What's Your Favorite Book of the Decade?

Let's Vote!
























From now until February 18th, polls will be open for The Bookstore's Favorite Book of the Decade. You can place your vote here on the blog (see the sidebar), or you can fill out a ballot at the store.


It might take you some time to think about it. Unless you're really good about keeping book lists, you might wonder, what have I read? What did I love? It's fun to think about. Maybe you'll have time to meet with your book club yet this month to talk about it.


That's why we went through The Bookstore's computer to put together a list of our bestselling titles over the last 10 years, both paperbacks and hardcovers. We also brainstormed about some of our favorite staff picks over the last decade. Just e-mail justbook475@yahoo.com with your selection. The ballot box in the store is strictly write-in, but there is a list of ideas at the counter too.


Bookstore Bestsellers 2000-2009 (Hardcover Fiction/Paperback Fiction):

2009: Little Bee/ Olive Kitteridge

2008: The Art of Racing in the Rain / The Shack

2007: 1,000 Splendid Suns/ Water for Elephants

2006: Water for Elephants/ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

2005: The Mermaid Chair/ The Kite Runner

2004: The Five People You Meet in Heaven/ Dearest Dorothy Are We There Yet?

2003: The Da Vinci Code/ The Secret Life of Bees

2002: The Secret Life of Bees/Empire Falls

2001: A Common Life (Mitford)/ The Ladies Auxilliary

2000: Friendship Cake/ The Red Tent

A Few Favorite Bookstore Staff Picks 2000-2009
Suite Francaise, Peace Like a River, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, History of Love, The Known World, The Time Traveler's Wife, What is the What, Rope Walk, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, People of the Book, The Inheritance of Loss, Gilead, March, Middlesex, The Corrections, The Road, The Hours, Interpreter of Maladies, Unaccustomed Earth, Atonement, Echo Maker, Let the Great World Spin, (not to mention kids and teen books like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Twilight . . .)


Plenty of ideas out there, and hopefully more of your own. So vote already!

Our Wonderful Event with Melanie Benjamin

Tweeps at our Melanie Benjamin Party on Thursday, January 28th: Sue Kowalski (@suejustbooks), Melanie Benjamin (@melanieben) and Jen Karsbaek (@devourerofbooks). Like the mom in most family photo albums, I'm not in the photo (Margie White, @justbooks).


It was a great night at The Bookstore. We had a great turnout, we had plenty of food and wine, we ordered enough books (whew!) and we squeezed tons of people in our little store without the Fire Chief finding out.

Melanie did a fabulous job chatting about the background to her book, Alice I Have Been. You can tell she loved the research she did on Lewis Caroll, because she's a fountain of really juicy information. She's also a great public speaker, with a nice theatrical presence. When she read a passage from her book, you get the feeling she could actually play Alice on stage.

Customers have been calling and stopping by to thank us for a wonderful evening. But I don't feel like The Bookstore deserves any thanks at all. It's authors like Melanie who deserve all the thanks. They're the ones who have the imagination and the talent and the artistry to put their stories on the page. They're the ones who make the sacrifices to do what they love; they rarely get rich and make a pittance on each book. They schlepp around the country on book tours because that's what it takes to generate sales, when all they really want to do is sit down, be still, and tell us another story.

So here's to Melanie and all the writers out there. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. You guys keep writing, and we'll keep selling.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin: Wondering about Wonderland

What fun it is to be selling this book!


First of all, Melanie Benjamin is a local author and friend of The Bookstore. She's gotten some great press over the last couple of weeks, so a lot of people come in already planning to buy the book. Then there are those who see our fun Alice In Wonderland window display and come inside to ask about it. And finally (these are my favorites) there those who just saunter in to browse. Next thing you know, we've handsold the book and they've signed up for our book signing party! (Details below.)

In our chat-ups with our customers, we love sharing the story behind this book. Melanie Benjamin says she was inspired to write Alice I Have Been when she went to an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. (This is when our customers smile. Isn't a train ride down to the Art Institute just the best way to spend a day?) Anyway, several years ago there was a photo exhibit that featured the photos of Lewis Carroll. Melanie saw a photograph of Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Melanie says that the photograph haunted her and made her uncomfortable. It sparked her imagination and made her wonder about Wonderland.


I used to wonder about Wonderland myself. As a child, I'd found it unsettling, a little creepy. Alice was always shrinking and growing and getting into these nightmarish situations. Kind of like Kafka for kids. (But of course, I was a pretty wimpy kid. I was also freaked out by the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz.)


As an adult, however, I read Alice in Wonderland and I see Alice, not the craziness that surrounds her. I see a curious, independent young girl who defies stereotypes, exercises her powers of reason, and speaks her mind. She learns how to adapt to her surroundings and seeks to establish order out of the chaos. And to think that Lewis Carroll created such a strong female character nearly 150 years ago - in the middle of the Victorian era. It gets curious and curiouser!


So who was the real Alice and what exactly was her relationship to Charles Dodgson, the real Lewis Carroll? We'll never know, but we do know there was mystery and scandal. Was the scandal the result of an overprotective Victorian society, or was their relationship inappropriate? The photo at the Art Institute (shown in the book) really makes you wonder.


Thanks to that day at the Art Institute, Melanie's curiosity and imagination were sparked. She knew it would be great raw material for a book. There was mystery, scandal, a literary icon, and a rich story begging to be told. With an innate talent for writing historical fiction and a sense of womanly wisdom, Melanie imagined Alice's story. And not only what happened when Alice was a child, but also what kind of young woman she was and how the scandal changed her life forever. As Alice becomes an older woman coping with loss and regret, we feel like we've aged and suffered with her. Melanie has created a wonderful character, just like Lewis Carroll did so long ago.


We hope you agree that Melanie and her new book deserve a party! Please join us at The Bookstore on Thursday, January 28th at 7pm for a signing and celebration. Melanie will speak about the book, and we'll toast to her success. To register, please call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail justbook475@yahoo.com. Purchase of the book or an equivalent gift certificate is required. You can stop in and pick up the book early, as long as your book has our sticker on it, you'll be welcome to join in the festivities!


Finally, we've decorated our window in honor of Melanie and Alice I Have Been. Come downtown and check out our own Alice in Wonderland, who seems to be enjoying Melanie's new book!

Remarkable Creatures, Remarkable Women

Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, has written a new novel and I'm thrilled to add it to our Staff Pick shelf at The Bookstore. It's hard to beat a book like Pearl Earring, and I don't think any of her other novels have matched it until now. Remarkable Creatures is a remarkable read.

It's a beautiful piece of historical fiction based on the life of Mary Anning, a 19th century working-class fossil hunter in southern England who discovered the world's first ichthyosaur at the age of eleven. Her discoveries are still on display at the Natural History Museum in London.

The book explores and celebrates Mary Anning's scientific curiousity, which was considered an improper pursuit for women of that era and an unacceptable challenge to religion. The book also examines the complicated, cross-cultural friendship and rivalry between Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, an unmarried upper-class woman twenty years her senior. The women shared a fascination with fossils and the search for recognition in a world that marginalized women.

Book clubs will enjoy the distinctly feminist edge. The Geological Society of London didn't permit women members, so when Elizabeth Philpot seeks to participate in one of their meetings, she is forced to sit and listen on the backstairs.

Lord Henley, who owned the cliffs in which Mary Anning discovered her first ichthyosaur, attempted to claim ownership over the specimen: "It belongs to me. Besides which, Mary Anning is a female. She is a spare part. I have to represent her, as indeed I do many Lyme residents who cannot represent themselves." (It's enough to make you want to travel in time to give him a reparative kick to the shins. Represent this.)

Chevalier tosses out plenty of issues for great book club discussions. Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot had a mutual admiration that crossed into envy. Have you ever had a moment with a dear friend that crossed over into a no-man's land of anger and jealousy? You instantly regret it but you don't know how to take your words back and retrieve what you had.

The religious issues that were stirred up by Mary Anning's scientific discoveries are still unresolved centuries later. We'd still like to be able to reconcile the bible's story of creation with our knowledge of evolution; we still wonder where God's hand ends and nature's begins.

Mary Anning's and Elizabeth Philpot's interest in fossils became more than just a hobby or a pastime. It became their vocation and their identity in a world where women weren't supposed to have either. However, they paid a price for their passion. Neither ever married and were viewed by closed-minded villagers with superstition and derision. Would you be willing to risk acceptance to pursue your passion? Do you have a secret interest that you're embarassed to embrace? What kind of childhood collections are hidden away in your closet that you can't bring yourself to throw out?

Speaking of childhood collections, I have a special connection to this book that made it particularly enchanting to me. My son had a sweet boyhood passion for dinosaurs. We took him to the Field Museum to welcome Dinosaur Sue, we played paleontonogist with coral, rocks and shells discovered on the beach, and we helped him amass an enormous collection of plastic toy dinosaurs at great cost from museum gift shops.

We were horribly permissive parents, allowing him to watch Jurassic Park as a mere toddler. Remember the scene when the velociraptor ripped off the lawyer's head as he sat in the outhouse? My son was completely unfazed. He turned to me and said very matter-of-factly: "Dino num-num." He slept in dino PJ's, he ate dino chicken nuggets, and proudly wore a brightly colored felt hat with Stegasaurus spikes. His toy dinos had nicknames like Steggie, Rexie, Cera and Compie. Ah, the wonder years.

After I read this book, I went down to the basement, dug out my son's old plastic bin of toy dinosaurs and arranged them all on the ping pong table. And then I had a really good cry over things of wonder -- like childhood curiosities, the passage of time, and evolution, both large and small.

My son even had an ichthyosaurus. Mary Anning would be proud.

Just the Bookstore's Top Ten Staff Picks for 2009

Our Top Shared Staff Picks for 2009:
























As our loyal customers know, these books have been front and center on our Staff Pick Shelf at The Bookstore ever since their release. The staff doesn't always agree, but on these four picks we do. Chances are if you've been to the store you've heard at least one of us sing the praises of these books.


To celebrate the New Year we've put together a list of our Top Ten Staff Picks for 2009, and starting in January, we'll be asking our customers to vote for their top ten as well. And then, because we're just a little wacked out on lists, we thought we'd take a customer poll on The Bookstore's Book of The Decade. Details will be in our January newsletter.

You might notice we didn't limit ourselves to just 10. Whether it's indecision or a common rebellious streak, we each have at least 11. You might also notice how much our lists overlap. Part of this is because of the way we share our favorite reads (passing from hand to hand: "You HAVE to read this!") Another reason? They're just great reads - stop in with your Christmas gift certificates and pick some up!


Margie (twitter.com/@justbooks)
1. Little Bee/Chris Cleave
2. The Gate at The Stairs/Lorrie Moore
3. Let the Great World Spin/Colum McCann
4. Homer & Langley/E. L. Doctorow
5. Wolf Hall/Hilary Mantel
6. The Anthologist/Nicholson Baker
7. A Short History of Women/Kate Walbert
8. 31 Hours/Masha Hamilton
9. Delicate Edible Birds/Lauren Groff
10. Generosity/Richard Powers
11. Manhood for Amateurs/Michael Chabon
(Can I just keep going? How can I possibly say that one book is #10 but another isn't? How can you make a finite list out of something as magical as a good read? I also loved Family Album/Penelope Lively, Home/Marilynne Robinson, Zeitoun/Dave Eggers, Last Night in Montreal/Emily St. John Mandel, Love and Obstacles/Aleksandar Hemon, Strength in What Remains/Tracy Kidder, and about 90% of what Sue's putting on her list.)

Sue (twitter.com/@suejustbooks)
1. Little Bee/Chris Cleve
2. The Gate at the Stairs/Lorrie Moore
3. Let the Great World Spin/Colum McCann
4. A Short History of Women/Kate Walbert
5. Last Night in Twisted River/John Irving
6. The Wilderness/Samantha Harvey
7. Waiting for Columbus/Thomas Trofimuk
8. 31 Hours/Masha Hamilton
9. The Song is You/Arthur Philips
10. The Believers/Zoe Heller
11. Delicate Edible Birds/Lauren Groff
Tied: The Housekeeper and the Professor/Yoko Agawa

Jenny (despite our efforts, Jenny's a Twitter hold-out)
1. Little Bee/Chris Cleave
2. Labor Day/Joyce Maynard
3. Under the Dome/Stephen King
4. The Crying Tree/Naseem Rakha
5. 31 Hours/Masha Hamilton
6. The Gate at the Stairs/Lorrie Moore
7. Delicate Edible Birds/Lauren Groff
8. Under This Unbroken Sky/Shandi Mitchell
9. Strength in What Remains/Tracy Kidder
10. That Old Cape Magic/Richard Russo
11. Say You're One of Them/Ukem Akpan



And to all you naysayers who don't like lists, or who can't believe what idiots we are to have missed your favorite book (fill in the blank), please leave a comment. And stay tuned for the poll results in January, when our customers will get the last word. As they always do!

Gift Idea for Dad: When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird & Magic Johnson

If the dad, your husband, or man in your life loves old-school basketball before the days of Michael, Shaq and Kobe, then this is a great gift idea.


Larry Bird and Magic Johnson tell the story of three decades of basketball rivalry that started with the 1979 NCAA Championship game in Salt Lake City, Utah, still the most watched college basketball game in television history. Chances are your dad not only remembers that game , but knows where he was and what the final score was. (75-64, Michigan State).

Stop by The Bookstore and pick up a copy for Dad. ($26.00 hardcover.) We'll even wrap it for you. Call ahead (630) 469-2891 or e-mail justbook475@yahoo.com and we can have it waiting for you!

Ladies Night Out 2009: "Best Appetizers in Town!"

Women in big hats and snow boots braved the snow and slush for a fun and successful Downtown Ladies Night 2009.

Sue once again showcased her wine pouring skills at "the bar" between Nature and Sports. (Some of that delicious Trader Joe's Olive Bread is right in front of her, yum.)

20 stores and about 250 women participated in this year's event, which was twice as big as last year's. From what we could tell, everyone was in great spirits and sales were great.

I don't mean to brag (oh, yes I do) but one of our customers remarked that The Bookstore had the "best spread in town," pointing to the appetizers on the front table.

Sue, Jenny and I made samples from some of our favorite cookbooks, including Trader Joe's Companion and Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics. Customers received a 20% discount on any of the featured cookbooks. The new Trader Joe's cookbook sold especially well -- it's pocket sized so it can fit in a purse or a Christmas stocking!

Thanks everyone for stopping in and sharing the holiday cheer. It was fun meeting new people from nearby towns -- lots of new friends and customers.

Holiday Gift Recommendation: "Women Who Read Are Dangerous" by Stefan Bollman

Women Who Read Are Dangerous by Stefan Bollman ($24.95) is a gorgeous book that would make a perfect gift for the female booklover in your life.


It's filled with a fabulous collection of paintings, drawings, prints and photographs of women reading, including such artists as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, Whistler and Hopper. The painting on the cover, Dreams by Vittorio Matteo Corcos (1896) shows a young woman reader who appears slightly inspired and defiant. You can't help but wonder what she just read.


The pictures alone are enough, but there is interesting commentary by Stefan Bollman, who is an author of several books on literature, including Women Who Write (Merrell 2007). It traces the history of reading, and notes that private, silent reading is a relatively modern phenomenon.


Women who read were regarded as dangerous, it claims, because they began to acquire privacy and independence of mind. As Bollman states, "the woman who reads acquires a space to which she and no one else has access, and together with this she develops an independent sense of self-esteem; . . . she creates her own view of the world that does not necessarily correspond with that conveyed by tradition, or with that of men."


Here's to space, independence, and a little "dangerous" rebellion!


To have us hold a copy for you (with free gift wrapping!), just call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com.

Celebrity Reader in the Window: Glen Ellyn Holiday Walk Photos with Charlene Baumbich

Here are some fun photos from the night of the Glen Ellyn Holiday Walk. Local author Charlene Baumbich had a wonderful time reading in the window and surprising passerby! All of our customers are invited to sign up for an hour of Holiday Reader in the Window too! It includes hot chocolate and a $5 gift certificate to The Bookstore! Call (630) 469-2891 to sign up now!

Photo credits: Charlene Baumbich

Local Author's Latest Book, Stray Affections, Is Featured in Bookstore Window

Loyal Bookstore customers know about our annual "Holiday Reader in the Window" program. Customers and friends of The Bookstore sign up for an hour to read in the rocking chair in our window during the holiday season. They get to sit and relax, while they watch all of Glen Ellyn hustling by. Plus, you earn a $5 gift certificate! Children are welcome and encouraged. To sign up, just call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com.

This year, The Bookstore's Holiday Window features local author Charlene Baumbich and her new Snowglobe Series. The first book in the series, Stray Affections, is available now. It is a Midwest Bookseller's Association Pick, and would make a wonderful holiday gift (for you or someone on your list!) Charlene will be making a special appearance as our Celebrity Holiday Reader in the Window on Friday, November 27th during the Holiday Walk.



The Chamber of Commerce hosts a Village Holiday Window Decorating Contest every year, and this year's theme is "Glen Ellyn Glitters." Jane suggested we feature Charlene's book in the window display, and I voluteered to try to paint the snowglobe scene featured on its cover, complete with three different colors of glitter. (Gold at the base, silver around the edges of the globe, and snow-colored glitter at their feet.)

Working with all that glitter reminded me of all the messy art projects I used to make with my daughter when she was little. Now I also remember how hard it is to clean up glitter from hardwood floors and carpeting. (Sorry, Jane, for the trail of glitter from the back room into the Young Adult section of The Bookstore, but secretly? I kind of enjoy it. What the heck, it's the holidays.)

Jenny did a great job gathering all the snowglobes, glittery fabrics and sparkly ornaments to complete the window display. (More than one customer has inquired whether the snowglobes are for sale! -- sorry but no.) We're really proud of our little window, but we don't have high hopes for the contest. We were pretty proud of our little Polar Express train last year, with it's real headlight and glow-in-the-dark windows, but the judges didn't give us a single ribbon. So Jenny kept saying: "We're not trying to win the contest, right? We're just doing this because we're nutty bookstore people!" You've got that right, Jenny!

So please stop by The Bookstore and do your best to shop local for the holidays. Love your local bookstore, support Glen Ellyn merchants and celebrate our local authors.

Thinking of Thanksgiving? Check Out One of the Best Family Dinner Scenes in Literature

In the spirit of the approaching holidays, Julia Keller of The Chicago Tribune Books section recently asked readers to send a letter recommending a good family novel. I couldn't resist, and sent the following:

I've got to nominate To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (1927) to the list of the best family novels of all time.

At this time of year, when families are gathering for Thanksgiving dinners, you can't find a better family dinner party scene than the one that lasted 20 pages in To The Lighthouse. Family and friends gather for a formal dinner of Beouf en Daube at a seaside retreat in pre-WWI England.

At first the guests are all pretty crabby and seem to be one word away from a family feud: the husband is frowning in a heap at the end of the table; one of the male guests refuses "to be condescended to by these silly women;" the hostess notices how shabby the room looks, and wonders how she'd ever felt any emotion or affection for her husband. This dinner party is about to become a train wreck.

The hostess knows that if she doesn't do something to coalesce the group and shepherd them into a kinder, gentler conversation, no one will. ("They all sat separate. And the whole of the effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her.") Through the magic, intuition and sheer maternal willpower of the hostess, the candles are lit, the beouf is served, and the guests all come together in mutual admiration and goodwill.

To which I say: thank you moms and hostesses everywhere.

By the way, I have a great recipe for cranberry sauce. The secret ingredient is the jalapeno pepper.

Margie's Cranberry/Pineapple/Jalapeno Sauce

One 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

(Heat for 10 minutes or until they burst)

2 packed cups coarsely chopped pineapple

1/4 cup sugar

1 scallion coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 to 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pulse in food processor until coarsely chopped. Place in serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes but no more than 2 hours. Serve chilled.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Locally Born Author Mary Doria Russell Rocks the House

I love books and the people who write them. But I don't know if I've ever had as big of an author crush as this. Let me just say: Mary Doria Russell rocks.

Looks are deceiving. She came in the room and looked like a quiet, introverted author: a petite, gray-haired woman holding a cup of tea. But then she opened her mouth, and you see she's a real pistol with a wicked sense of humor, a dazzling imagination and great stage presence. She admits she's been a ham since high school.

She's the author of four bestselling books, soon to be five. She grew up in neighboring Lombard, Illinois, and was invited back to inaugurate the Mary Doria Russell Chapter of the National English Honor Society at Glenbard East High School. She also spoke and signed books at the Helen Plum Library in Lombard.

She had us at "hello." She greeted the crowd by saying: "Hi, my name is Mary and I'm a book junkie." The crowd picked up her cue and answered her back, as if we were all at an AA meeting: "Hello, Mary!" Later, we joked that our crowd's familiarity with that greeting was revealing. Mary said with a wink, "well, we all know it from TV, right?"

She chronicled her addiction to books in the language of a true junkie. Dr. Suess was her gateway drug; Nancy Drew her tobacco ("made me look older and smarter"), Zane Grey her cocaine. Teachers and librarians were her dealers. Nothing got her more excited as a young reader than a nice, long "Also by" list at the front of a book. That's how she knew she wouldn't have to worry about where to get her next fix.

Speaking of fixes, fans of Mary's fiction are due for another one in 2010 with the release of her newest book, Eight to Five, Against, a western murder mystery set in Dodge City, Kansas featuring Doc Holliday. Mary says it's about "vice, bigotry, violence and living with a terminal disease," and claims that Doc will break your heart. Can't wait to read it -- we'll let you know when it comes out, and hopefully we'll get Mary back to celebrate.

Fun and interesting scoop on her other books: Brad Pitt wants to make a movie about The Sparrow, the story about the baby on the bomb in Thread of Grace was completely true, and she got the idea for Dreamers of the Day by seeing a documentary on the History Channel. By the way, when Brad Pitt called to meet with her about making The Sparrow, she turned him down in favor of a much needed and long-planned vacation. Although they plan to reschedule, she loves to claim that she blew off Brad Pitt. You go girl.

We have a few extra signed copies of her books left to sell at The Bookstore. Call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com if you'd like us to hold one for you. For more information on Mary Doria Russell and her books, go to her website.

What Makes the Great Lakes Great

What makes the Great Lakes great?

This collection of essays by Great Lakes area booksellers and librarians answers that question in a myriad of ways, but it all comes down to the people who willingly, even joyfully embrace harsh winters and bug-filled summers, who have an uninhibited jones for Indiana basketball, or who admire a sprawling Illinois cornfield, a squeeky Wisconsin cheese curd, or a dive bar on the south side of Chicago.


I hope you come in and pick up this wonderful little book. First of all,the cover is gorgeous. That's reason alone.


Secondly, it's only $10.95, and a portion of the proceeds go to The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, (ABFFE) a not-for-profit organization that promotes, among other things, Banned Book Week. It is currently lobbying Congress in support of a bill that would better protect bookstore customer privacy. Wouldn't it be creepy if your favorite bookstore was served with a subpoena and we had to produce the titles of all of the books you've purchased? So the money goes to a great cause.


A lot of really nice book industry people (isn't that redundant?) donated their time and resources to make this book possible, which is even more impressive in these tough times for book publishing, so let's make it worth their while. Check out the Great Lakes Reader website for excerpts and the story behind the book.


Another reason you should buy this book is because yours truly (that's me, Margie) has an essay in the book about Wisconsin. When the call came out for booksellers to write an essay about their home state, I put together some of my thoughts and memories about growing up on Lake Winnebago, and sent it in. It's my authorial debut, unless you count the briefs I've written as a litigator, the cringe-worthy journals I kept in college, and all the love notes I used to sneak into my kids' lunch boxes.


But it's not all about me. There are other really wonderful stories in this book by other booksellers and librarians. The other author writing about Wisconsin (Kirk Farber, a librarian from Colorado) cracked me up by reminding me of the Mars Cheese Castle on I-94, or Hayward's enormous fiberglass musky sculpture -- Wisconsin's shrines to cheese and fish. Others write about Indiana dunes and knobs, Chicago's lakefront, Michigan's "U.P.," and Ohio's small towns. There are stories of Great Lakes women, "as steadfast as a barn beam," who snow-shoe to work with their dogs, detassle corn and grow up loving to read.


There's a wonderful theme running through many of these essays, and it's no wonder, because the writers are all in love with books. There are stories about a young girl who used to read Nancy Drew on family boat rides in Wisconsin (yes, that's me), a just-starting-out Cleveland bookseller whose savvy manager gave him a weekly must-read list, and a Michigan teen who discovered Kurt Vonnegut and Jack Kerouac (and himself) on the shelves of his local independent bookstore. If you like books, you'll like these stories.


One more final reason to buy this book: I talked Jane into buying a bunch of copies for our store, and I don't want her mad at me. So please come in and buy one or two. Heck, we'd really love it if you'd buy one for each of your Great Lakes friends and family members. And if the lobbying efforts of ABFFE are successful, we won't have to tell Homeland Security about it!

And because it doesn't make sense to walk into your favorite independent bookstore and walk out with just one book, I also recommend the books pictured below, for a Great Lakes trifecta!

State by State, A Panoramic Potrait of America ($16.99 paperback),












The Booklover's Guide to the Midwest, A Literary Tour by Greg Holden ($14.95 paperback)

Bookstore Breakfast for Breast Cancer with Meg Waite Clayton

In the photo, from left to right are; Sue, Meg Waite Clayton, Jane, Elizabeth Lewis and Margie.

The Bookstore turned pink for its Breakfast For Breast Cancer on Thursday, October 22, 2009. The event was a benefit for customer Elizabeth Lewis' Avon 2-Day Walk Team, The Wednesday Sisters. Elizabeth named her team after her favorite book by Meg Waite Clayton.

Meg donated copies of her first novel, The Language of Light, with 100% of the proceeds going toward the team. The Bookstore donated a portion of all purchases made during the event, as well as 100% of the proceeds of a raffle for pink gift baskets full of books. HealthTrack massage therapist Julie Barbee was on hand to offer free chair massages for a donation to the team.

Meg signed books, read a passage from The Wednesday Sisters, and told a wonderful story about her own mother, a breast cancer survivor whose life may have been saved by early detection.

Meg shared some details about her newest manuscript and I'm already excited. It's about four friends who meet at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979 (Meg and Elizabeth's alma mater). She drew a lot of comparisons between her new book and The Wednesday Sisters. Can't wait until it's ready for our shelves!

Local Author Book Fair at The Bookstore on Saturday October 17, 2009

The Bookstore was proud to hold a Local Author Book Fair on Saturday, October 17, 2009. Local authors gathered to sign books, meet customers and network with other authors.


Local authors included Shawna Coronado, a nationally recognized green lifestyle expert, consultant, blogger, public speaker and author of Gardening in the Nude. For more information, go to http://www.gardeningnude.com/, or follow her on Twitter as @shawnacoronado.



Also on hand to inspire the newer authors was Charlene Baumbich (in photo on the right), author of the Dearest Dorothy series, and most recently, Stray Affections, a Midwest Bookseller's Association 2009 Pick. In fact, keep your eyes open for your MBA Catalog coming in the mail soon, Charlene's book is on the cover! (congrats, Charlene!) Charlene is on Twitter as @TwinkleChar and has a delightful blog that can be found at http://www.travelinglaughs.com/

We were also pleased to welcome Naazish YarKhan (photo above, left), President of The Writers Studio and a professional writer with over 15 years of writing experience. Her commentaries have appeared on NPR and Chicago Public Radio. Naazish has recently completed her first novel, and we wish her well as she seeks representation. For more information on Naazish, go to http://www/.writerstudioworkshops.com/ or follow her on Twitter as @naazishyarkhan.

Other local authors included John O'Donnell, an English teacher at Benet Academy and author of a book about Chicago baseball, Like Night and Day: A Look at Chicago Baseball 1964-1969;

Cheryl Price, author of The Golden Aspen, a paperback children's book;

Peter Charles, author of Secret Chambers,

and Philip Kledzik, author of An Issue of the Heart and Painted Rooms.


Other local authors interested in our next Local Author Book Fair may contact us at justbook475@yahoo.com, and we will add you to the list for the next event on June 19, 2010.

Parent-Child Book Clubs: Izzy's Book Club of Glen Ellyn

Girls Who Read: The Izzy Book Club

One of our favorite things at The Bookstore is when we get to hear from our younger readers, especially those in Parent-Child book clubs.

This month we are recognizing "The Izzy Book Club," a group of 7th grade girls from St. Petronille who have been in a Mother-Daughter book club together for over two years. The group includes Claire Graham, Patty Hupp, Sara Knapp, Sophia Minning, Lisa Mordell, Mary Nevins and Julia Sakach. They agreed to answer my questions about their book club.

Q: How long do you think your book club will last? Do you think you'll continue into high school?

A: We think it will last for at least two more years. Some of us want it to go through high school, but others think they will be too busy.

Q: What were some of your favorite books?

A: Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages, Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson and Cornelius and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Bloom.

Q: Any least favorites?

A: Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle and Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath.

Q: Do the moms read the books too? Do they usually agree with the girls or not?

A: The moms read the books with us, and most of the time we are split. When we read Scarlett, the moms disagreed because they had more life experiences and thought it had different meaning than the girls did.

Q: What do you do when you disagree about a book?

A: When we disagree we have to respect each other's opinions. It isn't uncomfortable to disagree because there is always at least one other person who is on your side.

Q: Do you like classics or new fiction better?

A: We love new fiction!!!!!!

Q: Have you had any fun field trips?

A: Twice we went to Chicago to see plays based on the books: Hannah's Suitcase and Esparanza Rising.

Q: Are you ever nervous when it's your turn to pick out the book? Who do you turn to for advice?

A: We are never nervous and we turn to adults for advice.

Q: Tell me about your most fun book club meeting.

A: Our most fun gatherings were Everything on a Waffle because we had a ton of good food, and Green Glass Sea because we got to decipher codes and gor rocks with Greek phrases written on them.

Q: Do you think you are better readers because of your book club?

A: Yes, it has made us better readers. It has encouraged us to read books that we normally would not touch.

Q: What has your book club (and the books you've read in it) taught you about life?

A: It has taught us that others have different opinions about books and different subjects, just like life. We all have different feelings about real life stuff. Some people think dying is sad and scary. Others think that it is happy because soon they will go to heaven. So you can disagree but you should respect others, just like in real life. We have learned so much about past history, such as the Holocaust, World War II, segregation and the yellow fever. It has made us appreciate the world we live in and makes us proud to live in the United States.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, IZZY BOOK CLUB!

* * * * *

If any of you are thinking about starting a Parent-Child Book Club of your own, these books might be a great place to start. We also keep a list of the books selected by local Parent-Child Book Clubs, just like we do for the adult book clubs, and are happy to share them with our customers. Although Mother-Daughter Book Clubs are more prevalent, we are happy to be seeing some pretty cool Father-Son book clubs in the area as well.



If you would like to share stories and photos of your Parent-Child book club, please e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com, and we'll get it posted. We especially love hearing from the kids in their own words.

On Pingo, Parents and Imaginary Friends

As some of our customers already know, I'm obsessed with Pingo, a beautifully illustrated new picture book by Brandon Mull.

It's about a young boy who outgrows his imaginary friend. Pingo resents the rejection, so he becomes Chad's imaginary enemy, acting like an obnoxious little brother who spies on Chad's dates and hides important papers as Chad grows up. (And I used to blame "Gremlins" for that!)

When Chad is an old man, he welcomes Pingo back as his imaginary friend. The pair have wonderful adventures together, and "live happily ever after." You really have to see the last couple of pages for yourself. They choked me up.

Now I can't stop thinking about my own dad. I'm hoping he finds a friend like Pingo.

Last spring, we moved my dad into the Wisconsin Veteran's Home. After several years of dealing with his slowly creeping Alzheimer's and a puzzling, unmanageable dizziness, my family agreed that he needed more nursing care than he could get at home. He was a little reluctant, but yet not strongly opposed. "I guess it's time," is all he said. It's amazing how a few words can sum up an entire lifetime.

It helps that the Veteran's Home in King is a proud place that honors our veterans with stellar health care, cheerfully persistent nurses, and a dream location on the shores one of Wisconsin's most beautiful chain of lakes. They have a bowling alley, a bar, a theater, a library, a pottery studio and more. Local volunteers bring their dogs in for regular visits. There's a local waterski show down at the lake every Saturday in the summer. (And what's so bad about government health care?) My extended step-family visits him daily, with dogs and grand-toddlers in tow. Dad reports the food is fantastic and with the confused innocence of Alzhiemers, he calls it his "home."

But still.

His eyes often convey a clear blue emptiness. He's always been a quiet man, but now it feels like his quiet moments are really just moments of loss and confusion. He knows who we are, but it's hard to keep track of things. We return from pontoon boat rides, and he admits that he has no idea where he is. He looks up at the lake house in which he lived for 8 years without any recognition at all.

I know we're not unique. There are thousands, millions maybe, who suffer through much worse with much less support. We're lucky. But still, when it happens to your own dad, it's hard. You have guilt that you weren't one of those daughters who could be happy without leaving home. You wish you could do more and you're grateful for those who do. But most of all, you hope that some kind of happiness remains in your dad's last months or years.

What you really wish is that your dad could have a friend like Pingo.

If my dad had a Pingo, his quiet, seemingly lost moments would be filled with fantasy and flight. He and his Pingo would go musky fishing at a "hot spot" in Eagle River or duck hunting on the shores of Lake Winnebago. They'd play army, jail, "Boohla-Boohla" and lots of the other crazy little made-up games. They'd have bikes and shiny nickels and eat entire bags of store-bought vanilla sandwich cookies. They'd bomb around in a yellow Army jeep, go on a safari, and eat bologna sandwiches on Wonder bread with a zig-zag of French's mustard. Dogs would tag along wherever they went -- frolicky but obedient labs and spaniels with names like Lonnie, Hodi, Pal and Ginger Sue. They'd laugh at each other's clean, but not-that-funny jokes (I hope this rain keeps up! Then it can't come down!) There'd be no cancer or Alzheimer's or heavy meds, just sprained wrists, growing pains and St. Joseph's Aspirin for Children.

That's what I wish for my dad. And what do I wish for myself? . . . I really wish I could be his Pingo.

To have us hold a copy of Pingo ($17.95) for you, pleae call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com. For more information, go to http://www.justthebookstore.com/ and search under the title "Pingo."

Part II of My Interview with Masha Hamilton, Author of "31 Hours"

Here is Part II of my recent interview with Masha Hamilton, author of 31 Hours, our featured staff pick this month.

We are hoping Glen Ellyn falls for this book in the way we all fell for Little Bee earlier this year. It's just fun to be buzzing about the same book all over town, and I can assure you, the end of this book will make you want to come in the store to talk to us about it!



MARGIE: What did your experience as a Middle East reporter bring to your portrayal of the young man Jonas? Did it make it easier or more difficult to draw a portrait of a home-grown terrorist? After all, Jonas was just the boy-next-door. What was in your thoughts as you wrote about Jonas?



MASHA: I was in my 20s and reporting from the Middle East when I first began to think hard about young men carrying out acts of violence, and about the families of those men. You've heard the saying "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." That concept reflects part of what I was thinking about at the time, and what I was trying to report about: different ways to consider the same set of facts, each way "true" on its own terms. I thought about how these men were once someone's little kid, with all those precious little kid moments. I understood that somehow their motivation made perfect sense to them, and I wondered about the roots of that motivation. Poverty and rage are easy to cite, but it isn't always so simple to trace the reasons someone grows to embrace violence to the point of self-extinguishing. As I became a mother and my kids grew, I heard stories about kids killing themselves via drug abuse, which doesn't have the idea of a "greater purpose" that Jonas is pursuing. It's simply confusion, and vulnerabiity, and fear. I thought a lot about those kids, the insecurity of those years that many of us pass through as we all struggle to figure out who we are. I thought about young adults dedicating themselves, in an obsessive and subsuming way, to a "cause" - which is, in a way, an escape from confronting adult life. Despite the fact that he is very smart, Jonas is also very insecure. As an adult, of course, he'll have more confidence. But he has to get there first.



MARGIE: I'd love to hear your thoughts behind the title (why 31?) as well as the caption at the top of each chapter, which listed the time in New York as well as Mecca.



MASHA: Thirty-one hours was what I always understood, intuitively, was the framework for the story. There was no reason at first beyond my guy, but later I added things like the number of days between menstrual cycles, the 31st verse in the Bible, the 31st name of Allah. The caption at the top of each chapter is to link these two great cities, each with their own separate, loud and demanding Gods, and to subtly demonstrate how small and braided our world has become.

MARGIE: Your love for New York just radiates off the page. It makes me want to take a NYC-31 Hours subway tour, following the paths of your characters. Any chance we could get a subway map to use as a guide as we read the book? How about a link to donate to Sonny Hirt's homeless shelter? (Oh, there I go again, confusing fiction and reality - he felt so real.)

MASHA: Here's a link to the subway map, for a few locations mentioned in the Sonny chapters: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

MARGIE: What books are on your nightstand?

MASHA: Oh dear, you sent me up to take a look. A Rumi poetry book, John Wray's Lowboy, PEN America's latest journal, various magazines, Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam (loved it, re-reading parts), The Boat by Nam Le, Complete Poems of James Wright, 92nd Street Y Fall Catalog of events, Make the Most of Your Time On Earth: A Rough Guide to the World; Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas, and for research for the next novel, I'm reading Farewell, God Speed: The Greatest Eulogies of our Time, and Methland by Nick Reding.



MARGIE: What book would you put on The President's nightstand if you could sneak through secret service?



MASHA: Only one, huh? Maybe An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan, written by Jason Elliot and published in 1999. One of the first books I read when I was interested in Afghanistan. It's a very male book, but it humanizes the people, and draws you in the way the country itself does. Right now, the more our administration learns about Afghanistan's complexities and contradictions, the better. (And I suppose I wouldn't be allowed to slip 31 Hours right underneath it?)



MARGIE: Has the resumption of the war in Afghanistan affected your Afghan women's project? Are you able to travel there safely?



MASHA: When I was last in Afghanistan, in November of last year, I was not able to travel as I had on the previous visit. The Taliban held the south of the country and maintained a ring around Kabul. Kidnapping has been a major threat - both by Taliban militants and by basic criminals The women who write for the Afghan Women's Writing Project face a host of challenges. For example, in the days leading up to the election, those in Kabul were fearful about leaving their homes because of rumors of planned suicide bombings. Even on the best days, women largely do not go to an Internet cafe except in the company of a male relative, and even then it is an uncomfortable experience. Some of the women keep secret from their families their participation in the program. We may lose one of our writers because she may be married off against her will. It is because of the current tightening of conditions for women there, in fact, that I wanted to get the project underway this last spring - not a moment too soon.



Again, Margie, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I appreciate these really great questions, and your support of this novel. Warmly, Masha



http://www.mashahamilton.com/
31 Hours Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAYogDeD3ik

A Fond Farewell to Our Beowulf on the Beach Summer Reading Challenge

We're still smiling after our fun Beowulf on the Beach Bash on August 27th, The Bookstore's end-of-the-summer celebration for our Summer Classic Reading Challenge. So many of our customers said, "Can we do this again next summer?" Sounds good to me!


Customers mingled with glasses full of Anna Karenitinis (a delicious sour apple martini) or Beowulf on the Seabreeze (fresh & fruity), talking about their summer reads with our new BFF author Jack Murnighan. He was as entertaining in person as he is on the page, and had the whole audience entranced as he read his favorite line from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Everyone enjoyed his forgiving approach to the classics, joking, "of course it's hard to concentrate on some of this stuff --they were written before cable TV!"



The best news of all, besides all the fun we had with our customers, is that the Challenge was a huge success for The Bookstore. We sold about 100 copies of Beowulf on the Beach, along with
dozens and dozens of classics to go with it. Yes, the whole staff was very psyched about it and we chatted it up a lot at the store, but we have to thank Jack Murnighan for putting out such a fun book in the first place. Authors like that (and covers like that!) make selling easy. Also, thanks to Michael Kindness at one of our favorite book blogs, http://www.booksonthenightstand.com/, for introducing us to this challenge and for noticing our efforts. We'd also like to thank our loyal customer Sandy Stevens, a local reporter and avid reader, for her excitement and help in spreading the word.



As for me, I'm glad I tackled the challenge of reading Moby Dick. If it hadn't been for Murnighan's book, I might not have been able to see through to the humor in what I used to think was a dark, gloomy classic. I also had the chance to go deep sea fishing down in Islamorada (with my book in tow), and shared a fun moment with the Captain talking about his experience with sperm whales in the Gulf Stream. He caught a glimpse of my soggy paperback and said knowingly: " Great book!"

So yes, let's do this again! We only wish Jack Murnighan's next book would be ready in time for next summer's challenge.

The Great Lobster Mystery at The Bookstore

Some of you might have already heard about the mystery at The Bookstore. It started when Jenny decorated the window with our Julie & Julia theme. We started to notice that every morning, the table in the window was in disarray, and the plastic lobster had somehow gotten out of the lobster pot. Was it a burglar? A prank? A ghost?

So we set up a security camera in hopes of solving the mystery. Look what we found!

We hope you'll stop in The Bookstore to visit our resourceful little lobster (he's back in the pot in the window, signing autographs) and share a few laughs over Sue and Margie's questionable film debut! Don't forget to pick up your copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julie & Julia or My Life in France.

And many thanks to McGowan's Seafood for loaning us their surprisingly resourceful lobster!