By Joe Waynick I never expected this. I thought Borders would emerge from bankruptcy a stronger company after shedding most of its debts and excess overhead. That’s what most large companies do. But now they say they’re going to liquidate all 400 of their retail stores. Indie booksellers shouldn’t be too quick to celebrate the … Read more
Liars and Tyrants and People Who Turn Blue––Barbara Paul–1980-OOP Imagine you could tell if one someone was lying? And I’m not talking about body language like so called experts claim on talk shows, but concrete evidence that exposes anyone who likes to fib? That’s the premise of this tongue in cheek novel by Barbara Paul, … Read more
Quite often I’ve written about civic engagement being a big part of what a brick-and-mortar bookstore can do to build a customer base. By being more than simply a place that has books to buy you create a reason for the customers to want to visit your store. The book can be a tool of civic … Read more
My mother is the culprit behind my love of mysteries. Her Nancy Drews, Judy Boltons, and various other juvenile mysteries were handed down to me, and I read them voraciously. Naturally, Nancy Drew titles and plots lingered in my mind long after my childhood books had been sent on to another needy family member. Judy … Read more
I need books. All the time. I’ve always stated that if I become homeless the shopping cart I push will be full of discarded novels. So when I go away on vacation, I bring books. Yes, real books, with covers, and binding, and fragrant pulp wafting from the pages. Our vacations consist of road trips … Read more
I was aware of a couple of novels published after the authors’ death, but was surprised at the number of rather famous titles that fell into this category. I’m more familiar with crime fiction titles being finished by other authors–Lawrence Block completed a Cornell Woolrich manuscript, Nancy Pickard carried on a series when the original … Read more
WARNING: A couple of the photos within the article are not suitable for children or anyone who may be sensitive to images of death. One of the comments under Peculiar Children has a fascinating story attached, and I wanted more people to read it, so I’m posting it here, as well as a link to … Read more
If you’ve ever seen stiff Victorian photographs of children, you understand the creepiness some of them engender. Whether it’s the photographic process and film of the period that manage to accentuate visual oddities, or the length of time the subject is required to remain still for the photo to develop, there’s no denying the large … Read more
