New Arrivals
Posted in Books on 2 November, 2009 by S&Co.
Manhood for Amateurs
Posted in Books, Excerpts with tags memoir, Michael Chabon on 27 October, 2009 by S&Co.Here’s an excerpt from “I Feel Good About My Murse” in Michael Chabon’s new memoir. (Murse=man purse, for those of you who may not be familiar with the lingo.) 
[pgs. 151-152] One of the fundamental axioms of masculine self-regard is that the tools and appurtenances of a man’s life must be containable within the pockets of his jacket and pants. Wallet, keys, gum, show or ball game tickets, Kleenex, condoms, cell phone, maybe a lighter and a pack of cigarettes: Just cram it all in there, motherfucker. When I was a smoker—a long time ago—I used to predicate every purchase of a shirt, tee, or button-down on whether or not it featured a front pocket to hold my pack of Winston Lights. Take away everything, cigarettes, phone, even keys, a man remains a man so long as he keeps his wallet pressed up against his body. A wallet is a man’s totem, his distillation. It pockets his soul as surely as he pockets it.
The necessary corollary to this inviolate principle is that no man, ever, ought to carry a purse. Purses are for women; a purse is basically a vagina with a strap. If you have diabetes, let’s say, it is permitted to carry your works and your insulin around in a leather zip, but as soon as you start shoving your keys, Altoids, and above all your wallet in there, too, it’s over. You are a man with a purse.
—Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son, by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, $25.99) IN STOCK
Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Posted in Books with tags Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer on 26 October, 2009 by S&Co.
We have ten signed copies of Jonathan Safran Foer’s new book, Eating Animals.
Check out the trailer for the book here.
Lehane, Greer, & Meloy
Posted in Books, Opinion with tags Montana Festival of the Book on 26 October, 2009 by S&Co.
My favorite event at the Festival of the Book was Thursday night’s gala, featuring readings by Dennis Lehane, Andrew Sean Greer, and Maile Meloy, at the Wilma Theatre. I have never seen a more balanced bill than this one, and each reading came in exactly on time (a critical point for any reading, really, but especially for a triple bill). Lehane’s reading was tough, fast; Greer’s was funny, disarming; Meloy’s — grave, brilliant (I had forgotten how good she is!).
If you had a favorite event at the Festival, we’d love to hear about it. Feel free to comment.
(Wilma photo by Tom Fullum.)
Festival of the Book
Posted in Events on 18 October, 2009 by S&Co.Please plan to attend the 2009 Festival of the Book, Oct 22-24!
A schedule of events can be found here.
LA Angels …
Posted in News on 18 October, 2009 by S&Co.The Angels are down 2-0 because they are not playing aggressive baseball. At bat, they are looking at 1st and 2nd strikes when there is no reason to take a pitch. The Angels played differently all year … and now this.
Shortstop Erick Aybar, though, turns a double play like no one else.
The Yankees’ Derek Jeter, on the other hand, is, defensively, still just a showboat.
SF Bookpage …
Posted in Books, Opinion on 18 October, 2009 by S&Co.The SF Chronicle books page is always worth a look. (Note the review by our own Susanna Sonnenberg.)
Miami is a Technicolor city …
Posted in Journals with tags VQR on 17 October, 2009 by S&Co.
If you are not regularly reading the Virginia Quarterly Review, you are missing one of the finest quarterly journals out there. The fall 2009 issue ($14) has just arrived.
Miami is a Technicolor city, especially in neighborhoods like Liberty City and Little Haiti, where the architecture unfolds like a graphic novel of black culture and history, painted in murals on storefronts and awnings and under overpasses. Buildings of almost every color are splashed with visages of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and now Barack Obama. You recognize a barbershop because a barbershop scene is painted on the storefront. Chitterlings, oxtail, wigs—everything inside is advertised without, and through a language painted in fits of color, in every breed of typeface, the city advertises a tough, bright psyche.
– Paul Reyes, “Opportunity Knocks”
Zone 4 Winter Issue
Posted in Magazines with tags gardening, local foods, sustainability on 16 October, 2009 by Jenna
This just in: the Winter 2009 issue of Zone 4, a regional magazine dedicated to gardens, landscapes, local foods, and outdoor living in the Rocky Mountain states. This season’s issue includes an article on historical “Victory Gardens,” a look at Missoula’s very own MUD project, a how-to guide for raising red wiggler composting worms, and more.
