The Written Nerd

I was thrilled to get ahold of a copy of EDGAR ALLEN POE & THE JUKE-BOX: UNCOLLECTED POEMS, DRAFTS, AND FRAGMENTS (FSG, March 2006), the new Elizabeth Bishop collection edited by New Yorker poetry editor (and Poetry Society of America president) Alice Quinn. Bishop is one of my favorite poets of all time; I love how plain spoken and unpretentious her poems are at first reading, and the riches they reveal as you examine them. I know she was famously a perfectionist, often spending years hanging on to a poem without publishing it as she waited for the perfect word to come to her; her COLLECTED POEMS is a very slim volume. So it's a fascinating treasure to have this wealth of scraps to pick through, these "rough gems" as the poet David Orr describes them in his review : the phrases born of that fierce and exacting and compassionate mind, even if they never made it into a final form that completely satisfied her. But not everyone feels the same way. A friend of mine at FS...

I've got a date tonight: dinner and then Art Spiegelman hosting Selected Shorts at Symphony Space. I love living in New York. I've got to get ready, so this'll be a quickie. Comment: Daughters Are Doin' It For Themselves Michael Powell, CEO of the superfamous Portland independent bookstore that bears his name, just announced that he'll be handing over the reins of the business to his daughter Emily within the next few years. And Neal Coonerty of well-respected (if smaller) Bookshop Santa Cruz is passing along his operation to his daughter, Casey Coonerty Protti. (Both via Shelf Awareness). I just think this is darn cool -- two educated, driven young women stepping into their dads' shoes, and stepping up for the next era in the business of bookselling. It reminds me of the famous Russ & Daughters deli in New York (a favorite of foodie author Calvin Trillin). Hooray for the daughters! Chronicle: Emerging Leaders NAIBAhood gathering The New Atlantic Independent...

I've been getting behind on the book reviews, so I'll just jump right in to what I've read in the past couple of weeks. (Beware, this is kind of a long one.) What Jesus Meant by Gary Wills (Viking, March 2006) One of my favorite parts of living in Brooklyn is going to Old First , by some reckonings the oldest church in the borough. (Yep, I'm a Christian as well as a book nerd – talk about your obstacles to hipster credibility!) The building is magnificent, if in need of repair (Tiffany stained glass, an ancient pipe organ, and that great old wood smell). And it's an open-armed, community-minded sort of place, where tradition is taken as seriously as a commitment to a progressive engagement with contemporary realities. It's actually a lot like my idea of the perfect neighborhood bookstore, though with less profit-oriented goals. Anyway, at Old First we've been knocking around the idea of starting a book group for reading literature that has resonances fo...

What part should a computer system play in the life of a good bookstore? I know this probably seems like a non-question in this digital age, especially for those of you who are net-surfers enough to be reading this. But you might be surprised how many good bookstores have answered "none." And I believe there are better and worse ways to utilize the electronic box in a store full of print. (Warning: this post is kind of wonky, so if you're not especially interested in the internal workings of bookstores, feel free to skip it.) I know of some bookstores that are so small, and run by such a stable and careful staff, that they consider a computerized inventory unnecessary. And to some degree, they're right. If your stock is small enough, and your staff is good enough, why do you need an electronic record of what you've bought and sold, how long it's been around and what kind of discount you got? If you have a relationship with most of the regulars who come in...

This is looking like a crazy week. Not only is it steep-learning-curve time at the new job, but I'm looking at a massive freelance project that I've been neglecting a little -- if it doesn't get whipped up and sent out ASAP, heads are likely to roll. So I'm abandoning the little blog momentarily -- I can't quite manage to beat down the guilt that would ensue if I spent the usual amount of time it takes to write up a decent posting. Hope this isn't too much information -- just wanted to make it clear that I'm not retiring, or resting on my laurels. (By the way, thanks so much to all of you who have sent comments and emails regarding the PW article -- I'm working on getting to them, and I love hearing from you!) I promise when things calm down I'll be back, with book reviews, fun industry news, and reports from my new bookseller life. Enjoy the week, and happy reading!

Today is my last day at the bookstore, so I'm exercising the unprecedented gall to actually write a post during store hours. It's kind of like the last day of school -- nothing seems too important or difficult, because it's almost all over. Several of my coworkers have expressed regret at seeing me go, which I appreciate a great deal, especially from those whom I know have a hard time with that kind of expression. As one of my last acts here, I've managed to convince everyone to allow me to pull the graphic novels out of literature to create a Graphic Lit section. It looks pretty good for something cobbled together in the last few days, I have to say. I have every hope and expectation that this will lead to increased sales and cred for the store, and that the section can be expanded as it succeeds; I just hope someone with a feel for the genre will end up taking charge of it. Cake and beer is scheduled for later this afternoon. After work, several of us have planned to ...

I've recently become a devotee of the blog of Bookseller Chick . Her profile says she works for a West Coast chain, but her attitude is truly indie: creative, community-minded, and all about the conversation. Her blog is a real forum for discussion of issues in the book world, from the book that scared you as a kid to the idea of Book TV to our reaction to (scarily brainless) teen girl chick lit. Hats off to her -- I'd love to have this site become as much of a conversation-starter. (Later this week I'm planning to run another roundup of great book blogs I've discovered recently, so prepare for more time wasting!) In the BS Chick spirit, I've been thinking about an issue that I imagine bookstore goers have opinions on, whether they've considered them or not. How do you take your bookstore: chaotic or clean? Myself, I'm a bit of a neat freak. I spend all day at my current store picking up stray books and putting them back on the shelf, dusting surfaces, throw...