Come For Coffee, Talk About Freedom!

The media has readers all in a frenzy about Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom. First, Franzen's on the cover of Time Magazine, next, Barack Obama receives an advance copy from a bookshop in Martha's Vineyard and makes the nightly news, then the New York Times actually calls it a masterpiece. And this is all before the book even goes on sale on Tuesday, August 31st.

What's a regular reader to think? Is Freedom really worth it? How can it possibly live up to this hype? Our customers want to know.

Sue and I have the scoop. We too snagged an advance copy (our own little Barack Obama book club -- too bad he didn't even know it) and we're here to tell you that Freedom does indeed live up to the hype. We loved it.

If you loved The Corrections (and we did) you'll love Freedom. It's the same kind of astute, penetrating family drama, but this time he's analyzing the Berglunds, a suburban family of the 90's who drive Volvos, shop at Whole Foods, get milk delivered in glass bottles and preserve historical homes. You'd swear he was writing about Glen Ellyn.

Sue and I can't stop talking about it. Our only debate is how much we loved it - is it our favorite novel of the year? -- maybe. Was it perfect? -- no. We both agreed there was a chapter or two that didn't work for us, such as a weird Haliburton-type scheme in the later part of the book ("Bad News"). As smartly written as it is, I feel as though it lacks a certain soulfulness that I look for in my perfect book, whatever that might be.


But as Sue said: "this one belongs in a class all by itself - I just can't compare it to anything. . . . The writing absolutely blew me away." As for me, I loved the psychological depth and complexity of the characters, and Franzen's brilliant, almost superpower of observation. And the writing: you savor the words, you're addicted to the narrative. When you're done, you wish you hadn't started it yet. You'll want to call Patty Berglund on the phone and have a nice long talk: "How's Walter?" you'll want to say, "and the kids?" It's just that good.


So yes, we're definitely recommending this book, and we invite you to stop in to buy it and come back to talk about it. The Bookstore is going to have free coffee available this Friday, September 3rd, from 10am until noon. Stop by as you're spinning around downtown and we'll have some "coffee talk" -- whether it's about Franzen's buzzworthy Freedom or any of the other great fall books we're recommending.

Hope to see you soon!
Sue, Margie and all the folks at The Bookstore

Good Times at 50th Anniversary Bash

Thanks to everyone who turned out for our 50th Anniversary Party on Thursday, August 19th. We had a big crowd, lots of fun and plenty of cupcakes. The crowd broke into a spontaneous "Happy Birthday to The Bookstore" that gave most of the staff the goosebumps. It was just that cool. Kind of like when the crowd in Elf sings a Christmas carol to help Santa fly.









And if anyone is worried The Bookstore won't be around for another 50 years, you can stop worrying right now. Here is the winner of the "Most Voracious Reader" prize for The Bookstore's 50th Anniversary Readathon held in June: she's a Glen Ellyn third grader who not only read 26 hours on her own, but also led her Readathon Team to a total of 364.5 hours in just one weekend. Something tells me with young customers like her, The Bookstore will be in good standing for decades to come.


Thanks, Glen Ellyn readers, for your support and for your belief in the benefit of a local independent bookstore.




Happy 5oth.

Kids Author Event With Janis Simms

On Saturday, August 21st, author Janis Simms joined us at The Bookstore for a storytime based on her book, Grandma's Basket. Youngsters ages 3 to 7 enjoyed the storytime about a grandma trying to fill a basket full of vegetables. Healthy apple and carrot snacks were included, along with coloring pages from the book. The author has a new children's picture book coming out in October about friendly (not scary) spiders, so stay tuned!

Highly Recommended: American Music

My first question to my colleague Sue upon her return from a vacation is always the same: "What did you read?" This summer, she came back absolutely enthralled with American Music by Jane Mendelsohn. She handed me her copy like it was a present, and I started it that night.

The writing in this book is so good, so lyrical and so lovely that you can't rush through for the sake of the story. If I hadn't been borrowing Sue's copy, I would have been highlighting every other page. (I do that when I'm taken with a good line -- and then call the book "highlighter worthy.") This is one of the most highlighter worthy books I've read this year.

The story is about an injured Iraq War soldier with deep psychological wounds. He is a patient in a veteran's hospital, where he meets a massage therapist whose hands are like magic. Whenever she touches him, mysterious stories are revealed to both of them as if they're having the same dream. Stories about other lovers in other times, including a story set in the jazz age, where music, time and history blend together in the middle of a swing dance. The book goes back and forth from the developing relationship between the soldier and his therapist, and the stories that unite them. The reader shares their curiosity: what do these stories mean? What do they have to do with the soldier? Maybe the stories will lead to his cure, or lead the the soldier and therapist into love. It's a compelling mystery.

The story is good, but it's the writing that totally got me. When Mendelsohn says, "For a soldier's body is a work of art that contains his country's history," I felt as if all of the honor in the Gettysburg Address has been distilled into one simple sentence. When the therapist says to the soldier: "Your body is like a haunted house . . . . And it seems as though I live there," I could feel their connection down to my bones.

I can't wait to start hearing customer feedback from this book. I expect it will earn a highly devoted following. If you stop in The Bookstore on a Friday when Sue and I are there together, you'll be sure to hear us chatting it up some more. We hope you won't leave The Bookstore without it!

Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On Book Launch Party on September 9th at 7pm

"No worries." It's the new catch phrase.

As if.

Everybody worries. It doesn't mean you need a shrink. But every once in awhile, when the stress level gets a bit too high, you might wish you had a little coach sitting on your shoulder to give you some tips on how to calm yourself down.

We're really excited to be hosting a book launch party for former Glen Ellynite Mark Reinecke. He's a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University and an expert on anxiety. He's managed to put all of his expertise into a cute, handy little guidebook for everyday life. Who doesn't need a little extra help to keep calm in these stress-filled times?

The book launch party will include various treats and pleasures to help you "keep calm and carry on." Enjoy an evening with wine, chocolate and calming treats from Namaste, a neighborly downtown Glen Ellyn salon. Mark will give a brief talk about his book and will then sign and personalize your books.

The book is small, handy and inexpensive ($14.95). It would make a great holiday gift for your slightly stressed friends and family. Please RSVP to the party and place your pre-orders for the book by calling (630) 469-2891 or e-mailing justbook475@yahoo.com.

The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle

The Blessings of the Animals (Harper Perennial paperback original, $14.95) is on our August Staff Pick list, and all of our customers who know me well probably know why. Just look at that cover! It makes me want to drive out to my favorite barn and hug a horse.

This is a wonderful story about a woman named Cami Anderson who is a veterinarian with her own animal hospital, an animal rescue volunteer with the Humane Society, the mother of a teenage daughter, and the wife of a moody restaurateur. The very day Cami gets a call to rescue some severely neglected horses (she brings home the most damaged one, a handsome but angry kicker) her husband tells her "I don't want to be married anymore." Cami has to learn what is worth rescuing, and what isn't.


I was enthralled with every single passage about Moonshot the wounded horse. He had painful abscesses in his hooves, but responded to Epsom salt soaks and Cami's slow, gentle efforts to untangle the bird nests in his tail. By the time Cami is able to saddle-up Moonshot and sit on him without getting bucked off, you're not really sure who has rescued whom.

This is an enjoyable book that would be appropriate for both women and teen girls. I plan to pass it along to my favorite horse trainer, who is just as gifted with horses as Cami. Maybe I'll even stop out at the barn and brush out a horse's tangled tail, because there's nothing quite like the blessings of animals.

Happy 50th Birthday Bookstore: Books From 1960

In celebration of our 50th birthday, The Bookstore is hosting a 50th Anniversary Party on August 19, 2010 at 7pm. All of our customers, including kids, teens and adults are invited to enjoy the cake, drinks and raffle prizes.

In case you weren't even born yet, or in case you were but can't seem to remember, here is a list of a few of our favorite books from 1960:

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

One Fish Two Fish ... by Dr. Seuss

Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Hawaii by James Michener

The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

The Rise & Fall of the 3rd Reich by William Shirer

Advise and Consent by Allen Drury

(1960 Pulitzer Prize)

Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth

(1960 National Book Award)

We love surprises, so we'll just drop a hint at this point: some of our raffle prizes just might bring you back to 1960. Please join us and share in the 60's fun! RSVP to (630) 469-2891 or justbook475@yahoo.com. See you then!

Come Celebrate Our 50th Anniversary on August 19th!

The folks at The Bookstore are pretty excited. We're getting ready to celebrate our 50th anniversary on August 19th at 7pm, and all of our customers are invited to stop in to join the celebration. Oh, by the way, there's cake, prizes and raffles for free books!

In the meantime, we just thought you might like to hear our story. If you have your own stories or memories you'd like to share, please add a comment below or e-mail us. We'd love to add your stories to the history of the store.

The Bookstore was founded by Vic and Rosamond Du Jardin prior to 1960, but moved to its current storefront at 475 N. Main Street in Glen Ellyn in 1960. The old brick building dates back to 1892, and was originally home to McChesney's General Store. When McChesney's moved out, they left behind an old safe that looks like it belongs in a wild west movie. We still use that safe today, and include it on our historical tours to children and senior citizens. At that time The Bookstore occupied a double storefront, including the space that now houses our neighborhood knitting shop, String Theory.

The Du Jardins were a colorful pair; Rosamond Du Jardin was the author of teen fiction set in the malt shop era, including such titles as Senior Prom, Boy Trouble and Double Date. Vic Du Jardin was an avid reader. According to village legend, if you came in the store and asked Vic for a certain book, he'd interrupt his own reading, put his finger in his book to mark his spot, and point vaguely over to a part of the store, saying "if we've got it, it's over there." He would continue reading until you came to the cash register, at which time he'd put his finger back in his spot in the book, ring up the sale, make change and put your book in a bag, all without losing his place in his book. Although your 21st century Bookstore hopes it offers more helpful service, we are still avid readers with a passion for books, just like the founders.

Jack and Marguerite Rice purchased The Bookstore from the Du Jardins in 1973. The south half of the store was made into a record shop, and The Bookstore was limited to the north half. According to their son David Rice, it was named "The Book Store - M. Rice - Prop. 1973" in order to hearken back to the small town stores his parents had known in their youth. David remembers many New Year's Days spent doing end-of-the-year inventory at the Book Store with his extended family, watching bowl games on a portable TV they'd set up in the store. David speaks fondly of his time spent as co-manager on and off throughout the 1980's, enjoying the camaraderie with fellow booksellers. Camaraderie with fellow readers is still the key to The Bookstore's success over 30 years later.


In 1987, Marguerite Rice was ready to retire and sold the Book Store to Barb and Dwight Reed, who owned it until 1997. In 1997, the Reeds retired to operate another independent bookstore in Frankfort, Michigan. Jane Stroh had been an employee of the bookstore since 1985, and in 1997, she and her husband Tim purchased it from the Reeds. Although the store is known in town as "The Bookstore," its official name is "Just the Bookstore, Inc." I heard that when people would ask Jane for the name of her new business, she would say "The Bookstore," and they would say, "just The Bookstore?" Jane's reply: "Yes, just The Bookstore."

I've always loved the name "Just the Bookstore." It's a little self-deprecating, a little falsely modest; we are, after all, much more than just a bookstore. We'd like to think we're a meeting place, a salon, or a community center. We've encouraged generations of Glen Ellyn children to read. We've employed many smart, bookish teens, and sent them off to success at some of the finest colleges. We've been there for you for 50 years, perhaps counselling you through personal troubles or celebrating your success by recommending just the right book or the perfect poem. We gossip, we chat, we laugh. We make faces at your squirmy babies; we humor your Twilighty teens, and we support your charitable causes. But most of all, we share our love of reading with the village we truly love. And thankfully, for 50 years now, the village has loved us back.

So in honor of all of these wonderful things, The Bookstore has been hosting a 50th anniversary celebration all year long. Every month, we've held a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to The Bookstore. Anyone who spends more than $50 that month is included in the raffle. In honor of its 50th year in Glen Ellyn, The Bookstore was also a key sponsor of the 1st Annual Downtown Glen Ellyn Bookfest, and was responsible for bringing notable authors to our village for the first time for some truly unique literary events. Finally, in a desire to to not only give back to the community but also to promote literacy in Glen Ellyn, The Bookstore has been the proud sponsor of the 50 Hour Readathon, a benefit for the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center that took place over a 50-hour period in June.

All of the teams and participants in the Readathon are invited to our celebration, where awards will be announced and prizes will be presented. The categories include: Team Spirit Award, Most Voracious Reader, Most Voracious Readathon Team, and Most Money Raised (Team). Even if you didn't participate in the Readathon, we hope you can make it to the party to help us thank those who did.

Please join us! Call (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com to RSVP. If you have your own stories to add, please comment below.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Bookstore Blogs

Starting a bookstore blog has been one of the best things our bookstore ever could have done to meet the challenge of the digital age. Our little bricks and mortar store suddenly had a voice that could be heard far away from the store. You used to have to wait for customers to drop in during business hours and browse. We'd take the time to chat about our staff picks or the latest hot book club choices, and hopefully sell armfuls of books to eager readers. And of course we still do that every single day. But thanks to our blog, we can also have those conversations while our customers are in their jammies, on the couch or on the road.

Our main goal has always been to communicate with our customers -- we link to the blog in every customer e-newsletter - and to bring to them a focus on books and events that we don't have time for in a short newsletter. But we've also used our blog to connect to the wider world of bloggers, readers, authors and fellow indie booksellers out there, and we've learned that it makes us better booksellers. We're more up to date on new releases, we hear the buzz from other bloggers, and we make friends and connections that help us put good books into the hands of good customers.

So, in recognition of what blogging has and can yet do for our bookstore, we are entering our blog in the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Niche Award Category for Bookstore Blogs. It's hard to choose which posts are our favorite (isn't it like admitting you have a favorite child?) but here's the list:

1. General Bookstore Post #1: What Your Indie Will Do For You (6/30/10)

2. General Bookstore Post #2: Introducing: Book Blogger Bookmarks at The Bookstore (3/3/10)


3. Book Recommendation #1: Remarkable Creatures, Remarkable Women (1/17/10)

4. Book Recommendation #2: April Picks on the Staff Pick Shelf at The Bookstore (5/1/10)

5. Book Recommendation #3: Local Author's Latest Book, Stray Affections, Is Featured In Bookstore Window (11/27/10). (In case the judges consider this post more of a general bookstore post than a book recommendation post, I will offer one more book recommendation post for consideration.)

6. Book Recommendation #3.5: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow (2/15/10)



We're really looking forward to being a part of this year's BBAW. Here's wishing good luck and great reading to the judges and all the other book bloggers.

Staff Pick: The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst

Our customers probably saw Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst on the sidebar of our July newsletter under "Staff Picks," but I wanted to tell you how it got there and why we love it as much as we do.


As you can see, the picture on the cover is beautiful, mysterious and sad, which makes it absolutely perfect for this book. It looks like a little boy is lost at sea, standing on a life preserver, looking away from the viewer. That's how the book starts: there is a grown boy who needs to be saved, but he's looking away.




There are many wonderful layers to this book. In one way, it's the story of Octavia Frost's effort to save her 27 year-old son Milo, from whom she's been estranged for four years. Milo is a young rock star accused of murdering his girlfriend in their MTV-style Hollywood home. But it's not just murder charges from which Milo needs to be saved. He needs to be saved from the pain of a family tragedy that occurred when he was a boy, from the wounds of being a survivor in a fractured family, and from the harm that more recently came from his own mother's words. Milo was deeply hurt by the way Octavia described a fictional family in one of her previous novels; it came too close to being an autobiographical account of their own family tragedy. Parkhurst reveals Octavia and Milo's true family history so slowly and tenderly that when you finally learn what happened, you feel like you've suffered their loss as well. You'll "get" Milo and you'll want to save him too.


But in the meantime there's a mystery to solve, aging rockers to meet, and most importantly, books to rewrite. Even before the murder, Octavia had sensed that she wanted to rewrite her life and to reach out to Milo. She had just rewritten the endings of her previous novels in a genre-bending new manuscript called Nobodies Album, named for a musical game she and Milo used to play. As if lifted from Octavia's imaginary manuscript, there are sections in this book for each of Octavia's previous novels that include the title, the jacket copy, the published ending and Octavia's revised ending.

For the reader, these fascinating faux-novels can work like complimentary short stories that reveal even deeper truths about Octavia and Milo's past. You'll find yourself playing games with these stories-within-the-story: which one is your favorite? Which one had the best revised ending? Would it change anything if Milo would read the revised endings, or is Octavia's apparent change of heart enough? Can you ever really rewrite your life?


My favorite story was The Human Slice. It could stand alone as a haunting short story about parental regret, loss and memory. A whole family suffers when baby Jonah dies in a horrible, preventable tragedy. Later, a strange new disease strikes their community and causes selective memory loss, so that those who are stricken are unable to remember sad events. Is it a gift to be relieved of the pain of remembering Jonah, or is it a loss? If you're like me, that question will haunt you for a long time to come.


The unique combination of these highly original faux-stories with a rock-star murder mystery and a lovely tale of mother-son reconciliation makes for a fabulously original, deeply satisfying read. Please stop in and pick up Nobodies Album before your own summer is nothing but a memory.

What Your Indie Will Do For You

This is just a little story about a little indie that has been a valued part of our small village life for over 50 years. And maybe you'll see why we're still here, in spite of all the odds against small-time booksellers.


A customer strolled in yesterday looking for a book to read while her car was going to be repaired. And I sympathized. The only thing worse than waiting for car repairs is waiting for car repairs without a book. It's unimaginable. It's torture.

She had a couple of books in mind, and one of the was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. "Ooh, I said, that is a good one." But of course we were out. I checked the computer, and I learned that it would be in the next UPS shipment due to arrive any minute. (We love our adorable UPS man Gary, who cheerfully stacks our boxes in groups according to Purchase Order number, making it so easy to unpack and sort.) I asked the customer: "What time is your car appointment? If you can stay and browse for a little while, the UPS man will probably be here soon."

That's when my colleague Jenny, who is a contagiously cheerful gal, looked out the window and said: "Oh my goodness, there goes Gary now!" She jumped up and chased Gary down the sidewalk, where his dolly was parked in front of another shop. Jenny checked the packing slip on each box that was addressed to The Bookstore, and found the one we wanted. She opened the door of the other shop, and hollered to Gary: "I just stole one of our boxes!" and ran back to the store like she had just captured the flag.

Our customer was thrilled. We opened the box with the excitement of a couple of four year-olds at Christmas. We all had a good laugh. And our customer said: "I'm going to tell everyone about this. This is the best customer service I have ever seen! They don't do this at [fill-in-the-blank-big-box-bookstore]!"

Damn right.

Because that's why we're here. We love getting books in the hands of readers, and we'll even chase down the UPS man to do it. And maybe that's why we've been here for over 50 years.

Just a little something to think about as you start your Independence Day celebrations. Declare your independence and resolve to shop more Indie.

Bookfest Wrap-Up

First of all, a huge heartfelt thank you to all of the wonderful folks who made it to The 1st Annual Downtown Glen Ellyn Bookfest: A Village Celebrates Books. It takes an unbelievable amount of faith to plan an inaugural event like this, and what can The Bookstore say, but thank you - we did it! And whoever arranged for that beautiful blue sky day in the middle of a stormy week: we owe you.

It took a village to put it together - literally. We had an incredible partnership with The Downtown Alliance, Bundles of Books and the Glen Ellyn Public Library. Rosemary from Bundles of Books first suggested the idea of bringing local authors to downtown retailers through the Downtown Alliance, but The Bookstore and the Library took it even further by planning an entire day's worth of literary events. We hope you got to participate in some of these truly unique events!

My own Bookfest Day began at Bells & Whistles Snackery, where The Bookstore and Bundles of Books hosted a social networking breakfast for writers and readers. Sue and I represented The Bookstore, and met a lot of the participating area authors. We introduced them to our book blogging friend and collaborator, Jen Karsbaek from DevourerofBooks.com, and business cards flew from hand to hand.

Our own in-house event, "Bagels at The Bookstore" started at 10am with the wonderful Pamela Ferdinand, Chicago area co-author of Three Wishes, and continued with Dick Nogaj, the founder of Habitat for Humanity DuPage, and the author of Don't Retire, Get Inspired. The Bookstore buzzed all day with Bookfest excitement.

In the meantime, my colleague Jenny was handling all of the author events over at the library, including a children's event with Glen Ellyn children's book author Bob Raczka and Wheaton author and historian Glenette Tilley Turner. Jenny also handled the Featured Author Event at The Glen Oak Restaurant with 68 Rooms children's author, Marianne Malone. Jenny says it was an awesome event, and assured me "it was everything you hoped it would be!" Families have already marked their calendars for our Family Author Luncheon next year!

While Jenny and Marianne had the kids enthralled, I was hosting an appearance for our Adult Author Luncheon at Bistro Monet. What a wonderful pairing: Stephanie Cowell is the author of a new book, Claude and Camille: A Monet Novel, which is about young Claude Monet and his first wife Camille. Bistro Monet planned a delicious three-course luncheon to match. Stephanie charmed every last guest with her stories about young Claude, whom she compared to the irresistible Johnny Depp. (Which has already got me thinking about movie rights and casting!) We all made a wonderful connection with Stephanie, who honored us with unbelievable praise on her blog, calling it "one of the loveliest book events of my writerly life."

Sue and I were thrilled to have our friend Barbara Rinella, a Chicago area book review celebrity, join us at Bistro Monet. Barbara has a huge following as a performer and book dramatist; her act is part stand-up comedy, part celebrity impersonation and part literary review. Over the years, Chicago area readers have enjoyed her dramatizations of such books as The Commoner, The Life of Pi, Loving Frank, John Adams, Shanghai Girls, The Other Boleyn Girl and many more. I'm not going to make any major announcements on Barbara's behalf, but I'm just saying she could do a real bang-up job personifying Camille Monet. I think she got some great material from our lunch with Stephanie Cowell. Barbara Rinella fans, stay tuned!

After lunch, there was a terrific panel discussion at the library between Melanie Benjamin, Glen Ellyn author of Alice I Have Been and Kelly O'Connor McNees, Chicago area author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. I wasn't able to be there (bummer -that's the only downside of being an event organizer - you can't make every event!) but everyone who did told me they did a great job and had a wonderful discussion. What a great team. By the way, did you hear? Kelly's book was selected for Oprah's 2010 Summer Reading List? Woo hoo!

The library also had a series of afternoon events for kids and teens, including storytelling workshops and a Teen Poetry Slam.

In the meantime, much of The Bookstore staff was over at Glenbard West High School, preparing for Elizabeth Berg's appearance and book signing. What a perfect setting for her new book, The Last Time I Saw You, which is about a 40th high school reunion. Elizabeth was warm and funny, as was Charlene Baumbich, one of our favorite local authors who introduced her. One of my favorite parts of every book reading is the Q and A, and Elizabeth Berg is masterful at it. Someone asked her how her early nursing career affected her writing, and her response is still fresh in my mind: she said that nursing taught her "unconditional acceptance" of the patient -- and thinks that ability to empathize with others has made her a better writer. Think about it: Elizabeth's unconditional acceptance of her own characters must be what gives them such honesty and truth. Interesting.

Anyway, for our final Bookfest event of the day (whew!) we got to go enjoy a program called "Get Lit" at Tap House Grill, hosted by area authors Charlene Baumbich and J.A. Konrath. What a great way to unwind from an exciting day! We got to hear all about Charlene's new book that will be released on September 21st: Divine Appointments, the second book in her Snowglobe Series. Fans, stay tuned for more information about her upcoming reading and book signing!

For those of you who came and enjoyed this inaugural event, you'll be happy to know that we're already thinking about next year. We're taking the feedback we've received from authors and participants, and hope to make it even better. For those who missed it, you don't want to miss it again! Pencil in Saturday, June 18, 2011, the week right after Printers Row Litfest. We'll keep you posted through our e-newsletter, Facebook and Twitter.

But first, I'm going to enjoy some good summer reading. Just for the fun of it -- no fancy events involved -- just my book, my front porch and me.

A Great Read for Teens on a Mission: The Heart is Not a Size

As Glen Ellyn teens prepare for their summer volunteer projects, including the big Team Readathon this weekend, we thought we'd share a reading recommendation. A good book doesn't just distract and entertain, a really good book can also inspire. So whether your teen volunteer work takes you near or far, we think you'll be both entertained and inspired by this book, The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart.

Beth Kephart has written a guest post for The Bookstore's blog. Enjoy her insight, advice and perspective as a person who has been on church missions herself:






"There's something about getting up and out of the house and into the world of others that can change the shape of a life, and even the shape of a heart. I've always been happiest when plunged into a classroom of aspiring writers or polishing the pews in my church, or photographing young dancers in their first real performance on a stage, or helping a neighbor plant a garden.

I was enormously happy, too, when I joined my husband, son, and several others from my church on a mission trip to Juarez, Mexico, in the summer of 2005. We were there to help build a community bathroom in a squatter's village. We were also there to get to know the children and families who live without running water and in terrible poverty. I don't think I slept more than a half hour that entire week. I hardly ate, and the dust and heat were overwhelming. But my heart was so full of the people I met and the stories that they told that I felt just slightly empty when I returned home. I wanted the chance to do more.

There's an alivedness that erupts from those experiences, a goodness that settles in, a greater perspective about the world, and a deeper knowledge about yourself. And there's need everywhere - a chance to do good without ever stepping onto a plane or even leaving your own neighborhood. You can bring a meal or two to those homebound by age or illness. You can help teach someone new to this country how to read, or you can organize a fundraiser on behalf of a family in need, or you can make arrangements to have your choir sing at a retirement home. Whatever you do, it will make a difference - to those you serve, and to yourself.

I encourage you to check out these web sites, for inspiration:
http://www.squidoo.com/community-service-ideas
http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/familygiving.html
http://www.coebrownacademy.com/Portfolio/Community%20Service.htm"


-Beth Kephart


Stop in TheBookstore for your copy of The Heart is Not a Size. It would make a great Readathon book this weekend!

Readathon Update: Bells and Whistles 50 Hour Reading Station

Readathon Update:

We are thrilled to report an exciting offer from Bells & Whistles in support of our 50 Hour Readathon the weekend of June 18-20!

In case you haven't heard about the Readathon yet, The Bookstore decided to celebrate its 50th Anniversary by hosting a 50 Hour Readathon to benefit the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center.

We have brochures at The Bookstore explaining the rules, along with Reading Logs and Pledge Forms. Sounds complicated, but it all boils down to this: (1) gather a bunch of readers, (2) read whatever you want over one weekend (June 18-20), and (3) collect some money from folks who want to support our efforts for the GECRR. The goal is for your team to reach a total of 50 hours ALL TOGETHER over the entire weekend. So it's totally doable, especially if your team is big.

You must report your results to The Bookstore by July 1st (basically two questions: how many hours? and how much money?) Every single dime of the money you collect goes to the GECRR. The Bookstore will have a Birthday Party for all of the participants at the end of the summer where we announce the awards. Free cake too!

Readathon organizers are encouraging participating teams of readers to read together on the day of the GE Bookfest (June 19th), and we've been working to select a handful of Readathon Reading Stations for the day of the GE Bookfest. One of the Rain or Shine stations will be The Bookstore window. A sign-up sheet for one-hour time slots is available at the desk.

But now we have an announcement about an even more awesome Reading Station! Bells & Whistle Snackery has stepped up to the plate and volunteered to help in a big way. And I mean a really BIG. WAY. They have offered to host a "50 Hour Reading Station" at Bells & Whistles. That's right. It actually lasts 50 hours! Bring your sleeping bags! Can't make the entire 50 hours? No biggie - any hours spent reading that weekend count, whether or not you make it to 50. You can also find a "pinch reader."

Here's the scoop: It starts at 6am on Saturday, June 19th with breakfast. They're offering 50% off all meals, free coffee and ice cream over the entire 50 Hour period, and then a free breakfast on Monday morning at the end of the Readathon! They're getting the word out to area teens and are offering to verify time spent at the Readathon for any service hours students might need for school or church. Obviously, teens will need a parent's permission to participate.

The Bookstore was so pumped up by Bells & Whistles offer that we have donated over two dozen free books to the Bells & Whistles Reading Station. We picked titles that we thought would appeal to older kids and teens, and they are free for any participants to read during the Readathon. (You can even take them home when you're done.)

To sign up for the Bells & Whistles Reading Station, e-mail them at bwsnackery@gmail.com. They will have Reading Logs and Pledge Forms at the Snackery, so you don't have to do anything but show up with your sleeping bag and a lot of spirit!

Many many thanks to Bells & Whistles for their participation in the Readathon. Partnerships like this is what our village is all about. And it's all for a good cause: the kids in our village who need a little more help to succeed. So lets do it.

For more information, call The Bookstore at (630) 469-2891.

I Just Finished Another Great Book: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Gowda

Shilpi Gowda, the author of Secret Daughter, will be coming to The Bookstore this Friday, June 11th for Happy Hour from 5:30 to 7 pm. Please join us for some summer wine (I'm thinking Pinot Grigio myself) and interesting conversation with this talented author.

Because we're a small store and we only have about one author visit a month, I make it a point to read every visiting author's book before their event. I'm sure other event coordinators would laugh at the idea (especially those with five or more events per week!) but I just can't imagine doing it any other way. I love to make a connection with the author based on their ideas, their talent, or their storytelling, and then share that inside knowledge with our customers. At a smaller store, it's possible to get personal.

So just the other day, I moved Secret Daughter to the top of my reading pile. I just finished it a couple of hours ago, and as I was wiping the tears from my eyes, I knew I had to blog about it, no matter how much work I'm trying to juggle right now. It was wonderful.

This book is about two mothers and the daughter they share. One is the biological mother from a small village in India who gives birth to a baby girl in a culture that "does not love all her children equally." She takes her 3-day old infant to an orphanage in Mumbai in a desperate act that saves her daughter from an even worse fate. The other mother is an American doctor, who along with her Indian-born husband, adopts the baby after falling in love with her unusual hazel eyes in a photograph. The biological mother named her "Usha" which means dawn; the adoptive parents name her "Asha" which means hope. They both want what is best for her.

The story itself is wonderful, but the background to the story is fascinating as well. So strong is the prejudice against baby girls that even small villages in India have access to ultrasound clinics for early-stage gender identification and sex-selective abortions. (Just writing that sentence made me feel sick to my stomach, and I'm pro-choice.) The problem is intertwined with the lack of women's rights, population problems and dowry rules. Although Gowda points out that this practice has been outlawed for over a decade, it is still rampant. In the story, the biological mother becomes pregnant again after Usha's birth, and her husband insists that they visit one of these clinics together. It's an emotional scene to say the least.

Despite this insight into a horrible fact of Indian life, the book still manages to celebrate the many other positive things about Indian culture. When Asha grows up, she is awarded a journalistic fellowship to study Mumbai's slums, and she goes to live with her adoptive father's extended family. She discovers Indian warmth, food and family tradition, and learns to appreciate the side of herself and her father that she was never really given the chance to know.

In the meantime, Asha's parents struggle with their multicultural marriage and their daughter's search for her own identity. These passages have great truth and honesty in a post-Obama "post-racial America" where misunderstanding of (and sometimes even discomfort with) other cultures still prevails. The tension is multiplied when the discomfort is right inside your own family. Bi-racial and adopted children fight for the right to know, accept and celebrate all of their identities. In fact, I'd compare Secret Daughter to another one of my favorites this year, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow. Durrow's young protagonist is half African-American with bright blue eyes; Gowda's is an Indian-born American with light-brown skin and gold-flecked eyes.

Trust me, this is a great book. I heartily recommend it to all of our book clubs, and I hope you have the chance to stop in on June 11th for a Friday Happy Hour with the author. I can't wait to meet her myself.

Shilpi Gowda, author of Secret Daughter

The Bookstore is thrilled to be hosting a Happy Hour for Shilpi Gowda, author of Secret Daughter on Friday, June 11th from 5:30- to 7pm. Please join us to discuss this very interesting book with this talented author. Please RSVP by calling (630) 469-2891 or e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com.

"Read Share Help": Readathon for The Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center

In honor of The Bookstore's 50th Anniversary this year, we are proud to announce our sponsorship of a 50-Hour Team Readathon to benefit the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center. We hope you can join us the weekend of June 18-20th!

The Bookstore is thrilled to partner with GECRC for this fun event. Their motto is: "Helping the World's Children In Our Own Backyard." Nearly 2/3 of the children GECRC serves are immigrants or refugees from 14 different countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. GECRC offers after school and summer programs that emphasize literacy and community involvement, and however they can, GECRC provides and facilitates additional support services to help these children succeed. It really does take a village to help these kids.

Here are the Readathon Details:

1. Form a Readathon Team: Gather up a group of 2-50 readers, kids or adults. If you can, think of a fun name. A team spirit award will be given at the end of the event, and your team name could be a big part of that! Teams could consist of families, friends, schools, classmates, co-workers, book clubs, sports teams, village organizations, etc. If anyone wants to join a team but doesn't want to start one of your own, you are always welcome on The Bookstore's Team!

2. Mark Your Calendars: The 50-Hour Readathon takes place from Friday, June 18th at 3pm to Sunday, June 20th at 5pm. Your team will pledge to read for 50 combined hours during that time. Team members will count the number of hours they read (either on their own or together as a team) over the entire weekend. The more people on your team, the fewer hours each person has to read, although there will be an award for the Most Voracious Readers. So mark your calendars now to leave room for some reading that weekend!

3. Register Your Team: Call The Bookstore at (630) 469-2891, e-mail us at justbook475@yahoo.com , or stop in the store in person to register your team. We just need the name of a team leader and a phone number to register. There's no deadline - we'll accept last minute teams right up through the Readathon.

4. Get Your Reading Logs and Pledge Forms: Team Reading Logs and Pledge Forms are available for pick-up at The Bookstore or can be downloaded from The Bookstore's website at www.justthebookstore.com.

5. Solicit Pledges: Channel your inner salesperson and solicit pledges for the cause. (Kids and teens, ask your mom and dad - don't go out ringing doorbells on your own.) People can either pledge a set dollar amount and give you a check right away, or they can pledge a certain amount of dollars or cents for each hour of reading your team successfully completes. Checks should be made out to the "Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center" for a tax-deductible donation. There will be a prize for the team that collects the most pledges, so go for it!

6. Crank Up the Team Spirit: Make up a team cheer, plan a crazy costume, challenge another team, talk smack. An award's at stake! Send out your team challenges and reading inspiration by adding a comment below.

7. Read! Start logging your reading time between Friday, June 18th at 3pm and Sunday, June 20th at 5pm. For extra fun, share your joy of reading at The 1st Annual Downtown Glen Ellyn Bookfest on June 19th, where there will be indoor and outdoor Readathon Reading Stations throughout the downtown area. Reading stations will be designated and identified with signs and balloons, and will include such places as The Bookstore's window, downtown park benches and other public meeting places. Grab a good read, come to The Bookfest, and enjoy some reading together. Let's show everyone that we're a village that reads! Keep track of the hours of team reading on your Team Reading Log.

8. Turn in Reading Logs and Pledge Money: You have until July 1st to turn in your Reading Logs, Pledge Forms and collected pledge money to The Bookstore. If your team didn't make it to a total of 50 hours, turn it your forms in anyway. There are no penalties involved - this is fun, not homework!

9. You're Invited to The Bookstore's Birthday and Readathon Appreciation Party: The Bookstore will host a 50th birthday party where the Readathon Awards will be announced. Date TBA. Come share birthday cake and celebrate our success in promoting literacy in Glen Ellyn.

10. Students Can Earn Service Hours: For participating students, volunteer service hours will be verified by The Bookstore upon receipt of the Team Reading Logs.

11. Any Questions? Just call The Bookstore at (630) 469-2891.

"Read Share Help." A Village Celebrates Books.

April Picks on The Staff Pick Shelf at The Bookstore

Before we rush into May and everything that goes with it, we want to tell you about our favorite April reads that are currently on our Staff Picks Shelf at The Bookstore.


We know our customers are wondering about Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel. Life of Pi was huge with our book clubs, and everybody's hoping this one is just as good. Despite some of the negative reviews out there in some major newspapers, this book gets three thumbs up from Margie, Sue and Jenny. Yes, it's disturbing and strange. And it's about the holocaust, so it's no walk in the park. But the minute you finish it, I guarantee you will want to talk to somebody else who's read it. (Jenny had to e-mail us in the middle of the night while she was on vacation.) You're not sure what you think, you're a little unnerved, you have weird questions, like "why did the taxidermist cut off the donkey's tail?" This is a book meant to be read with others. It would be great for book clubs who are looking for a challenge, something more than just the latest crowd pleaser.



Sue and I both love Sue Miller's latest, The Lake Shore Limited. It's Sue Miller at her best: her characters say and do all of those horrible things that you might think about, but are too ashamed to admit, even to a best friend. (Remember Senator's Wife? Then you know what I mean.) This book gets you into some really dark and ambivalent corners of relationships and marriage. The main character, Billy, is a playwright whose boyfriend was killed on 9/11. Several years later, Billy writes a play about a train bombing that exposes her true, complicated feelings about her boyfriend's death. There are other characters who have nursed a spouse through terminal illness, and who likewise admit to really complicated feelings. You might not think you're in the mood for that kind of a book, but there's a cathartic and voyeuristic release in watching these characters do what they do. You're reading along and if you're like me, you'll be talking to yourself: "oh my God, I can't believe she just slept with him!" And then you'll realize that dinner's going to be late because you just cannot put this book down. I can only imagine the intensely personal book club discussions you could have with this book. You'd have to swear each other to secrecy first - and beware of eavesdropping spouses!



Speaking of spouses, . . . The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall is a fantastic read about a polygamist family. It's a tragicomedy, with more than the average family's share of funerals, weddings, birthdays, hilarity and pathos. Told without judgment and with deep insight from the point of view of the husband, his youngest wife (#4) and his troubled son (son #5 of mother #3). This is an fascinating read that will be near the top of my Best of 2010 list at the end of the year. Here's a great interview with the author, in which he discusses his own family's polygamist history and the inspiration for the book. This book, which explores the irony of being lonely in the midst of a big family, is another fantastic book club choice that will keep you talking late into the night. (And you thought your life was complicated?)



An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell is a lovely book about classical musicians and their intense love for their art, as well as their intense love (or hate) for each other. It would be great for fans of Ann Patchett's Bel Canto or A. Manette Ansay's more recent Good Things I Wish You. There's plenty of betrayal, suspense and romance, but throughout it all, a strong and irresistible sense of musicality prevails. There's even a scattering of viola jokes thrown in for good measure. Three thumbs up for this book, especially from Jenny, our talented bookselling flutist! The author has made a musical playlist to enrich your reading, and is available for download on Book Notes at Large Hearted Boy.

The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald was another one of our April favorites. It's a novel inspired by real life "practice houses" in university home economics programs post-WWII. Henry is a practice baby at one of these homes, and despite the stern child-rearing philosophy of the slightly unhinged head of the program, he is smothered with good intentions. The book follows Henry as he grows up and leaves the practice house with all of his psychological baggage in tow. (Do you think Henry might have some "commitment issues?") This is a fascinating book that does a great job of exploring the human consequences of psychological theory, and would make for an excellent book club discussion about "Home Ec," philandering men and the challenges of motherhood in a more modern world.

Please stop in sometime soon to discuss these and other Staff Picks at The Bookstore. We're happy to be your Book Club Headquarters in Glen Ellyn!

Introducing The Kids Book Review Club at The Bookstore

The Bookstore is proud to introduce its new children's program: The Kids Book Review Club: Book Reviews by Kids for Kids! We'll be launching the program in May, starting with the second graders from Lincoln School.

Any child who loves to read and write book reviews is eligible to join. We will keep your book reviews in a special Kids Book Review Club Binder at The Bookstore, and publish them from time to time on our blog. We have official membership cards for anyone who turns in a review to the store, whether in person or by e-mail to justthebookstore@gmail.com.

The Lincoln School second grade book reviews will be featured in a rotating window and table display at The Bookstore from May 8th through May 22nd. Any student book reviewer who stops in The Bookstore during that time will receive a membership card and a small treat. Their family will receive 10% off all purchases during their visit. The book reviewers have also been invited to make an optional oral presentation on Thursday, May 13th and Thursday, May 20th between 4:00 and 6:30pm. Reviewers are asked to sign up for a specific one-half hour time slot by e-mail.

If there are any other classrooms that would like to participate in a similar program, please let us know! Children are also welcome to participate on an individual basis or in connection with their usual summer reading program. Who knows? Some day they could grow up to be a famous book reviewer! And then they can say it all started here. . . .

Here is a sample of some of our Kids Book Reviews:

Kids Book Reviews


Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Reviewer: Maddie
A lion comes to the library! What will happen to the people? Will they be eaten or no? Hope not! My favorite part was when the lion came to the library. The lion comes and everyone is scared. I like this part because I love lions. I recommend this book to people who like animals. It is a good book. It's a favorite!





The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Reviewer: Zak
The Cat in the Hat is an interesting book by Dr. Seuss. He comes and plays with the kids that live there. It shows people how to have fun. My favorite part is the cat juggling stuff. I connected to this part when I tried to juggle.
I recommend this book to people who like Dr. Seuss because he has a lot of imagination from just doodling pictures. You should read this book because it's a good book.



And to Think I Saw it On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
Reviewer: Rory
And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street is about this boy who only sees a donkey pulling a man in a wagon on the way to school and back. But he keeps imagining it bigger and bigger. And the author is . . . Dr. Seuss.
I imagined every day how cars would look like in the future. If wagons were real then and if they had any lakes. But the Awesomest part is when theirs a band on it a man sitting on Teeny tinny house and the President watching. I recommend this book to anyone who like crazy wiled stores. Dr. Seuss took me and might take you into this little guys imagination. So if you're looking for a crazy story you should read this book!

Escape by Paul Dowswell

Reviewer: Yusuf

Escape is by Paul Dowswell. It is a book about notorious people who escaped from all different jails. Some people had to travel by ship to get away. My favorite part is in Break Out of Alcatraz, chapter when they made a power drill out of . . . What you may ask read this book and find out. There trying to make a tool for digging so first they use a spoon and a couple of other stuff. Then they got a little chip and some advice. I like this part because they use the drill when other people play there instrument. So they are muted out. I recommend this book for anyone who has a spirit of adventure! Paul Dowswell takes us to and shows us all the famous escapes. You should read this book to find out about the great escapes.

Keep checking our blog for more Kids Book Reviews. All Lincoln School second graders' reviews will be published during the month of May.

Author Kelly O'Connor McNees Pays a Visit

I love Twitter.

One day I'm tweeting about how much I enjoyed a new April release, and the next week the author comes to pay us a visit at The Bookstore. And that's how Twitter friends can become friends IRL.

Pictured here is Kelly O'Connor McNees signing copies of her debut novel, The Lost Summer of Lousia May Alcott (Amy Einhorn Books; IndieNext List Notable for April 2010). We had a great afternoon chatting about books - at one point she even got to play "Bookseller For A Day" and help us try to find a book for a customer who'd heard "something on NPR."

We have a few extra signed copies in stock if you hurry in. You'll see in the background of this photo that her book has already earned a blue "staff pick" card, as well as a Book Blogger Bookmark from @devourerofbooks, our favorite area book blogger. As I said on my staff pick card, this book is for "anyone who would rather read and write than do laundry." I can only hope that describes you.

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott will make a fantastic book club discussion book - we even got started on a discussion of our own yesterday - about the sacrifices women make or refuse to make as they try to figure out how to balance work, love, family and laundry. I'd recommend it to fans of Little Women, those who enjoyed Geraldine Brooks' wonderful book March, as well as anyone who simply enjoys a smart, sweet love story. If that's you, I promise you'll love it.

I'd love to tell you more, but I've been putting off laundry all day. Ah yes, the balancing act.