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Browsers' Bookstore Newsletter for November, 2005

HUGE ANNIVERSARY SALE IN TWO WEEKS!!

Yes, it’s that time again! Mark your calendars for our biggest (and only) sale event of the year. Friday & Saturday, Nov. 25-26, our entire inventory is 33% off! That means you can save between a whopping 8 cents on our quarter books and $2,000 on our Wilkes’ Exploring Expedition set (hey, that’s a good deal!) Now is the time to get your Christmas shopping done: DVDs, calendars, children’s books, coffee-table books, first editions, or collector items. Of course, it is also the best time to stock up on some good winter reading, or to upscale your own book collection. We will be open our usual hours, 9:30-6:00 both days.

STORE NEWS

We have successfully opened our new Mystery Room, in which all pocket book mysteries and hardcover mysteries can now be found. This will allow us breathing room in our other pocket fiction sections, so be sure to come in and browse.

We are in planning stages for two in-store events: a book repair seminar and a local author day. If you are interested in learning basic book repair, or if you are an author looking for a chance to make a local appearance, please call or email myself or Mel. More news will be forthcoming.

We've hired Richard, a young rock-star-to-be, to help us get all this "fine merchandise" in our back room (now much more crowded since opening the Mystery Room) onto eBay. In all honesty, it is mostly junk, but you might scan our auctions just for fun, or if you're curious to see what accumulates in a used book store.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbrowsersbooksQQhtZ-1QQfrppZ50QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQrdZ0

NEW ARRIVALS

Interesting books that have caught my eye recently:

1. Enormous collection of hardcover SF/Fantasy. Approximately 300 books, all in great shape, many of them are affordable book club editions. Most in the $3-6 range.

2. Gertrud and Otto Natzler Ceramics. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968. A limited edition of 500 copies, this includes fine photographs of the exquisite work of the Natzlers and a Monograph by Otto. Most of the pictures in this book are black and white (18 color plates vs. 69 b/w photos), but these draw your attention to the form of the pieces, rather than their decoration. An excellent book for the ceramicist or art collector. $50

3. The Willamette Locomotive. Steve Hauff & Jim Gertz. This is the story of the only mass-produced geared locomotive constructed on the West Coast. During the 1920’s, the Willamette Iron & Steel Works of Portland constructed a “Shay-type” locomotive for use in the Northwest forests. Profusely illustrated with photographs and scale drawings, this would make a great gift for a train enthusiast or Pacific Northwest historian. $45

4. How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers, and Other Woodcuts. Robert Williams Wood. This book is great! The entire book is composed of drawings of two animals, or a bird & a flower, which are drawn so that they look alike. Below each pair of drawings is a little non-sense rhyme. Some of the pairs, which really do look alike, include: Tern/Turnip, Roc/Shamrock, Ole Gander/Oleander, Antelope/Cantelope. Check out this rhyme for Ant/Pheasant:

The ant is known by his ant-ennae,
Where-as the pheas-ant has’nt any,
And that is why he wears instead,
A small red cap upon his head:
Without his Fez, indeed the pheasant,
Would be quite bald and quite un-pleasant.

Ridiculous!! Fun!! A great little book from the 1940’s (originally published in 1917) to enjoy over & over. $7.95.

5. Homing with the Birds. Gene Stratton Porter. Can you believe it? One of the most popular authors of all time recounts her unique birding experiences. This includes lots of photographs by the author, including a most unusual one: “Male Baltimore oriole that hanged himself while carrying material to his mate.” Yes, the bird was carrying some string, got tangled up, and is dangling from an accidental noose. Gruesome, but . . . unique! $50.

6. Devil in a Blue Dress & A Red Death. Walter Mosley. First editions of the first two books by this author. They each have a gift inscription, but are otherwise in great shape. $30 each.

We'll keep the list short this month so I have space to remind you to come in for the anniversary sale Thanksgiving weekend and buy tons of stuff! Go to your calendar right now and write it down!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Scott Givens

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