November 2012 eNewsletter

"I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot." —Bill Gates

I get up most days and try to be a curmudgeonly bookseller but this fall has me mumbling that this has to be the most wonderful and colorful season in a very long time. Is it my fading eyesight that makes everything blur together into a joyful riot of orange, red, and yellow? Or am I getting soft,
and starting to realize each day we get is a swell gift to savor? Whatever it is, the over-used greeting card word gratitude has been rolling around in my heart in a very real way. Garry who works here calls it "being hungry for life." On that note a list from the owner's corner:

We are grateful to be celebrating our store birthday. 39 years on Nov 1^st.

We are grateful for this warm, funny, entertaining, and enthusiastic community.

We are grateful for the young and the old, who usually don’t have smart phones and seem to have time for our stories in the store.

We are grateful for the rain, long nights, and familiar chairs.

We are grateful for the opportunity to give back through our bookfairs to those schools and parents who have spread the gospel of reading and the pleasures of Captain Underpants and Babar.

We are grateful for our steadfast and savvy staff, Cindy, Garry, Lori, Kay, Marni, James, Marilyn, Miriam, and our conscripted children Emma and Lewis.

We are grateful for books, our beloved companions and guides. We are grateful for the excess of the holidays: stacks of books, platters of food, feasts of friends.

We are grateful to have enough and sometimes plenty.

The tables are set. Please join us.

Roger Page
Owner and Bookseller

NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: FICTION AND NONFICTION

The Nominees

Here's the list of the finalists for the 2012 National Book Awards in the fiction and nonfiction categories. The winners will be announced on November 14th.

Hand-Picked Gifts

You probably already know that Island Books has been serving readers on the island and off for almost forty years, but you may not realize that it's also the best place around for other kinds of gift-giving.

Holiday Cooking

You might be going to your grandmother's house for Thanksgiving, or maybe you're the grandmother and the family's coming to you. Or maybe you're bringing a potluck dish to a dinner for singletons and unattached out-of-towners. One way or another, the grub should be good. Take inspiration from the season's best cookbooks.

The Kids Are All Right

As the weather cools off, reading heats up. Here are the latest titles from the children's section that will keep weather-induced boredom at bay.

Messages in a Bottle

If you haven't been reading our blog, you've missed out on reports about the latest Nobel and Booker Prize winners, a review from our new roving correspondent of the latest J.K. Rowling novel, and some artistic reinterpretations of the not-so-humble book.

By the way, did you know you can get our Store Journal by email?

Books to Capture the Eye

Publishers know that you want to feast your eyes as well as your stomach during the holiday season. Take a gander at these beautiful volumes that enhance decor and widen the mind all at once.

Garry's November Pick:

Game, Set, Match

We read a lot, and despite ourselves, we're guilty of playing favorites. For example, this month Garry's excited about the re-release of Len Deighton's international espionage trilogy: Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match . Click below to see other November recommendations from our top-notch booksellers.

See More Staff Picks