A really lovely shout-out for several Iowa City bookshops appears among the Literary Boroughs series in Ploughshares:

Literary Boroughs 21: Iowa City 

This is the back of a book. The book is a fairly obscure retelling of Robin Hood. 

The text of this sticker needs to be artistically rendered in bronze and set in an arch over the front door of this bookshop.

Unfortunately that won't the first on the list of store improvements for this winter, but someday. Someday.

Folks with families, we love it when you come to visit, but we don't love it when we discover that tags have been ripped or cloth torn during play. _We must ask you to pay for any toys damaged during your visit._

It's not just that we shouldn't have to throw things away.* It's that everyone should help everyone remember to show good manners.

*We take a lot of pride in selling only well-tested, non-toxic toys. Torn tags or mended pieces can void the product warranty, which puts us in an awkward position, because we can't sell what we can't prove is safe. Help us be good to your kids: help us keep the toys clean with proof of manufacturing quality intact.

Hey, it's moving weekend and you all have a lot to think about, but could you do us a favor?

When you're emptying out the cabinets and finding those still good and still sealed, but too bulky to move, non-perishable food items, could you swing by the Johnson County Crisis Center to drop them off? Or drop them off here and we'll take them.

Thanks.

$1.00 for hardcovers, 50c for paperbacks in our Benefit Sale Room! Hundreds of mystery and science fiction novels have been donated in the last couple of weeks to our ongoing Benefit Sale (and lots of other things too, like cookbooks, bestsellers, kids' books, and more). Find some in-the-shade, by-the-fan, and next-to-the-vent reading to take your mind off the heat!

*ALL that money goes to Local Foods Connection. We don't do that "proceeds of" stuff.

A/C, cats, and kids reading books. What's better on a summer day? There's also a "Waldo" hidden among the stacks; you can ask for more information at the desk.

The first edition of the Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (1885/6): now available at the Haunted. 
Happy July 4.

Nialle on missing Hogwarts Day: "I'm not observant. I only bother with Hallowe'en. Mostly because J is exactly as alive as Harry Potter's parents are dead."

Globe to Globe: Shakespeare Festival Begins...

... with an interesting twist.

A Maori production of 'Troilus and Cressida' kicks off the six week celebration of Shakespeare's works at the Globe, featuring all 37 plays in 37 different languages and interpretations.

Jealous of the people who get to attend this very cool festival? I know I am.

2012 PEN/Faulkner Award

Julie Otsuka, author of When the Emperor Was Divine, has been awarded the 2012 PEN/Faulkner award for fiction for her latest novel, The Buddha In the Attic, previously a finalist for the National Book Award.

First Officer's Log No 43: Out of Hibernation

Greetings, fellow bibliophiles. I realize that we're into the second week of February 2012 here, but we at The Haunted Bookshop are still alive and kicking. Winter has been mild and reasonably friendly to us, though we are into something of a temporary quiet season, but we are still buying, selling, and trading books, and still running around with puppets and acting in our general silly fashions.

We are in something of a weird winter-to-spring transition, with cool temperatures, but some nice sunshine to break through the gray days.

We've recently been stocking up on literature and mystery, as well as quite a bit of Japanese and Russian history. We came into a fantastic selection of business and business-management books a few weeks back, covering topics like kaizen and Sigma Six management styles. They are in beautiful condition, some nearly new. There is also a huge amount of evolutionary biology for the science lovers in our little town.

So, if you are out and about and find you need a warm place to curl up for awhile with a book and a cat, we have our two friendly fluffy friends and some nice cozy chairs.

We look forward to seeing you!

Until next time, fellow bibliophiles.

This Is Why We Have No LEGOs...

"Give me 15 minutes and some imagination and I'll build you a LEGO manitou!" - Ali, after Nialle mentioned wanting a LEGO archetype set