Holiday Hours + Music this Sunday!

This week, we're in Holiday Hours

Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 11am-5pm

Christmas Day, Dec. 25 CLOSED

“Boxing Day,” Dec. 26 12pm-6pm --- Steve Haug, aka Maugorn the Stray, will be playing 3-6pm. Cookies will be available along with Coffee/Tea/Cocoa.

Farmer’s Market Organisation Meeting tomorrow!

Saturday, Dec 18, 3-5pm we'll be hosting a Farmer’s Market Organisation Meeting.


Are you interested in seeing a weekly farmers market on Main Street in Reisterstown? What would you like to see? Would you like to sell something there? Join Gayle Neville Blum, author of “Reisterstown” to discuss options and possibilities.

Lots and lots of History this weekend

Friday, 12/3, 7-8pm, The Sight and Sounds of Christmas in Williamsburg Local photographer Charlie Smith presents a slide show of Christmas in Williamsburg. Coffee and tea and munchies will also be available.

Saturday, 12/4, 3-5pm Tea with the Author Reisterstown author Marvin Barrash will discuss and sign “USS Cyclops,” a study of the worst non-combat related disaster in US Naval history. Join us for Tea/Coffee and cookies.

You won't believe WHO is in the Cowboys & Aliens movie!

Many of you know of the graphic novel, Cowboys & Aliens (ISBN-10: 1934220000 and yes, it's rare) and some of you may even know it's being developed for a movie. Unless you've seen yesterday's trailer, though, I bet you don't know that the following actors are in it -

Harrison Ford
Daniel Craig
Olivia Wilde
Sam Rockwell
Keith Carradine
Walton Goggins (last seen in Justified, based on Elmore Leonard's novels)
and lots of others....

Man, what a cast!
Lauretta

PS There's supposed to be a trade paperback based on the movie coming out next May - but
the graphic novel came first.

Books and Music this weekend

Saturday, November 13, 2010 3-5pm Tea with Author
Dana Stein, our own delegate and debut author will join us to discuss his climate-change-themed “Fire in the Wind.” Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.





Sunday, November 14, 2010 3-6pm Music in the Bookstore
Reisterstown local Nathan Rabe plays folk, alternative and Contemporary Christian music. Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.

Wine, Authors, Music the 1st Weekend in November

Friday, 11/5/2010, 6-9pm - First Friday Wine Tasting
Drop in for wine and pizza! Coffee and tea will also be available.

Saturday, 11/6/2010, 3-5pm - Tea with the Author
Debut author Brand Gamblin will sign his SciFi YA novel, “Tumbler,” winner of the 2008 National Novel Writing Month award. Join us for Tea/Coffee and cookies. Tumbler is an adventure story about a woman who goes out to the Asteroid Belt to find her fortune. Yep, that's right, good old-fashioned science fiction.

Same bat-date, 6-9pm, Music in the Bookstore
Local guitarist Tina Ward will join us for live music. Refreshment will be available. Tina has sung/played with everyone from Joan Osborne to Taj Mahal to Livingston Taylor. This lady is seriously talented - come on in for a big treat.

Sunday, 11/7/2010 3-5 - Tea with the Author
Danny Birt makes a return appearance with his new books, the kids’ “Between a Roc and a Hard Place” and the adult high fantasy books. Join us for Tea/Coffee and cookies.

Pumpkin Contest Winners!

As I mentioned in the last post, we had a Pumpkin Decorating Contest on Halloween - here are the winners!

In the Under 5 - Scarecrow!






In the Tweens - Cat!



In the Adults - Storyteller!!


Some of our runner-ups -

Halloween - Authors, Treats and Pumpkins oh my!

We have a jam-packed weekend planned for Halloween! Saturday, 3-5pm Tea with the Bad-Ass Faerie and Dragon's Lure Authors - PLUS John L. French, local CSI and mystery writer/editor. Vonnie Winslow Crist, Kelly A. Harmon, Robert E. Waters, Jean Marie Ward, and editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail join us for refreshments and books-signing. The Dragon’s Lure anthology and Halfling's Court will also be available, along with Bad Cop, No Donut and Past Sins.


Sunday, all day -
Noon – 5pm Drop off your decorated pumpkin for judging!
Noon – 6pm Come by in costume for literary Trick or Treats…
3 - 5pm Join Reisterstown middle-school-mystery author TJ Perkins for a scary reading from her Mystery of the Attic plus autographed books.
5 - 6pm Decorated Pumpkin Contest Judging – prizes, photos, fun!

Big Weekend - Wine Tasting, Love, Monsters, Mythology, and Sunday Music

We have a jam-packed weekend planned!

Friday, Oct 1, 6-9pm First Friday Wine Tasting: Drop in for wine and pizza! Coffee and tea will also be available. Live music provided by Ken 'iSinatra' McDermott.

Saturday, Oct 2 3-5pm Love, Monsters and Mythology (Tea with the Author) – Stephanie Draven, from our Writers Group, has a debut novel, POISONED KISSES. Stephanie will present a discussion on “Love, Monsters and Mythology.” Join us for Tea/Coffee, cookies and swag.

Sunday, Oct 3 3-5pm Music in the Bookstore – Local guitarist Tina Ward will join us for live music. Refreshments will be available.

Folk Music at the bookstore Saturday the 10th, 3-6pm

Steve Haug aka Maugorn is back August 10th, 3-6pm! Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available. Steve has an extensive list of songs you can request!

Happy Canada Day - who is your favorite Canadian Author?

To recognize July 1st as Canada Day, we'd like to recommend a couple of our favorite Canadian authors.

Louise Penny has this amazing mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. Still Life is the first novel and it is set in a sleepy small town near the edge of the Vermont/Quebec border. The latest in the series - Bury Your Dead - comes out this September.

Tanya Huff is known for both her science fiction and fantasy work - memorable, strong characters making the most of the 'interesting' situations in which they find themselves. Her most recent release (Enchantment Emporium) features a young historian from the powerful Gale family taking over her missing grandmother's junk shop in Calgary - only to find that the Fey seem to be worryingly involved in the business and the disappearance. Some of you may remember the TV series Blood Ties, based on her characters in the Blood Books.

Who is YOUR favorite Canadian Author?
Lauretta

Happy Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day!

June 23rd has been designated Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day. We are celebrating by ordering more vampire books from authors we didn't know DID vampires; selling some very cool SF and Fantasy --- and above ALL, reading. Lots of reading.

I wonder if Mary Shelley realised what she started when she published Frankenstein?
Lauretta

Tea with the Author Saturday the 19th, 3-5pm

Join Reisterstown’s Mary Bosley and her co-author Morgan Przybylski to discuss their memoir, “From August to Infinity”over tea, coffee and munchies.

RIP Jose Saramago

Nobel Prize-winning Jose Saramago, author of Blindness and a host of other novels, passed away today in his home in the Canary Islands. Aged 87, his Portugese publisher, Zeferino Coelho, mentioned that Saramago had suffered a recent illness and his condition had deteriorated. His work was known for its combination of surrealism and humanism.

Baltimore Free Writers this Wednesday (6/16), 6-7pm

Our local writing group meets here in the shop.
You can sign up at http://bfw.5gigs.net/

RIP Jeanne (the Stardancer) Robinson

Our thoughts and prayers are with Spider Robinson and his family as they mourn the passing of Spider's wife and collaborator, Jeanne. If you were reading science fiction in the late 1970s and early 1980s, you will remember Jeanne Robinson as the co-author of the Stardance books. Stardance marked the first time I read such a clear description of how modern dance might evolve in zero-gravity...it was a uniquely amazing setting. It also won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.

We'll miss your bright star, Jeanne,
Lauretta

Wine Tasting Friday June 4th, 6-9pm

Drop in for wine and pizza! Coffee and tea will also be available. Live music provided by Ken “iSinatra’” McDermott.

Local Artist Kara Smith will be displaying her art this month - stop by and meet the artist!

Dead Poet's Tour at Poe's grave tonight at midnight!

The Dead Poets Tour - namely Walter Skold - will visit Edgar Allan Poe's grave tonight and he invites all local poets and friends-of-Poe to join him at midnight. Poe's grave, for thos of you that have note been there, is in the Westminster Burying Ground, corner of Fayette and Greene. It's worth a visit - especially if you're into history!

Writers' Group tonight, live music this Saturday!

The Baltimore Free Writers meet tonight at Constellation Books, 6-7pm, and we will host Nathan Rabe on Saturday the 22nd, 3-5pm. Reisterstown local Nathan Rabe plays folk, alternative and Contemporary Christian music. Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.

Bloomin' ArtFest this weekend! St. 10-5, Sun 11-5

This year we celebrate our sixth annual Reisterstown’s Bloomin’ ArtFest. We continue to bring local artisans, musical talent and delicious food to the community of Reisterstown and to all of our neighbors who wish to help us celebrate springtime.

This year we are adding a special area for our local service groups who want to share their organization’s efforts and goals. As always, we have collected a group of talented artisans who will present the best of their work. Stroll through the stalls and choose a delicate pair of earrings, a piece of artfully thrown pottery or a vibrantly colored t-shirt.

Chow down on pizza and crab cakes while listening to the sounds of the Reisterstown Jazz Ensemble, or perhaps take a bite out of a sugary funnel cake while listening to a rock beat. There is something for everyone, young and old.

Visit our website, www.bloominartfest.com for more details. Hope to see you there!

First Friday Wine Tasting with Steve Colon

This Friday, the 7th, we have a First Friday Wine Tasting, 6-9pm!

Start off May right with wine and munchies. Live music will be provided by Reisterstown's local jazz/classical guitarist, Steve Colon. Coffee and tea will also be available.

ALSO: a new Reisterstown business, Iced Gems Baking, will be selling cupcakes from their truck!
YUM.

SHADE Book Launch Party May 2nd, 3-5pm!!

Jeri's first SHADE booksigning! Come join us for a reading and discussion--and most important, delicious cookies and brownies from Westminster's Starry Night Bakery.



Though SHADE is written for teens and adults, the event will be suitable for kids of all ages.



Call 410-833-5151 or visit http://www.constellationbooks.com/



If you can't make the event but would like Jeri to sign a book for you, please call Constellation before 5pm May 2 and place an order for your copy, which can then be shipped to you or held for you to pick up.

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart?and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Live music Sunday the 25th, 3-6pm

Local musicians Suzi Eldridge and Gerry Galuardi sing folk, pop and show tunes, accompanied by guitar and banjo. They have put together a CD to benefit Concer101.org and they will be playing at the bookstore to raise awareness for the organisation.

Coffee/Tea and munchies available - perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday!

Watershed Action Plan Meeting for Owings Mills, Reisterstown and Glyndon

This is not about books - this is about the watershed Constellation Books inhabits (appropriate for Earth Day, right?):

The Reisterstown, Glyndon and Owings Mills public is invited to a meeting to learn about safeguarding the Gwynns Falls Watershed.

The county Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management and the Gwynns Falls Watershed Association, together with the community, plan to develop a Small Watershed Action Plan (SWAP) for the upper Gwynns Falls watershed.

The meeting is Wednesday, April 28th, 6:30-8:00 pm at Owings Mills High School, 124 Tollgate Rd.

It's our streams, let's keep them clean.
Lauretta

Another double-header: author-signing AND poetry slam this Saturday!

First! Tea with the Author 3:00pm- 5:00pm

Reisterstown’s own Anny Cook will be signing her steamy romances. Join us for tea, coffee or cocoa and munchies! Simmering Romance with a Smile!

Second! Poetry Slam/Open Mic 6:00pm- 7:00pm

Everyone is welcome to speak their own poetry/hip hop/rap lyrics. No obscenities, limit 3 minutes. Kids over 6 years of age welcome.

Munchies will be available at both events!

Celebrate Easter with Folk Music this Sunday 3-6pm!!

Folk/Alternative Music with Steve Haug aka Maugorn –
Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available. Steve has an extensive list of songs you can request! You can sample Steve's work at http://www.stevehaug.com/

Live music today at the bookstore 3-6pm!

Reisterstown local Nathan Rabe plays folk, alternative and Contemporary Christian music. Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.

Tea with Kids' Authors tomorrow 3-5!

Join children’s authors Susan Detwiler, Edith Hemingway, Mona Kerby, and Lois Szymanski. The books range from Kindergarten-ages up to Tweens. Buy a signed book as a gift! Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.

Happy Vernal Equinox! Folk Music tomorrow with Steve Haug

Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available. Steve has an extensive list of songs you can request! You can sample Steve's work at http://www.stevehaug.com/

3-6pm

Race and bookcovers

This was a very thought-provoking post - Alaya Johnson talks about her book cover on Justine Larbelestier's blog. It reminds my why I shelve Sister Souljah and Toni Morrison in the General Fiction section --- and Octavia Butler in SFF.

Good stories are good stories, regardless of the author's or protagonist's supposed skin color.
Lauretta

Amazon and Apple in a Cold War with the public and publishers in the cross-fire

I feel like playing the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

The New York Times reported yesterday that Amazon and Apple are manuvering around each other, using the publishers as pawns. There are three things about this article that catch our interest.

Amazon is threatening to stop selling books for certain publishers again. At issue this time is the requirement Apple wants publishers to guarantee their eBooks will not be published elsewhere for less than the iBookstore price. So the publishers are in renegotiations with Amazon...and its getting ugly.

The Bad: When Amazon refuses to sell a book, the publishers lose out, but so do the readers and the authors. Yes, the prices may go so high the readers won't buy the book, but that effects a market correction. If the prices go so low no one makes a profit, publishers go under, fewer books get published and the reader loses out.

The Good: Apple's iBookstore is actively recruiting the small and medium size publishers, which is great for readers. There is a LOT of wonderful material out there from the smaller publishers and promoting readership via the eBook format will only benefit us all.

What do you think?
Lauretta

Baltimore Free Writers meet this Wednesday, 6-7pm

We'll host the Baltimore Free Writers group this Wednesday, March 17th (St. Pat's Day!), 6-7pm.
Hmn, how many Irish themes can you think of?
I can think of:

The early Irish Church as portrayed by Peter Tremayne's stories.
St. Patrick and the early history of the Romans in Ireland.
Leprechauns. :)
The American and Australian Irish Imigrant experience.

Anything else?
Lauretta

The day the snowbank died!

Today's the day the last of the snow in front of the bookstore will melt...in memoriam, I offer

Snowbank died!
(to the tune of American Pie by Don McClean)
Lauretta Nagel

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How th’ snowstorms used to make me smile.
And I knew if I stayed in that I could see those kiddies grin
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver
With every snowstorm it delivered.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I sighed
Or laughed in joy when Sun I spied
But something touched me deep inside
The day the snowbank died…

And we were singin’


“Go, go!” to the remnants of snow,
Took my backhoe and my snowplow but the snowbank won’t go
Them icicles were drippin’ water and ice
Singin’ this’ll be the day the bank dies
Singin’ this’ll be the day the bank dies…

Did you lose a pair of gloves and do you have faith in th’ Sun above?
If the weather tells you so…

Do you believe in salt and sand,
Can rock salt save your blistered hand,
And can you teach me how to gently land?

Well, I know that you’re fed up with snow
`cause I saw you yellin’ at the plow.
You just dug out the ca-ar.
For the 40th time so fa–ar…

You were a lonely teenage bronckin’ buck
With a plow attachment and a pickup truck,
But you knew you were out of luck
The day the snowbank died.

And we were SINGIN’ (EVERYBODY IN THE MID-ATLANTIC!)


“Go, go!” to the remnants of snow,
Took my backhoe and my snowplow but the snowbank won’t go
Them icicles were drippin’ water and ice
Singin’ this’ll be the day the bank dies

Thank you. No money will be made, nor was any disrespect intended...
Lauretta

Wine Tasting with Nathan Rabe Friday, 6-9pm

Friday, March 5, 2010, 6-9pm

Join us for wine, munchies, coffee, tea and cocoa. Live music will be provided by Reisterstown local Nathan Rabe.

Finalists for the Indies Choice Book Awards

Your local, independent booksellers (including yours truly) will be voting on the following books for the Indies Choice Book Awards, which reflect the spirit of independent bookstores and the IndieBound movement. The winners, to be announced in April, will be honored at BookExpo America 2010 in New York City. If you see a particular favorite below, please comment or stop in and let us know!

The 2010 Indies Choice Book Awards Finalists are:

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- ADULT FICTION

Border Songs, by Jim Lynch (Knopf)
Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin (Scribner)
The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt (Knopf)
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese (Knopf)
Generosity: An Enhancement, by Richard Powers (FSG)
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (Holt)

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- ADULT NONFICTION

Animals Make Us Human, by Temple Grandin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Lit: A Memoir, by Mary Karr (HarperCollins)
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann (Doubleday)
Stitches: A Memoir, by David Small (W.W. Norton)
Strength in What Remains, by Tracy Kidder (Random House)
When Everything Changed, by Gail Collins (Little, Brown)

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- ADULT DEBUT

The Earth Hums in B Flat, by Mari Strachan (Canongate)
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam)
The Piano Teacher, by Y.K. Lee (Viking)
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larson (Penguin Press)
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova (Pocket)
Tinkers, by Paul Harding (Bellevue Literary Press)

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- YOUNG ADULT

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Going Bovine, by Libba Bray (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
If I Stay, by Gayle Forman (Dutton Juvenile)
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson (illus.) (Simon Pulse)
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)
Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking Juvenile)

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- MIDDLE READER

Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko (Dial)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly (Holt)
Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
A Season of Gifts, by Richard Peck (Dial)
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin (Little, Brown)

BOOK OF THE YEAR -- NEW PICTURE BOOK

All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon, Maria Frazee (illus.) (Beach Lane Books)
The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown (Little, Brown)
The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)
Listen to the Wind, by Greg Mortenson, Susan Roth (illus.) (Dial)
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, by Brian Floca (Richard Jackson Books)
Otis, by Loren Long (Philomel)

MOST ENGAGING AUTHOR
(The author who is an in-store star as well as having a strong sense of the importance of indie booksellers to the community.)

Isabel Allende
Laurie Halse Anderson
Libba Bray
Michael Chabon
Kate DiCamillo
Abraham Verghese

PICTURE BOOK HALL OF FAME

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz (Atheneum)
Bread and Jam for Frances, by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban (HarperCollins)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster)
Corduroy, by Don Freeman (Viking)
Curious George, by H.A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Goodnight Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper (Grosset & Dunlap/Philomel)
Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
Napping House, by Audrey Wood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking)
Stellaluna, by Janelle Cannon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson (Viking)

Lauretta

Tsunami reading

As I watch Twitter for Tsunami updates - and listen to Steve play and sing "Party with the Elder Ones" - I am reminded of the tsunami scene in Nation by Terry Pratchett where the protagonist manages to hold his canoe as he paddles through this huge wave. Very good reading for today.

Yes, "Party with the Elder Ones" is about Cthulu.
Lauretta

PS I hope everyone is safe in the Pacific.

Folk/Trad/Alternative Rock Music at the Bookstore this Saturday, 3-6pm

Folk/Alternative Music with Steve Haug aka Maugorn! Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available. Steve has an extensive list of songs you can request!

Saturday the 27th, 3-6pm.

Ooo, the Stoker (Horror) Nominees are out too

The Horror Writers Association have also released the Stoker nominees.
Excellent stuff here,
Lauretta

Agatha (Mystery) and Nebula (Science Fiction/Fantasy) Nominations are up

The Malice Domestic convention just announced the Agatha Award nominees
ANNNNDDD
the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) just posted the nominees for the Nebula & Bradbury Awards and the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Congratulations to everybody on these lists - we have been jumping up and down, yelling "Good! We loved that one! Yes! Awesome!"

Note to local readers - Malice Domestic is just across the Potomac in Arlington, VA at the end of this April.
Lauretta

Baltimore Free Writers this Wednesday, 6-7pm

Our writing group will be here on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 6-7pm.

YES we ARE having the Wine Tasting tonight 6-9pm

All you who are dying to get out of the snowy-bound houses, come on down for wine, coffee, tea, and munchies. 6-9pm Friday at 303 Main St!

Reading for snowstorms

During the record-breaking Valentine's 2003 weekend storm, I read memoirs of folks sailing around the world. It made me feel warm. THIS storm (that finished last night a bit before 5pm) was almost as bad as Valentine's 2003. Not quite there, though. I had on hand:

• Douglas Preston's Impact
• Charles Stross' Family Trade
• (both by Macmillan Publishing, they of the very public eBook spat with Amazon)

• Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey - which reminds me of a satire of 1984. Darker than his usual work.
• Emily Giffin's Love the One You're With - this one comes out soon. The protagonist runs into her first love and starts to wonder What If?
• A collection of snippets from the mystery publisher Soho - called the Soho Sampler. VERY good stuff.

So what did YOU read? And what have you prepared for the next snowstorm (Wednesday)?
Lauretta

Moving tomorrow's Wine Tasting to the 12th

Tomorrow's Wine Tasting is being moved to the 12th because of the snow storm acomin' - stay safe and warm, everyone.

Lauretta

10% off all Macmillan Authors!

It seems that Amazon still has not resumed selling new copies of Macmillan titles. This means some of our favorite authors are not selling and not selling means not being able to pay their bills. We don't like this so we are offering 10% (percent!!) off all Macmillan authors. This includes the following imprints:

Tor/Forge
St. Martin's
Henry Holt
Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux
Orb
Minotaur

Note - I understand from one of my customers that Amazon has also delisted Macmillan from the Kindles. Her sister was in the middle of a mystery, only to find it's not accessible any more. Yep, it was a Macmillan title. :/

edited to fix the % symbol - it was a $

Wine Tasting this Friday 6-9pm!

Join us for wine, munchies, coffee, tea and cocoa. Live music will be provided by Ken “iSinatra” McDermott. Chocolates by local chocolatier Parfections. Yum.

Psst, Kindle-owners - how do you feel about this Amazon-Macmillan fight?

The New York Times is reporting that Amazon has delisted all Macmillan titles because the publisher requested they raise the Kindle prices to $15. Macmillan includes the Tor, St. Martin's,
and Henry Holt imprints, amongst others...

What I want to know, dear Kindle owners, has Amazon yanked or delisted the Macmillan titles you already have on your Kindles? How far does this spat go?
Lauretta

ETA:
Read Street picked this up too, as did Tobias Buckell

Please keep Kage Baker and her family in your thoughts

There's some bad news about author Kage Baker over at
Green Man Review. Please keep Kage and her sister in your thoughts.
Lauretta

PS If you don't know Kage's books, you are missing something FINE. Elements of history, hard science fiction, androids and humor. VERY good stuff.

Edited to Add - Kage passed away on 1/31 in the arms of her family. There's a wonderful perspective on her work at io9.

Live Music tonight 6-9pm

Reisterstown's own Nathan Rabe is playing/singing tonight 6-9pm. Tea, coffee and cookies -
as always - available!

Spenser, No Longer For Hire

Author Robert B. Parker passed away Monday, at the age of 77. Author of more than 60 books, Parker passed away at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his American publisher Penguin confirmed. "He will be deeply missed by us all," Penguin said. He is known for the Jesse Stone
series - made into TV movies starring Tom Selleck - and the Spenser series made into a TV procedural starring Robert Urich.

The books were so much better than the movies. (Always.)

He was named Grand Master at the Edgars in 2002. What I remember most about him was the gentle sarcastic humor he brought to his mysteries...very Raymond Chandler-like, but with a Boston twist.
Lauretta

Poe is not moving.

Poe descendant, Harry Lee Poe, says cousin Ed will stay in Baltimore.

Author Noreen Grice Podcasts for 365 Days of Astronomy

Noreen Grice, Astronomy author and guru on providing astronomy education to the blind community, is now a podcaster:
http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/01/14/january-14th-you-can-do-astronomy/

Seth Grahame-Smith strikes again

The co-author of our own bestseller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will strike again on March 2nd, 2010. The title? Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

Who knew?
Lauretta

Baltimore Free Writers meet at the bookstore Next Wednesday! at 6pm!

This is being moved to NEXT WEDNESDAY 1/20/10!

Our local writing group meets here in the shop. You can sign up at http://bfw.0fees.net/

Attention Baltimore Writers

Urbanite is hiring.

Go for it
Lauretta

This Sunday, Jan 10th, 3-6pm Folk/Alternative Music with Steve Haug aka Maugorn

Cookies and Tea/Coffee/Cocoa will be available.
Steve has an extensive list of songs you can request!