, a BluRay DVD player, a digital cable tuner enhancer (so she can finally get her DVR from Time Warner for all the reality shows I don’t gift her), and finally soundproofing for her walls (so the neighbors will stop waking her up in the middle of the night)
Kathy: Free Range Knitter and It Itches (two books about one of her favorite hobbies), (I was going to include a book here but man she has enough books to read so instead) free time to read, Febreze for Cars (she knows what I mean), the complete Boston Legal on DVD (so good), a robot shredder to filter it’s way through the massive amount of papers on her desk and shred the unnecessary ones.
Bill: a functioning mailing list, Then We Came to the End (if he hasn’t read it already, right up his alley), (speaking of alleys) that wicked cool bowling ball that Bill Murray uses in Kingpin (two words: awesome), a pair of earphones that muffle out the inane drubbing of student employees talking about parties and such, a big book of really hard crosswords (this guy plows through the easy ones around here)
Our Customers: a new layout that is more organized and easier for you to find the book you’re after in that subject, the end of construction (thanks for hanging in there with us), a wonderful sitting area that is both comfy and functional, lots of free time to read and enjoy your favorite authors brand new story or idea.
I could list our student employees here as well but the list would be too long to read then (if it’s not already). Our students are like my cousins they come over and visit we have a great time and they go home (and we probably annoy Aunt Kathy somewhere in there).
In closing, thanks for a wonderful 2008; you make working here worth getting out of bed for. See you in ’09.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Last List of the Year (I promise)
Well, it’s my last post of the year. We’re shutting down for the winter break after tomorrow, and we’ll be closed until the 4th while we do some renovating. No, we’re not getting that tiki bar I’ve been promising you all. That’s going to have to wait until the summer break. Instead we’re going to rearrange the front of the store to give us more space to display our wares. Wares, in this case, means really cool books and stuff.
So I won’t be writing again for a little while. I don’t know exactly why, but this fact ratchets up the pressure somewhat. Last post of ’08? Better make it good, Verner. (Perhaps Arthur's having said those exact words to me early this morning has something to do with my minor freak-out at sitting down to knock this post out. Thanks, Arthur.)
Like a lot of you, I’d imagine, I’ve spent the last week or so shopping for presents for the people closest to me. I like to give presents. I do it as much for myself as for the intended recipients. It makes me feel good. Oddly, the fact that I work in a bookstore makes me somewhat hesitant to give books as presents. I don’t want my friends and family to feel that I simply grabbed the nearest book off the shelf on my way out the door. (For the record, though, this is exactly what I do, with mixed results. Giving one’s elderly aunt a copy of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell is not to be recommended, I can promise you.)
Still, I do always end up giving at least one book to most of my family members. Maybe I’m projecting –I certainly like to receive books as presents; hint, hint—but giving someone a book feels like a commitment to an ongoing conversation. Here, you’re saying, I’m giving you this thing, and you can use this thing to help you make new thoughts, and then we can talk about those thoughts.
So anyway, I’ve been shopping for presents, and it’s had me thinking about friends and family and books, and what I guess I’m getting around to (finally) is that the dénouement of this year has brought about my joining what is basically a family here at the Gothic. A good bookstore finds its staff mingling with its regular customers in a way that is very much like a family. Most often we get along; sometimes we scrap it out a bit, and we’d all be a little bit lost without each other.
Please, please don’t think that I’m fixing to buy all of you presents, Gothic Shoppers. I’m really far too cheap for that. (Nor you, fellow Gothickers; most of you owe me ten bucks already as a result of that SIBA Book Awards betting pool we had going there for a while). But I am thinking about you all as we close out the year.
(WARNING: LIST APPROACHING)
In fact, I think I’m going to close this sucker out with a list of some, though not all, of my favorite bookselling moments since meeting you all:
Talking translation and Junot Diaz with Claudia.
Swapping pulp fiction favorites with Brian and learning from him about the great Ted Lewis, whose books sorely need reprinting. (Get on it, Serpent's Tail!)
Finding that one good “book on books” gift for Stu.
Listening to Barry wax eloquent on the silliness of words that can be mentioned neither on television nor on this Blog.
Betting with Kathy over whether we’d sell our copy of The Hemingses of Monticello. (We did; though I won’t tell you how each of us bet. We’ve got another bet going on a forthcoming Dylan book.)
Talking graphic novels and holiday gifts with a couple of totally normal-seeming customers, only to find out that they were both in the killer band Veronique Diabolique (check these guys out if you haven’t already).
Selling two copies of Stanford’s Battlefield within a week of finally getting it into the store, with each customer having heard of the book from Duke’s own Tony Tost. (Nice one, Tony)
Talking eyeglasses and jazz books with Dr. Carter.
Competing with my fellow Gothickers over who could sell more “Staff Picks” books. (Laura’s in the lead, in case you’re curious.)
Watching Arthur and one of our regular customers, Annie, work themselves into a frenzy over the collected oeuvre of Garth Nix.
Seeing the look on Lt. Awesome’s face when he told me that he’d sold a copy of Lonesome Dove. (Please, please come buy more copies; it will make him happy.)
Watching Sara pick out kids’ books with the eye of a true connoisseur.
Selling a copy of The Launching of Duke University to the proud father of an enrolling freshman.
And, of course, launching this blog. It’s been a pleasure posting with you guys. Thanks to all of you –customers and booksellers alike—for making me feel welcome here. Happy New Year to all of you.
So I won’t be writing again for a little while. I don’t know exactly why, but this fact ratchets up the pressure somewhat. Last post of ’08? Better make it good, Verner. (Perhaps Arthur's having said those exact words to me early this morning has something to do with my minor freak-out at sitting down to knock this post out. Thanks, Arthur.)
Like a lot of you, I’d imagine, I’ve spent the last week or so shopping for presents for the people closest to me. I like to give presents. I do it as much for myself as for the intended recipients. It makes me feel good. Oddly, the fact that I work in a bookstore makes me somewhat hesitant to give books as presents. I don’t want my friends and family to feel that I simply grabbed the nearest book off the shelf on my way out the door. (For the record, though, this is exactly what I do, with mixed results. Giving one’s elderly aunt a copy of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell is not to be recommended, I can promise you.)
Still, I do always end up giving at least one book to most of my family members. Maybe I’m projecting –I certainly like to receive books as presents; hint, hint—but giving someone a book feels like a commitment to an ongoing conversation. Here, you’re saying, I’m giving you this thing, and you can use this thing to help you make new thoughts, and then we can talk about those thoughts.
So anyway, I’ve been shopping for presents, and it’s had me thinking about friends and family and books, and what I guess I’m getting around to (finally) is that the dénouement of this year has brought about my joining what is basically a family here at the Gothic. A good bookstore finds its staff mingling with its regular customers in a way that is very much like a family. Most often we get along; sometimes we scrap it out a bit, and we’d all be a little bit lost without each other.
Please, please don’t think that I’m fixing to buy all of you presents, Gothic Shoppers. I’m really far too cheap for that. (Nor you, fellow Gothickers; most of you owe me ten bucks already as a result of that SIBA Book Awards betting pool we had going there for a while). But I am thinking about you all as we close out the year.
(WARNING: LIST APPROACHING)
In fact, I think I’m going to close this sucker out with a list of some, though not all, of my favorite bookselling moments since meeting you all:
Talking translation and Junot Diaz with Claudia.
Swapping pulp fiction favorites with Brian and learning from him about the great Ted Lewis, whose books sorely need reprinting. (Get on it, Serpent's Tail!)
Finding that one good “book on books” gift for Stu.
Listening to Barry wax eloquent on the silliness of words that can be mentioned neither on television nor on this Blog.
Betting with Kathy over whether we’d sell our copy of The Hemingses of Monticello. (We did; though I won’t tell you how each of us bet. We’ve got another bet going on a forthcoming Dylan book.)
Talking graphic novels and holiday gifts with a couple of totally normal-seeming customers, only to find out that they were both in the killer band Veronique Diabolique (check these guys out if you haven’t already).
Selling two copies of Stanford’s Battlefield within a week of finally getting it into the store, with each customer having heard of the book from Duke’s own Tony Tost. (Nice one, Tony)
Talking eyeglasses and jazz books with Dr. Carter.
Competing with my fellow Gothickers over who could sell more “Staff Picks” books. (Laura’s in the lead, in case you’re curious.)
Watching Arthur and one of our regular customers, Annie, work themselves into a frenzy over the collected oeuvre of Garth Nix.
Seeing the look on Lt. Awesome’s face when he told me that he’d sold a copy of Lonesome Dove. (Please, please come buy more copies; it will make him happy.)
Watching Sara pick out kids’ books with the eye of a true connoisseur.
Selling a copy of The Launching of Duke University to the proud father of an enrolling freshman.
And, of course, launching this blog. It’s been a pleasure posting with you guys. Thanks to all of you –customers and booksellers alike—for making me feel welcome here. Happy New Year to all of you.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Divinity School Authors on Holiday Short Lists
Friday's Guest Blogger
Stuart Wells covers book news and continuing education for the Office of News & Communications at Duke. He’s also in charge of news release production and distribution and the gathering of Duke-related news clips.
Zeroing in on good nonfiction can be a challenge, but I’m glad to report that help is on the way -- at least over the next two weeks -- in the form of year-end holiday gift guides.
One of my favorites appears in The Christian Century’s Dec. 16 issue. The magazine has a special Christmas section of books, DVDs and CDs as recommended by the magazine’s editors, film reviewers and music critics, as well as Mary Harris Russell, a specialist in children’s literature at Indiana University. As you would expect, the list begins with theology and Bible topics, but then quickly ranges farther afield, from current events to fiction, from classical music to popular holiday CDs (and Tony Bennett, at 82 years young, isn’t taking a backseat to anyone).
Books by two Duke authors are included among the nine theological picks. Divinity School professor J. Kameron Carter’s “Race: A Theological Account” (Oxford University Press, September 2008) is singled out as not only offering a sharp analysis of a racialized Christian theology, but constructing a way forward to a “new theological imagination for the 21st century.” The book is also getting good buzz at the popular readers’ site.
Just one book down on the magazine’s list is “Scripture, Culture and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible” (Cambridge University Press, 2008) by Carter’s Duke Divinity colleague Ellen F. Davis. Professor Davis argues persuasively that the Bible provides “vision and principle” for land use in our time. Read Davis’s lively essay in "The Green Bible" and you will begin to appreciate a new way of reading the good book, an Earthly perspective that elevates issues of stewardship, care and justice.
I would be interested in hearing from this blog's readers as to where they first hear of good nonfiction: The New York Times Book Review, perhaps, or even Publishers Weekly, which has been a great source for me over the years.
I scan PW’s full list of new nonfiction with an eye out for the big red star next to any of their mini-reviews. That’s exactly what appeared a few weeks back next to the title of Duke theologian Stanley Hauerwas’s exceptional new book, “Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness” (November 2008, IVP Academic Books), written with Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche, a network of homes where people with and without mental disabilities live together as family.
Publishers Weekly says Hauerwas’s discussion of the political implications of gentleness in the last chapter “is worth the entire book.” I would say the same thing about Hauerwas’s meditation earlier in the book on the significance of place and community and what we mean by “progress.” I took delight in his story about a thirty-six-inch snow at Notre Dame that spoke volumes about a loss of community.
The book is part of a new series edited by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, codirectors of the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation, that pairs academics and practitioners to examine issues of Christian life and thought.
Read the starred review
Hauerwas, a professor of theological ethics, is also the subject of a nice Publishers Weekly profile that notes that he has been writing steadily for nearly 40 years and keeping Library of Congress cataloguers busy (48 books and counting).
Hauerwas tells interviewer LaVonne Neff that of all his books his favorite is “The Peaceable Kingdom” (Univ. of Notre Dame, 1991), an introduction to Christian ethics that stresses community and nonviolence.
For Hauerwas, peace “looks like Jean Vanier having his arm around an elderly woman at Mass, a woman who has been cared for—for years—by people simply being present to her. That's peace.”
Read the full profile.
Stuart Wells covers book news and continuing education for the Office of News & Communications at Duke. He’s also in charge of news release production and distribution and the gathering of Duke-related news clips.
Zeroing in on good nonfiction can be a challenge, but I’m glad to report that help is on the way -- at least over the next two weeks -- in the form of year-end holiday gift guides.
One of my favorites appears in The Christian Century’s Dec. 16 issue. The magazine has a special Christmas section of books, DVDs and CDs as recommended by the magazine’s editors, film reviewers and music critics, as well as Mary Harris Russell, a specialist in children’s literature at Indiana University. As you would expect, the list begins with theology and Bible topics, but then quickly ranges farther afield, from current events to fiction, from classical music to popular holiday CDs (and Tony Bennett, at 82 years young, isn’t taking a backseat to anyone).
Books by two Duke authors are included among the nine theological picks. Divinity School professor J. Kameron Carter’s “Race: A Theological Account” (Oxford University Press, September 2008) is singled out as not only offering a sharp analysis of a racialized Christian theology, but constructing a way forward to a “new theological imagination for the 21st century.” The book is also getting good buzz at the popular readers’ site.
Just one book down on the magazine’s list is “Scripture, Culture and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible” (Cambridge University Press, 2008) by Carter’s Duke Divinity colleague Ellen F. Davis. Professor Davis argues persuasively that the Bible provides “vision and principle” for land use in our time. Read Davis’s lively essay in "The Green Bible" and you will begin to appreciate a new way of reading the good book, an Earthly perspective that elevates issues of stewardship, care and justice.
I would be interested in hearing from this blog's readers as to where they first hear of good nonfiction: The New York Times Book Review, perhaps, or even Publishers Weekly, which has been a great source for me over the years.
I scan PW’s full list of new nonfiction with an eye out for the big red star next to any of their mini-reviews. That’s exactly what appeared a few weeks back next to the title of Duke theologian Stanley Hauerwas’s exceptional new book, “Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness” (November 2008, IVP Academic Books), written with Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche, a network of homes where people with and without mental disabilities live together as family.
Publishers Weekly says Hauerwas’s discussion of the political implications of gentleness in the last chapter “is worth the entire book.” I would say the same thing about Hauerwas’s meditation earlier in the book on the significance of place and community and what we mean by “progress.” I took delight in his story about a thirty-six-inch snow at Notre Dame that spoke volumes about a loss of community.
The book is part of a new series edited by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, codirectors of the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation, that pairs academics and practitioners to examine issues of Christian life and thought.
Read the starred review
Hauerwas, a professor of theological ethics, is also the subject of a nice Publishers Weekly profile that notes that he has been writing steadily for nearly 40 years and keeping Library of Congress cataloguers busy (48 books and counting).
Hauerwas tells interviewer LaVonne Neff that of all his books his favorite is “The Peaceable Kingdom” (Univ. of Notre Dame, 1991), an introduction to Christian ethics that stresses community and nonviolence.
For Hauerwas, peace “looks like Jean Vanier having his arm around an elderly woman at Mass, a woman who has been cared for—for years—by people simply being present to her. That's peace.”
Read the full profile.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Versus List
We decided to do a versus on the list idea that Bill had on Monday. Below you will find the fruits of that labor, catgorized for your convience.
Each list will be shown in the following format:
Arthur's Pick/Bill's Pick
Fantasy
1. The Lord of the Rings / Magic for Beginners
2. The Once & Future King / Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
3. The Lion,the Witch, & the Wardrobe / Hard-Boiled Wonderland & the End of the World
4. A Game of Thrones / American Gods
5. Eye of the World / The Once & Future King
Books Featuring Talking Animals
1. Watership Down / Funny Papers
2. Animal Farm / The Magic Pudding
3. Charlotte’s Web / The Lion,the Witch,& the Wardrobe
4. Redwall / Cricket in Times Square
5. The Lion,the Witch,& the Wardrobe / Animal Farm
Coming of Age Books
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/ Edisto
2. Lord of the Flies / Catcher in the Rye
3. To Kill a Mockingbird / To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl / Wait Until Spring, Bandini
5. Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims / Coal Black Horse
The Intersection of Science & Religion
1. The Language of God / The Sparrow & Children of God
2. Inherit the Wind / Inherit the Wind
3. On the Origin of Species / Creation
4. The Bible (Green Edition) / On the Origin of Species
5. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast / The Brick Testament: Stories from the Book of Genesis
The World Under George W. Bush
1. The Looming Tower / Get Your War On
2. The Faith of George W. Bush / Man Without a Country
3. The President of Good and Evil / The 9-11 Report – A Graphic Adaptation
4. Bush at War / 1984
5. The Great Deluge / Catch 22
Featuring Food
1. Fast Food Nation / Smokestack Lightning
2. Two for the Road / Cooking With Fernet Branca
3. United States of Argula / Serious Pig
4. What Einstein Told His Cook / Babette’s Feast
5. Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages / How to Eat Fried Worms
Agree with us? Of a different mind than us? Feel free to leave us your comments and list below.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Power of Love
Let’s talk about love.
I know it’s not Valentines Day but I have been giving it a lot of thought lately. How does this apply to books you might ask? Well don’t worry I’m going to hit you with the book knowledge below.
I have to start this off by briefly talking about one of the forbidden topics here, religion, specifically faith. I consider myself to be a man of faith. I believe in the Bible, Jesus, and everything included in that. Don’t worry I’m not trying to convert you in this blog. I just needed to say that because the book I am recommending below is at its heart a religious book. That being said, if you shy away from it because of that, you might be missing out on some truths about love that could help you out in the long run.
The book I have been vaguely referring to is The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Chapman has identified five ways we define love. That seems kind of narrow and a tad vague but when I tell you the five perhaps it will make more sense. The five love languages according to Chapman are: Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, and Words of Affirmation. They are essentially ways in which a person can show you they love and care about you.
Quality Time is really self-defined, it means spending time with someone you love. You might be saying, who wouldn’t want to spend time with someone they love? Well that’s not the point here; the point is do you need someone to spend time with you to show you they care for you. Essentially does love=time spent together to you. Some people just crave time with the people they love and need this to be reciprocated in order to feel that complete bond that love entails.
Receiving gifts also seems rather straightforward. Is it by the amount of things someone buys you that you define the strength of their love. I know at it’s heart this seems superficial but every year we run out to florist in droves to buy flowers and we certainly make a big deal of Mother’s Day, Christmas, and birthdays. Some people need gifts as a way of showing them love. I would argue that it’s not so much about the gifts in this case but about the thought when you saw said gift. To the receiver, the gift means they were on your mind and that means love.
Acts of Service means doing something for the one you care about. I firmly believe my wife is an acts of service lover. She quantifies my love for her by the amount of things I do to help her out. Again, this may seem on the surface a selfish thing but we all get overwhelmed from time to time and who wouldn’t like a helping hand. By giving an acts of service person a helping hand you are acknowledging that you have been paying enough attention and care enough about them to provide the helping hand. This is immediate heart fuel to an acts of service lover.
Physical Touch is easy enough. Some people prefer their love to be immediate and rely on physical contact to show it. Holding a hand, putting your arm around someone at the movies, or a gentle hand on a knee are all signs of love to a physical touch lover. I’m pretty sure that this precludes all public displays of affection, as making out in the restaurant though physical touch is not the kind of touch we're talking about here. We're talking about an intimate touch that says to the partner you are on my mind and I love you.
Words of Affirmation are easy to say but hard to do. Our society doesn’t really encourage anymore. We are a society of faultfinders. We are waiting for someone to screw up so we can tell him or her about it. When we do give affirmation words they are usually hollow and meaningless like when we ask someone how there doing. Do we really care how there doing? Most of the time people just say fine anyway and when they don’t we are certainly not listening to them after that. I believe after examining myself from all angles I am largely a Words of Affirmation lover. I quantify how much a person cares for me by their words. That being said, I know when the words are genuine and when they’re just placating or hollow.
In closing, the book has way more than the simple examples I gave you above. I believe Chapman has reached into the root of our love process and found some hidden truths. If you read the book I am almost positive you will see yourself predominately in one of the camps above. I was skeptical and I found my love home. I think that to reach a true intimate relationship that is fulfilling we have to give our partners a little bit of all of the five love languages but make sure we add a touch more of the one they most quantify love with.
Do yourself a favor and read the book, even you guys. Love is not just for the ladies anymore. If you want help in the love process it never hurts to have a little more knowledge.
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