Nothing Scary Here

The holidays — hey, Halloween counts; don’t say it doesn’t — remind me that River City Books is once again the greatest source of calendars in the known universe. OK, at least among stores located in the 50057 area code.
RCB has always been the place I pick up a calendar this time of year but, [...]

Garrison Keillor Four-Pack

I was browsing River City Books’ ever-expanding and constantly changing selection of bargain books and stumbled upon something that truly and instantly made my woe be gone: four different Garrison Keillor items — a paperback, an audio book, one CD of songs and another of pretty good jokes (actually, great jokes). The best part is [...]

New Fall Fiction

This is perhaps the best time of the year for novels. Publishers roll out their stars in the fall, in advance of the holiday shopping season, and I always find more reading material than I can manage this time of year. I was in the old neighborhood bookstore the other day and spotted three fiction [...]

Now Appearing: Legends of Music

Johnny Cash. Bob Dylan. The Beatles. Willie Nelson. I was down at the old neighborhood bookstore last night and, low and behold, I saw all of these legendary musicians and all in the same spot (OK, so maybe Willie is a little out of his league in that group, but still). Amazing! I should probably [...]

Everything is Connected

More and more I have come to think the universe is connected in ways that can only be explored on conspiracy radio broadcast very late at night. See, I was down at the old neighborhood bookstore and I talked a reader who wanted to read Home by Pulitizer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson. Nothing weirdly cosmic [...]

Speaking of Awards …

.. Aravind Adiga — a writer, I confess, I had not heard of until I read the news account — has won the 40th Man Booker prize for his debut novel, The White Tiger, just published in the States in paperback by Free Press. According to the New York Times, “Adiga, who lives in Mumbai, [...]

National Book Award Finalists Named

I saw that this year’s National Book Award finalists have been announced. Of course, there are some great books in the mix. You know where to buy ‘em if you want ‘em … Links included in the list:
Fiction
Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (Riverhead)
Rachel Kushner, Telex from Cuba (Scribner)
Peter Matthiessen, Shadow Country (Modern Library)
Marilynne Robinson, Home [...]

Children’s Sections Change So Fast, Don’t They?

I was in River City Books the other day (hey, it’s a great hideout from the rain) and I noticed that they shifted a few displays in one of the most popular sections in the store — children’s books. The “end cap” display on the end of the history cases, the one that used to [...]

Friendly October Staff Picks

Speaking of River City Books booksellers, I noticed that the monthly staff picks display is up and available for browsing. As I say once a month, the staff picks display includes great new and recommended books for 25 percent off; and DVDs and CDs for 15 percent off. October may be the month of scary [...]

New Staff Down At the Old Bookstore

My sources have informed me that River City Books has added two knowledgeable and amiable booksellers to its staff. Click here to learn about Beth Vivant and here to meet Kevin Krein. Also check out the diverse assortment of books they recommend. Welcome to both!