Lovely Poem

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I was extremely fortunate to have a wonderful teacher share this poem with me over the weekend. Even though it is not summer it holds meaning for all seasons. There is not much to say about this except that have learned a lot from this poem and the context in which it was given. I will always remember and refer to this poem in times when I know that changing the self is a necessary process. To be able to change ones perspective and admit ones faults seems extremely essential to me. I think this poem represents the frailty and ever changing life in and around us all. I love it and I'm sure it means different things to different people. For me it is a precious gift and a wonderful reminder.

Anthology

Anthology Book Company is the name of this store, but it is not just a name. One of my favorite things here at Anthology Book Company is explaining to customers how to spell anthology. Even better, I quite enjoy getting to explain to customers what anthology means. Quite surprisingly, I have many people who ask what anthology means. Sometimes customers think that anthology is a made up word that sounds like a fancy name for a bookstore. While it is a fancy name for this bookstore anthology is so much more than a name.

According to dictionary.reference.com anthology means:

"1. a book or other collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject: an anthology of Elizabethan drama; an anthology of modern philosophy.
2. a collection of selected writings by one author."

From this definition we can deduce that anthology is not just a fancy name for a bookstore. Anthology is a definition that helps to categorize the literary world. Anthology is also so much more than a name for this store. Anthology is a haven for book lovers as well as the Loveland Community. There is so much that goes on in this store besides the selling of books. Just last week a woman came in to our store to thank Teresa. This woman was from out of state and was so grateful that Teresa is able to fulfill her needs by sending her the books that she loves. Our goal in helping our customers is that they will become lifelong readers and truly enjoy the magic that books hold. Anthology is a definition but it is more than this. It is something special in our community as well as the literary world.

Happy reading Anthology customers!

Fall Events at Anthology Book Company

It's been a busy fall with many exciting things happening in the book world of Loveland. In late September, Stephanie, Teresa and I attended the Moutains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show in Denver. Two days were devoted to learning more about social marketing, surviving in this economy, hearing from publishers as to the "top picks" in new books; it was a great experience! We came back enthused and encouraged to broaden our marketing focus, find ways to attract and retain loyal customers and with a list of books to read/sell at the store.

Then two great events happened the first week of October, with Loveland Loves to Read hosting Wyoming author, Craig Johnson. His first novel, The Cold Dish, was a hit with a wide variety of readers and the Rialto Theater was filled with a welcoming crowd of folks who were eager to snatch up his other 4 novels, including the latest, The Dark Horse.

Later that week, the US Poet Laureate(1997-2000) Robert Pinsky came to Loveland as part of the Loveland Poet Series. He offered an informal talk on his poetry project, Americans' Favorite Poems, held at the Loveland Museum and Gallery. Later that evening, following a sponsors' reception, he spoke to a packed house at the Rialto. Dave Beegle performed acoustic guitar in an opening number, then was brought back by Pinsky to join him in the reading of the poetry. It truly was a magical evening, and what a delight to see so many people appreciating the art of poetry.

Anthology hosted another special event, on the 9th of October, bringing Bhanu Kapil and Aakash Mittal together for an evening of original work. Bhanu read from her latest book, Humanimal, while Aakash and his ensemble performed improv jazz, drawing from his East Indian roots. "Rhythm is melody" was the underlying theme of the collaboration, as I introduced the artists to a welcoming audience of about 40 individuals. The lovely fall day turned to a brisk and snowy evening, yet folks lingered and sipped coffee well until closing time. This Night on the Town event brought out the best of Loveland's supportive locals, and visitors from as far away as Boulder and Denver.

Join us in November when award-winning young adult author Laura Resau offers a chat and signing of her latest book, The Indigo Notebook. Laura will join us for Night on the Town, November 13, 2009 at 7 pm at Anthology. Her books, bio and other information may be found at www.lauraresau.com This is the perfect opportunity to bring your pre-teen and teen readers, to meet an accomplished writer who understands and relates well to the young adult reader. A child who reads will be an adult who reads, and always be a life-long learner. Plan to have a light dinner out on the town in one of our fine restaurants in Loveland, then join us at 7 pm to meet Laura Resau.


Happy reading!
Bridget

Online Resources for Book Lovers

The internet is awash with websites having to do with books, for books, and about books. I have yet to actually read a book on my iTouch because I cannot bear the thought of not having the feel and smell of a physical book in my hand. I have downloaded a few classics in case I am without a book and I'm standing in line at the grocery store. I haven't actually made the effort to read an e-book though.

I won't bore you, dear readers, with my paper-in-hand philosophies but I will tell you of magical places on the internet where I like to go. There are three websites that I frequent regularly that have helpful advice to support my book addiction.

The first website is www.Goodreads.com. This website is dedicated to helping you keep track of what you read. You can also review the books you read and invite all of your bibliophile friends to see what you've read. Maybe you would like to keep track of what you would like to read. Goodreads provides you with a personal queue of the hundreds of thousands of books you want to read in your lifetime. Goodreads is a magical place where book lovers can frolic in recommendations or join specific forums for topics that interest them. The website is free. There are advertisments but let me tell you that they are not obnoxious. You don't even really notice they are there because they are book related.

The second website is www.LibraryThing.com. This for the hard core bibliophile who cannot ignore the urge to catalog and catergorize their entire personal library. Like Goodreads, it connects you to other people who share your similar interests in books. If you have anti-social tendencies and don't care who shares your interest in similar books, LibaryThing can be an online resource you use store the soft copy version of your library. I live for organizing my books. All 2,518 of them. LibraryThing helps me manage this addiction. Let's talk prices. You can store up to 200 titles for free. An annual membership is $10 per year. The lifetime membership $25and there is no limit to how many books you can add. It really is a lovely place to utilize.

Now to complete the trilogy of booklover websites. LibriVox.com is a website dedicated to bringing readers the audio version of books that have passed their copyright (pretty much anything before 1923). These recordings are available to listen to for free. These recordings are read by average people like you and me who volunteer their time and voice. Someday when my two year old allows me to have some free time I will volunteer my own voice.


I would LOVE to learn about some of the websites that our readers utilize when it comes to their reading habits. Happy reading!

Recently, I have joined a book club that reads more than one book a month, and these books follow a theme. In September, we read books that had been translated into English. They were all fantastic reads, by the way :) This month, in honor of fall and my favorite holiday (Halloween) we have chosen to re-visit some of the timeless horror novels. We have chosen to read Pet Semetary by Stephen King, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and a personal choice between Darkfall or Intensity by Dean Koontz.
To be honest, I have never read any of these books, and only recently have I seen the movie versions of "The Exorcist" & "Pet Semetary". (To go off on a tangent, "The Exorcist" scared me so bad that I slept with the light on and my phone gripped tightly in my sweaty fist just in case I had to make an police call at 4am.) Working in a bookstore, I see numerous copies of different King and Koontz books leave the store but personally I have only ever read some of Koontz' work.
Our reasoning behind selecting these books, and not others, are just personal reasons. I wanted to read The Exorcist to see if the book is more frightening than the movie, which I think it will be and I will spend many a night with the lights on. A fellow book club member recommended Swan Song, stating it was her favorite McCammon book and that it still gives her the creeps, even though she has read it numerous times. Pet Semetary was a mutual choice, given that King is a master of horror tales and the fact that raising the dead for selfish reasons is scary. (Again, on a tangent, the little boy (Gage) in the movie version is so terrifying, to me, that I get the chills just thinking about his creepy face :)
Swing by the store during the month of October to check out our Horror section, and our Fall/Halloween display. See if you can't find a book that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up!

Banned Books Week

"There Is A Voice Inside Of You That Whispers All Day Long,"I Feel That This Is Right For Me,I Know That This Is Wrong."No Teacher, Preacher, Parent, Friend Or Wise Man Can Decide What's Right For You- Just Listen To The Voice That Speaks Inside." - Shel Silverstein

Every year many bookstores set up displays to honor Banned Books Week. While this is highly publicized in the book world I feel as if our customers don't really understand why we celebrate Banned Books Week.

There are several reasons why we celebrate. We at Anthology Book Company feel it is important to have the freedom to choose what you read. We will order any book that the customer requests. We also do our very best to carry what our customers like to read. Upholding the freedom to choose your own book is a great responsibility. It is not only the bookstores who celebrate Banned Books Week. Newspapers, libraries, schools and many others celebrate as well.

It is more than a week to show what has been banned, it is a week to celebrate the printed word as well as freedom of speech. In this country we don't always realize how much our freedom to choose impacts our lives. While we have many freedoms our choices are still being banned. Just because you don't see something does not mean it is not there. Every year several books are challenged because an individual or a group is uncomfortable with what message they think the book conveys, but this is not always well known.

Even here in our lovely community of Loveland books are challenged. This year Loveland High School assigned Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko as reading in an upper level English course. This book was challenged as well as celebrated for its content. "A Loveland parent is questioning why her daughter had to read a book with explicit language and sex scenes in her 11th grade International Baccalaureate English class."(http://www.reporterherald.com/print.asp?ID=20530). This book underwent much criticism and featured two articles by Loveland High School Students telling why or why not the book should be read in class. While we do not question why an individual cares for a book or not, we find it disappointing when the freedom and intellectual integrity of students as well as other individuals is challenged.

Banned Books Week is about opening ones mind to different and wonderful books. One book that I really enjoyed this year was A Universal History of the Destruction of Books by Fernando Baez. This wonderful little books discusses the history of the written word and why we are afraid of letting others have an open mind. "without books there is no memory, and without memory, a culture cannot exist." - Fernando Baez. I find it extremely frustrating to only get part of a text, or to be deprived of something I could have read because someone else did not like the message. This little book is very big in content, and directly addresses this issue.

I have one question for all of you; what if someone told you you could not read your favorite book because they didn't like it? Most of us would be extremely upset and feel as if our freedom is being taken away. I challenge you to keep an open mind and encourage other people to do the same. Reading is a precious gift that no one should be deprived of.

"Banned Books Week (BBW): Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where the freedom to express oneself and the freedom to choose what opinions and viewpoints to consume are both met."(http://www.ala.org/).

If you are interested in purchasing these books at your local, independently owned bookstore, or borrowing them from the local library here are the ISBN numbers:

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, ISBN: 9780143104919

A Universal History of the Destruction of Books by Fernando Baez, ISBN: 9781934633014

The American Library Association provides a wide array of information on Banned Books Week, as well as other book information. The website for the ALA is: http://www.ala.org/

Banned Books Week is September 26 through October 3, 2009.

To access the article about Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko go to this link: http://www.reporterherald.com/print.asp?ID=20530

Happy reading and Banned Books Week!

New to Anthology Book Company

Tonight I take my solo wings as I complete training and "officially" join the Anthology Book Company staff. Thanks to Steph, Teresa and those who worked with me over the past two weeks to bring me up to speed on procedures, etiquette and general book sense. In addition to my bookselling duties, I will plan events and handle public relations for the store. A few of my first tasks will be to familiarize myself with the local authors, poets and musicians in the Loveland area. Please feel free to contact me at Anthology should you have interest in discussing a future event with our customers.

I look forward to getting to know our loyal customers and all those who wander into this excellent independent bookstore. Thank you for your continued support. Cool autumn days are ahead...perfect for reading!

Bridget