Ceiling Kitteh is readin UR blog

What if LOL kittehs were reading our blog right now? Why, I believe it'd look kinda like this!


Go LOL yourself here!


Thanx to BillY for this wonderousness!

NPR & NYT see the light!

The following from the trade newsletter, Bookselling This Week, is good news for Indie bookstores:

NPR & The New York Times Sites Add BookSense.com Ordering Option
October 31, 2007
BookSense.com was recently added as an online book purchasing option on both the National Public Radio and The New York Times websites. Now, when NPR or NYTimes.com readers are interested in a featured book or bestseller, they are offered an option to buy from local, independent bookstores, as well as from Amazon.com.
The American Booksellers Association worked with NPR and The New York Times for some time in an effort to provide readers with the option of supporting local independent bookstores. Additionally, over the course of the summer, a number of independent booksellers, including ABA President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, contacted NPR to express their continuing concerns about Amazon.com as its sole retail partner for books mentioned on the air and featured on the NPR website.
"We are pleased that BookSense.com is now offered as an option on both The New York Times and National Public Radio websites," said BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos. "There is no question that many serious readers who frequent independent bookstores often turn to NPR or The Times 'Books' sections to help them find the next great read. It's only fitting then to provide these consumers with the choice of shopping at a local bookstore by including a link to BookSense.com."
Readers on the Best Sellers pages of NYTimes.com are presented with the option of purchasing titles from "Local Booksellers" or from Amazon.com. When the "Local Booksellers" option is selected, readers link to a second page listing the bestsellers. A click on a book title then brings them to the BookSense.com Store Locator.
On the NPR website's "Books" section, readers who click on any of the "Featured Books: Available for Purchase" are presented with the choice of buying titles at BookSense.com or at Amazon.com.




I know my sales, and many other bookstore's sales, are driven by both NPR and the New York Times. (Not so much the local papers, which is a pity). It is pleasing that both institutions are sensitive to the needs of the neighborhood bookstore.

Tibetan Turtles 4 Burma Monks!

Halloween Turtle Trick? Or Earnest Protest?


They spent so much time on those little posters, I'd say they are pretty serious about this.

New Books for this Week!

Michael Chabon, fresh from his triumphant novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, has yet a new novel, Gentleman of the Road (Ballantine Del Rey $21.95). The story involves two 10th century vagabonds who are impressed into the service of Prince of the Khazar Empire as escorts and bodyguards. The working title, Chabon tell us, was Jews with Swords, so I think you’ll have an idea of what the book is about.

Joseph Ellis continues his work on the early days of the American Experiment (Founding Brothers and His Excellency) with American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic (Knopf $26.95).

All the Rage (Three Rivers Press $16.95) is the latest (and at least for now, the final) anthology of Aaron McGruder’s Boondocks comic strips. Included are the strips that didn’t make it into the funny pages, interviews and appreciations, as well as where the comic strip Fox Trot tried to step into McGruder’s hiatus.

A reminder: We still have signed copies of Walter Mosley’s latest (and last, according to him) Easy Rawlins novel, Blonde Faith (Little Brown $25.99).

New Arrivals This Week!

Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch’s Assault on America’s Fundamental Rights (Random House $24.95) is Molly Ivins’ last collaboration with Lou Dubose. From the introduction, they write, “To all the daring, courageous, or just plain stubborn ‘ordinary’ Americans who have ever gotten up on their hind legs, and said, “Well, that’s not right, that’s not fair’: This book is dedicated to you.” She is missed.

The ever witty and erudite Bill Bryson has penned Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Atlas Book/HarperCollins $19.95) and examines the life of the Bard. It is another in the Eminent Lives series, edited by famed biographer James Atlas.

Steve Martin and Roz Chast have produced a fine and funny children’s book, The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z! (Flying Dolphin Press $17.95). It is a very funny book, with text by Martin (“Amiable Amy, Alice, and Andie Ate all the anchovy sandwiches handy”), illustrations and captions by Chast. All 26 letters are included, and as they say, each and every one a Star!.

New in paperbacks include Diane Setterfield’s novel The Thirteenth Tale (Washington Square Press $15.00), and features a Reading Club Guide. Tammy's favorite book of last year is now out in paperback: The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly (Washington Square Press, $15.00). (This is a book I'm going to re-read every year.~Tammy) The Willow Field (Vintage $14.95) is William Kittredge’s first novel, and is the story of thousand mile drive and Rossie Benasco’s coming of age. And for food lovers everywhere, The United States of Arugula: The Sun-Dried, Cold-Pressed, Dark-Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution (Broadway Books $14.95) where David Kamp describes how American chefs have transformed our perceptions with cooking.

Late Night Gorillaz Music Cafe

We've been hearing music outta the back bedroom for a while, but this one song keeps haunting me everytime it comes up on the kid's playlist. And, it comes on everyday. I finally asked, and it's Clint Eastwood! You need to go listen!

Then Danton gave me two more:

Feel Good Inc


19-2ooo
This is good shit people!

signed smug Mom who loaned the boy her M.I.A KALA cd! I think I've updated that to her homepage, but it's huge, hard to load. Be warned.

UPDATE: Here's a rocking youtube of M.I.A. at last August's Lollapalooza of my favorite cut. There's the studio version on the sidebar. Makes me wish I was young.

Doc Bussard

I know a Rocket Scientist. Really, I do. He has been a long time customer of Seattle Mystery, an omnivorous reader of mysteries. Robert. huh. We knew him as Doc. We cut our internet eye-teeth on emailing with Doc and Dolly, didn't ever tumble to the fact that he was a Rocket Scientist. A guy who could talk about Inertial Electrostatic Confinement.

He and his lovely wife Dolly have been long-time friends and political mentors. When they would come to town, it was like your favorite Aunt and Uncle visiting. The ones you liked. You wanted to stand up taller, say something intelligent. Long after finding out his tastes in fiction, we discovered he was a big deal in the Science Universe. He's such a big brain, Poul Anderson used his science in his books. His discovery and theory was so right on, Star Trek used it for their main transport system to travel Where No Man Has Gone Before... They aren't called Bussard Ramjet Thrusters for nothing people!

Coupla years back he raced in the Americas Cup and we followed his journey with glee. Wouldn't you just know his boat was named Uproarious?

You can see the timeline of how his theory has been dismissed by the ruling governments. His company went from being one of the brightest possibilities to losing their NASA, and other, grants. From that, he rose like a phoenix with private funding, Because, Ultimately he is right. And I do believe that truth will out. Power and Control covers his career nicely.

Doc died last week. I'm grieving.