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1Eurydice
Jul 25, 2006, 5:28 pm

I always long for time to poke about in the Village and hopefully find better bookstores than any I know. It never seems to happen - though I haven't tried hard yet. Being a mystery fan, if I can, I normally am sated with a stop at Murder By the Book. Any better suggestions, however, are more than welcome.

Any favorites? For 'daily use' I'm fairly addicted to Half-Price Books branches, too. The one nearest me is the worst I've frequented, but I did pick up a nice copy of Burton's First Footsteps in East Africa, Ghost Stories of Henry James, and some miniature volumes on great philosophers recently for ten cents each. :)

2Eurydice
Jul 25, 2006, 5:32 pm

I see the current 'top shared book,' between two of us, is The Professor's House - probably my all-time favorite Cather. Though Death Comes for the Archbishop (which I've often seen humorously if startlingly mis-shelved as a mystery !) is a close rival.

3Eurydice
Jul 26, 2006, 9:54 am

I'm trying to come up with a good picture for our profile, but if anyone has a suggestion, or something on hand that would do - let me know!

Hunger is starting to overtake me, and I'm off - but curious (this has a tangential relationship to cookbooks) where you all like best to eat? Also: recommendations on coffeehouses. I hear the Agora is great, but never seem to make it there. Like most, I love Thai food, Vietnamese, and other Asian cuisines... but that's only a beginning. Right now, I'm thinking about breakfast, and a decent cup of tea!

4amberjc Primeira Mensagem
Jul 26, 2006, 2:35 pm

Thanks for the invite!

You asked many questions... hmm... I'm a typical B&N, Half-Price Books, and Amazon shopper. I'll occasionally go to Borders, but there isn't one close to me, so it's not very often.

A picture... well, I am thinking maybe a nice one of the downtown skyline? Just a thought.

Food. I am with you - Thai food, Vietnamese, but add to that Mexican and Mediterranean as well for me.

5kmcquage Primeira Mensagem
Jul 26, 2006, 4:59 pm

I'm a Half-Price fan, myself, but I now live on the northwest side of town and it's kind of a pain to get to any locations--I'm equally far from several of them though, so I'll probably frequent 3 or 4 now. I also like Borders--I love the Bookstop on Shepherd, but I think it has a better selection than most B&Ns.

If anybody knows some good used bookstores around where 290 hits 610, let me know!

6jenniferb Primeira Mensagem
Jul 26, 2006, 9:18 pm

I like the Half-Priced books in the Village, Quarter-priced on Shepherd, Brazos Bookstore on Bissonett, and Borders. I love the Borders reward program. Barnes and Noble has a "dot sale" twice a year that's pretty cool. I got Hey Nostradamus today for a dollar. I love bookstores!

7Eurydice
Jul 27, 2006, 12:10 am

I love any and all bookstores (well... almost!). Borders is great, but I don't often get there. I like Barnes & Noble... and love the afore-mentioned Murder By the Book. While the Half-Price Books in the Village is nice, they don't specialize in cheap paperbacks and tatty copies :) - so for real utility, the one at Westheimer & Kirkwood is my favorite. Especially since they moved to the bigger premises, in the same strip. It's much bigger, not quite so shabby (though I always liked that), and consequently has a much more open feel - with a lot more books.

However, I do buy many books from Amazon.

I'll have to try bookstore-hopping with some of your suggestions, though: Brazos Bookstore, the two on Shepherd (maybe a tiny stop at MBTB). Knowing myself, I couldn't fit more into a day, anyway. :)

Amber - glad you agree about food. :) I do enjoy Mexican food (and Latin American cooking), and woke up the other day craving mole! Speaking of Mediterannean, any thoughts or suggestions for Greek food? I just tried the Pappas family's Yia Yia Mary's - but would love to know if there's somewhere that trumps that.

8jenniferb
Jul 27, 2006, 12:15 am

For Greek food, you must try Niko Niko's on Montrose. I like the HPB in the Village because they tend to have more literary stuff. I guess it's the Rice influence. haha. I just can't get into buying books online. There's something about perusing the aisles that I just can't let go of. I use online services for out-of-print and rare stuff. But to each their own. :)

9kmcquage
Jul 27, 2006, 12:48 am

I love Niko Niko's! When I used to live in Montrose, my roommates and I would walk to it for lunch, and then hit the Half Price when it was over on Hyde Park.

If anybody is from outlying southern parts, the Mediterranean Chef in Galveston is also delicious.

10Eurydice
Jul 27, 2006, 2:39 am

All right, that clinches it! My brother-in-law also loves Niko Niko's - and he's usually right. I'll believe you ALL. :)

I do like the quality of the books at the HPB in the Village... just depends what I want/need. (And it's farther from me.) The beauty of buying online for me is availability and savings, just as the beauty of real-world shopping is sensory experience and serendipity.

I don't get to Galveston but once in a blue moon - yet it's nice to have a recommendation in mind. Can't remember the names of the bookstores there I like.... can you?

11kmcquage
Jul 27, 2006, 3:11 am

I grew up there. I used to almost live in Books Etc, because it was four blocks from my house and three from the high school. There was also a downtown used book store, but I can't recall if it has a name other than "21st Street Bookstore" or some such.

I think the only new bookstore is Midsummer Books... That was built just a few years before I moved off the island, so I never spent as much money there as I did at the others.

I still return every year for the Rosenburg Library book sale though! It lasts all weekend and I seriously go all three days.

12Eurydice
Jul 27, 2006, 3:34 am

Wow! The Rosenburg book sale sounds great.

I was in Galveston this spring, and hit both Midsummer Books (thanks!) and the used one, close by. Midsummer looked great (nice location, beautifully selected inventory), but I had so hard a time choosing, and investing the little I had heavily in one or two books, that in the end all my purchases were used. Sort of sad, really. Hopefully next time I'm there, I'll be more decisive. :)

13amberjc
Jul 27, 2006, 11:43 am

I agree with the others about Niko Niko's - very good food. My Mother in law makes awesome mole - but in lieu of that, my fave place for good mole is "La Mexicana Mexican Restaurant":http://www.lamexicanarestaurant.com/.

14Bestine Primeira Mensagem
Jul 27, 2006, 4:07 pm

Thanks for the invite to this group! My favorite spots to 'feed my habit' are:

BARGAIN/OFF-PRICE
--Half-Price, Village
--Half-Price, Montrose
--"Used" shelves at Murder By The Book
--1/4 Price Books on Shepherd (not so much there, mostly BCE's)
--Bargain Tables at Borders and Barnes & Noble
--Blue Bird, Charity Guild, Second to None and Junior Forum resale shops
--The Best Kept Secret In The World: the book sale tables at various Houston Public Library branches. Looscan was the best... I sure wish they'd get on the stick about rebuilding. Currently, Montrose has been having good stuff, but parking's a pain. Jungman... not so hot.

FULL PRICE
--Murder By the Book. Rah! Rah!
--Brazos (not much for me there, as their stuff is usually way too literary for my plebian tastes, but I try to support my local Independents as much as I can).
--Amazon. I used to buy from them much more, but if I'm buying something new and paying retail (or almost retail) I want to be sure I'm getting hc/dj/1/1, and I've been burned twice by them... on NEW RELEASES. Bah, humbug.

WEIRD STUFF
--ABE network. Definitely!
--Amazon Resellers. I've had pretty good luck with them.
--eBay... not so hot. You have to be really, really careful, as most of these sellers are not really 'booksellers' and can be sorta cavalier about BCEs, later printings of firsts, price-clipped dust jackets, etc. Caveat Emptor!

As for NicoNico's... let me add my recommendation, too. In addition to great greek food, they serve (IMHO), the very best french fries in Houston. If you're just jonesin' for a decent gyros, Hungry's in the Village does a good one (and their french fries are pretty good, too).

15jenniferb
Jul 27, 2006, 8:58 pm

Have you ever been to the annual Friends of Houston Library sale? It's at the George R Brown convention center for 3 days in the spring. Friday is "friends only," Saturday is anyone, and on Sunday you can fill a paper grocery bag with as many books as possible for 10 bucks. It's my annual book orgy.

16Eurydice
Jul 28, 2006, 4:05 am

Food first: Niko Niko's it is (and I do love great french fries), but I will make a point of Hungry's next time I'm book-shopping in the Village. Which, with your suggestions, I'll be doing at rather more length. :)

Amber: next time the mole hankering strikes, I'll be there.

And back in a moment, re: books...

17amberjc
Jul 28, 2006, 9:21 am

Friends of Houston Library sale? I've never heard of it but it sounds like big fun!

OH and let me second Hungry's - there's one down the street from my house, and they do have really good food!

Let me know what you think of La Mexicana, Eurydice - it is hands down my fave Mexican restaurant in Houston!

What recommendations can you give for Thai and Vietnamese? We have a couple places that we know we like and always frequent, but I'm always looking for other good places to try.

18Bestine
Jul 28, 2006, 10:54 am

Whoever is responsible for the profile photo, it's great! I worked downtown for almost 25 years... 7.5 of them (1990-1997) as marketing director for The Retail Center Formerly Known as The Park Shops in Houston Center. I simply can't believe the changes over the past 6 years or so.

19amberjc
Jul 28, 2006, 3:45 pm

I agree with Bestine - great photo! I currently work downtown in the Fulbright Tower - aka Chevron Tower.

20Eurydice
Jul 29, 2006, 4:20 am

Glad you guys like the photo! I didn't take it, but tried to find something for us that wasn't stodgy.

I worked at One Shell briefly, eight years ago.

Bestine and jenniferb: thank you both on library-related sales. Next spring, the Friends of the Houston Public Library Book Sale will be on my calendar of high points, beside the Houston International Festival.

As for the rest - Bestine, you've made a most comprehensive list. Thank you. :) I do love MBTB, new or used. Especially used! And most of my 'Amazon' purchases are through used sellers, with which I've been very happy; though I'm plotting a first ABE purchase. I've also bought used books from Alibris (not through Amazon). Not bad, but a bit spottier than the latter.

Amberjc: hard to say how soon it will be, but I'll let you know! Where is it you already like to go for Thai/Vietnamese? Are suggestions on the SW side of town ok?

21rlunday Primeira Mensagem
Jul 29, 2006, 3:18 pm

Hello ALl,

Busy teaching summer courses, so it's hard to fit in other things -- but this is a lively group, so I'll slip in...

Bookstores? Ah, well: I've been back here a dozen years, and have seen too many great old establishments go down the tubes: Saul's on S. Shepherd was a nondescript little place, but he had a wonderful eye in several categories, especially fiction, philosophy, science. Detering's was pricely, but it was like most goodstores a good view into a particluar way of thinking and feeling about books -- not just a bunch of stuff on shelves. There was a pipe-smoke-filled shop further up on South Shepherd, now a nail shoppe (that's the way our civilization goes, I guess); they had a great art-book selection, and great old kid's books. Colleen's was essentially bought up and transported to Rosenberg (Butler's), and it's a drive, but worth the tip; they're closed Sundays and Mondays.

Still going: Becker's, just outside Loop 610, on Westview. Dark, dusty, but pleasantly labyrinthine. Not cheap, beacuse they tend to know what they have. And a little place: Lloyd's, in the Village; I think on Sunset. Just a bungalow, and not a lot of books, but worth a stop if you're in the Village.

1/4 Books on S Shepherd is a great place -- partly because the owner and chief staff are men with a mission. Fun to talk to.

But the thing to do is plan a trip to Austin: The Half Price Books that used to be on Guadalupe is now on N Lamar, I think; that's the bookstore to go to for archeological explorations! You can almost read a certain set of minds as you browse... if you spend a few hours, it becomes obvious that certain books lived together in someone's library (retired/deceased UT profs?). There's a depth and variety that compares to NYC, SF, and Berkeley used-bookstores.

Not all of that carries over to the onlineworld: no creaky floorboards, no cats on windowsills, and not quite the same serendipty: looking for one book, catching another even better title out of the corner of your eye; however, the lists, comments, and other electronic connections are creating their own sort of culture -- just like this one, here at Librarything. Still too early to see what it will make of the World of Books...but it's in our hands, right?

22jenniferb
Jul 29, 2006, 9:41 pm

Rlunday:

Excellent! I'm headed to Austin tomorrow. I'll be sure to go to their Half Price and of course I have to stop at Book People. Also, I noticed that you have Marvin Bell's work too. I really love his stuff.

23Eurydice
Jul 30, 2006, 5:25 pm

Rlunday, many thanks for taking the time out. You've mentioned some apparent gems which would have escaped me for who knows how many years. - Particularly those in Austin. You're right - the quirkiness and sensory details don't transfer. And we're only now building an alternate version of the people and the serendipity involved.

I'm tempted to say that of course this online book world is less satisfying; yet I wonder if that's always true. Against a truly great bookstore, it is - of course. But there's more to be said for the minor explosion of personal input and the depth of the catalog here than I, thinking of, say, Wills' in La Jolla, am tempted to give it.

It is, at the very least, wonderful preparation for walking into brick-and-mortar facades.

24jenniferb
Jul 30, 2006, 8:11 pm

What I love about the online book world is the connection to other readers from so many different backgrounds and finding new books to seek out.

25rlunday
Jul 30, 2006, 11:23 pm

Yes, we should not think so much of which world (virtual or street-level) is better, but rather, how the two combine to make an enhanced experience -- or, to make it possible, depending on how one exercises one's choices. I do feel sad at the loss of good bookstores (independent stores generally are greatly reduced from, say, twenty years ago), but that's the cycle of the world: new customs, new experiences, replace the old. Cinema did away with a wonderful world of dioramas, panoramas, parlor-room optical toys, and a very lively theater culture: In Whitman's time, opera was a working-class pleasure in America). Literacy did away with a lively memorial culture, or so the scholars say. Rock killed Jazz, TV and later video games killed -- well, significant parts of the brain! When I was out of college, living in lower Manhattan (1980 -- 83; I'm the eldgery guy here, I suspect), my friends and I went to the revival houses three or four times a week -- they were all over, and most are gone now (like Drive-ins, when I was a kid). Nobody had a VCR, although I suspect they were already there... and a few years ago, I pulled out my LPs to compare that experience with CD's, which are losing out to downloaded music... my son often askes me about these strange old things of the (for him) distant past; my mother used to tell me of the radio days, and I pestered my grandmother about the Victorola in her parlor.

But if things didn't die, new things wouldn't get created.

The book is a technology: the codex, specifically, is around 1,800 years old. Movable type, 550 or so years. Hypertext, 12 - fifteen years?

Sorry, I warped out into a lecture! Or a memoir...

26dchaikin Primeira Mensagem
Jul 31, 2006, 2:12 pm

Just found this group. I'm in Cypress, close enough for a commute.

Bookstores... I'm in love with Brazos because it weeds out all the noise you find in the majors (B&N, Borders, Amazon). You get a compressed selection of mostly really good books, so the brousing is great. Plus they have the best poetry and literary journal selection I've found anywhere. Try to find chap books at Borders?

Rumor has it Brazos was recently sold. Not sure what that would change.

Don't neglect Avalon Books in Brenham (W. Alamo & S Douglas). It's small, but for whatever reason it's tough to come away empty-handed.

Bestine : How does one find out when the HPL book sales are? Harris County PL sales are probably nice, as well.

27Eurydice
Jul 31, 2006, 5:52 pm

rlunday: Please don't apologize, or feel you should curb the impulse. :) It made pertinent and enjoyable reading, and filled in some detail in my own sense of how culture and technology shift. Even in my own lifetime (not long, but long enough to remember eight-tracks), I am amazed not just at how much has changed, but at how much is forgotten. - Left by the wayside for collectors, literally and metaphorically.

Without qualifying as a collector, I'm very fond of old film (a medium still going strong, however different production methods may be) and vintage radio shows. The culture may be gone, but sometimes the artifacts blessedly remain... :)

28Eurydice
Jul 31, 2006, 6:04 pm

Dchaikin, angarrgoon, weejaa, and somer: you're all most welcome.

I'm glad you've joined us despite technicalities, dchaikin. :) Definitely correct.

There was a story about Brazos' sale in the paper a couple of weeks ago. As the people who bought it banded together out of love for the store, one could hope the answer on what would change is 'not much.'

Thanks for the recommendation on Avalon Books...not sure when I'll get there, but will keep the possibility squirreled away. Perhaps the sales are listed on the library system website?

29Eurydice
Jul 31, 2006, 6:12 pm

Eumenides: where do you like to get tea ice cream (specifically)? I've had stunning, fragrant green tea ice creams (mostly Japanese), though right now I can't remember where the best have been. I'd love any suggestion on sources for any tea ice cream - especially, as you say, for sweet shops and Indian.

30kmcquage
Jul 31, 2006, 11:02 pm

I like to hit up the Hillcroft/59 area, but it's been a while. My fav place down there is Bombay Sweets, but their line up changes, and so sometimes they have ice cream and sometimes they don't.

My roommate just mentioned Osaka. It's a Japanese restaurant on Westheimer....and Stanford? Right before it turns into Elgin anyway. I recall their ice cream as good but I haven't lived in Montrose for a few years now, so I haven't been in ages.

31Eurydice
Ago 1, 2006, 12:28 am

At least that gives me some places to try. Thank you. :) If I recall, the one they serve at Kaneyama (Westheimer, east of Gessner) is lovely, too.

32Eurydice
Ago 1, 2006, 12:39 am

Someone (aluvalibri) on Broke! mentioned a site where you can search for library sales in the US: http://www.booksalefinder.com.

Thought this might help dchaikin (and the rest of us).

33rlunday
Ago 1, 2006, 2:55 am

My wife is Japanese, so I have a live-in authority... Kubo's in the Village is very good, if pricey. Sasaki, which is on Westheimer past the loop -- Fountainview? I forget... Miyako on Kirby is not bad; and Nippon, on Montrose Blvd, across from the new/relocated art galleries.

There's a small grocery store way out Westheimer, past Gessner (sorry, I'm being Houston center-centric here): Daido; if you're game for trying at-home Japanese food.

Not that Sushi's all there is to Japanese food... most of the everyday cuisine you can't find over here: okonomiyaki, for example: a batter, fried like a pancake, but packed full of seafood, sprinkled with fish-flakes and slathered in mayonaisse (that might sound disgusting, actually; but it's good: sort of like Japanese pizza).

As for green tea ice cream; Nippon has it, Kubo's, Sasaki... but I remember having it somewhere a while back -- deep fried! Now, that was a treat, especially after a Sapporo or two. Or three. Wish I could remember where I had it.

34kmcquage
Ago 1, 2006, 4:48 am

I hope you remember too! It sounds excellent!

Thanks for the tips.

35Bestine
Ago 1, 2006, 6:53 pm

dchaikin, the big annual book sale is a production of the Friends of Houston Public Library, a non-profit community organization set up to support the library. It's publicized in the newspaper and in the various HPL branches as well. I'll bet it's also noted on the official HPL website:
http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us/index.html
In addition to the annual sale, many HPL branches keep a "Friends of HPL Book Sale" table year-round. Just wander in anytime and check it out. The one at Montrose is currently offering paperbacks for 25 cents, and hardcovers for 75 cents, with current bestsellers/other hotter items marked $1-$1.50. Selection varies wildly from visit to visit.

36Eurydice
Ago 1, 2006, 7:08 pm

rlunday, actually it sounds oddly appealing. Without prejudice to sushi, I particularly enjoy non-sushi Japanese foods. I think I've been to Daido. If not, I'll try to get there soon. Miyako, we used to go to a lot years ago. Just discussing it makes me want to pull out a cookbook and make some Japanese food; though that would also entail a shopping trip, etc., in the rain. If by any chance you have recommendations for Japanese cookbooks, however, let me know!

(Anyone else here nutty about onigiri?)

37dchaikin
Ago 1, 2006, 7:42 pm

Thanks for the booksale info, esp the booksalefinder website. About 3 years ago I bumped into a major booksale at the Heights Library...that was fun. But, I never think to look up who was organizing it.

You all can have the Sushi, but the tea ice cream sounds good.

38rlunday
Ago 2, 2006, 9:57 pm

Onigiri --Japanese equivalent of the baloney sandwich! Or peanut butter and jelly, if you prefer... we bring them along on road trips.

Yukiko just cooks from memory and imagination; I don't think we have any Japanese cookbooks in the house.

(I cook a little; but without imagination or skill, unfortunately. So I'm usually left to do the cleaning up.)

A good summer dish: cold somen or soba noodles, with a dipping sauce (water & soy sauce, mainly) into which you put sliced green onion, wasabi, perhaps ground sesame seed; cool the noodles in a collander on ice -- in a pot or in the sink... cut up nori seaweed into thin strips and sprinkle on top of the noodles after you prepare the individual plates.

here are web site with info:

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/foodinformation/a/summerfood.htm)

http://www.recipezaar.com/177974

39Eurydice
Ago 3, 2006, 9:38 pm

Yes - but they taste better than a baloney sandwich! I love them. :)

The cold soba sounds lovely. I'm glad to see more recipes. Many thanks.

40Eurydice
Editado: Ago 20, 2006, 10:40 pm

I know a few of us frequent Murder by the Book. The last week or two, I've been bemoaning the dearth of Houston-based mysteries (worth reading). However, I see one now which may fit the bill. MBTB is featuring it in their email newsletter today.

It's called Journal:The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason, by sisters Kristine & Joyce Atkinson. No copies appear to be in the LT system yet, but it does come recommended and IS available from Amazon as well. It's in the (literal) form of a journal owned by the victim of a crime, interleaving entries, newspaper clippings, emails, etc, 'collage-style,' from which you may glean clues; with no formal 'detective story.' The book itself looks rather beautiful. Seemed worth a mention. :)

Hope all of you are having a good night...

41Eurydice
Ago 3, 2006, 9:50 pm

Let's see... where did I leave that backslash?

42Eurydice
Ago 3, 2006, 9:50 pm

Ah. HERE.

43Eurydice
Ago 3, 2006, 9:51 pm

LOL. My apologies.

44Eurydice
Ago 3, 2006, 9:53 pm

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45dchaikin
Ago 4, 2006, 2:34 pm

Speaking of mysteries... I've been looking through the libraries and profiles in the group. There are some fascinating collections. What has really struck me is that this is quite a diverse group. I guess that should be obvious from the books shared list, which shows us there is almost no overlap between different libraries. Anyway, poking through the colllections is quite interesting, I'm very curious what is in all these books I've never heard of. I wondering if anyone would be interesting in discussing here what's in their libraries.

For example, speaking of mysteries, Eurydice, what is all the LT rage with Rex Stout (and Nero Wolfe). Am I clueless, the name is new to me.

46Eurydice
Ago 5, 2006, 8:28 pm

Apologies for being so slow in answering... and welcome to our newest members.

I agree we don't seem to share much, and look forward to some unexpected browsing of my own.

Meanwhile, dchaikin, on to your question. The name of Nero Wolfe is probably new to you because it's old. Rex Stout began writing his Nero Wolfe mysteries in 1934; he finished his last, I think the thirty-ninth, in 1974 - and died the next year.

Now, the rage about them is harder to explain. :) The short answer is that they're smart, funny, have a great cast of characters - and are set in a vintage New York that draws us in.

The long answer is that Stout had the inspiration to pair an eccentric, difficult, brilliant Sherlockian detective, Nero Wolfe, who refuses to leave home on business, with a younger, wisecracking, irreverent detective (Archie Goodwin) drawn from the harboiled tradition. Archie acts as Wolfe's legman and narrator of each book. Unlike Dr. Watson, Archie is unintellectual but definitely not dumb. He differs from the hardboiled tradition largely in the range of his humor and a lack of bitterness; he's even something of a (very lovable) social butterfly - compared to the heroes of Hammett or Chandler. Wolfe's passions are orchids, books, food, and maybe beer; he only works so as to gratify them. Archie loves dancing, New York, and his work.

The contrast and interdependence is important, but the crux of the series seems to be Wolfe's old brownstone, which houses not only the office, but also Wolfe, and his legman, and his chef - sometimes even the orchid-tender for the 10,000 orchids in plant rooms on the roof! - allowing a sense of closeness, both to the characters, and between them. We're always entering this home, this workspace - the web of Wolfe's obsessions and rules, the sound of Archie's voice, the meals Fritz serves; the trio of detectives called in to help, rival agencies, Archie's dates; the obligatory police inspector and his visits - a whole realm of expectations at once comforting, and wonderful to see subverted. There's much more, of course, but I think most of us who love them feel this way, and feel - to an unusual degree - as if in reading the books, we are visiting and revisiting our friends.

Stout's and Wolfe's literacy undoubtedly boosts it yet higher, on LibraryThing. :)

47rlunday
Ago 5, 2006, 8:53 pm

It's great to read about this... I've always liked mysteries, but I haven't yet devoted energy to following the genre, even though there is much about it that interests me. I worked in several bookstores in New York and Houston (a career line that ended two decades ago, however), and I've had my hands on every sort of book (almost literally, every sort: one store I worked in in NYC, in SoHo, had the policy of selling practically everything in print! Some of it quitte blushworthy).

There's a kind of knowledge that comes through simply selling and shelving books, taking a few seconds to flip through, read blurbs, peruse the cover... I can remember taking the Literature section as part of the GRE (graduate entrance exam) around a dozen years ago, and answering questions about books I'd never read, but had put on bookshelves -- the back cover was enough to get me through the multiple-choice questions.

So, Nero Wolfe (among others) is on my skin, so to speak, but not yet in my system...

Well, I'll open that gold mine in the future... so many books, so little time, as the saying goes.

Meanwhile, one line I've been following is memoir: partly because I'm writing one (based on my stepfather's letters home from Vietnam in 1969; more broadly, a study of growing up an Army Brat in the sixties and seventies) -- also, because I'd like to make an anthology, mainly for teaching writing through a focus on life-writing as persuasion and research. So, I'm reading memoirs to find excerpts that will support such a teaching strategy (meanwhile, teaching myself as I write my own memoir: it's so much more than a matter of remembering my life. You have to use language itself to "invent" the truth...maybe not a la James Frey -- relax, Oprah! -- but by accepting that integrity will be in a creative tension with art and entertainment).

I'll mention some of the memoirs here in the future -- but the most recently finished was C.S. Lewis' "Surprised by Joy." It is meant, I suppose, to narrate the logical process of his becoming a Christian, but that "conversion" element (itself patterned after Sugustine, Bunyan, and a long line of such writers) is actually fairly small in the overall content, which focuses mainly on Lewis' growing up in Ireland and England prior to WWI. The descriptions of public-school culture are quite interesting (compare to T.E. Lawrence in "Seven Pillars"; Robert Graves in "Goodbye to All That" -- also a WWI soldier) -- rampant homoeroticism! The BBC versions tend to whitewash all of that...

but Lewis' book is mainly to be read for the autobiography of a mind and an imagination. If you like his "kids'" books -- the Narnia books, that is -- then yo ucan see how such an interest evolved from his early childhood, and from the tragic as well as the idyllic circumstances of his childhood.

Well, enough for now...

48rlunday
Ago 5, 2006, 9:09 pm

I jsut realized I should have used the "Touchstone" format:

C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
James Frey, A Million Little Pieces

49Eurydice
Ago 9, 2006, 8:58 am

I look forward to continuing the conversation, but will be away about ten days. See all of you then!

50Bestine
Editado: Ago 9, 2006, 9:24 am

Hunting Report!

Yesterday, OctogenerianBestineMom's bridge club met farther out Westheimer than usual, so after dropping her off, I took the opportunity to cruise down to Half Price at Kirkwood. Woo! Scored "Through a Night of Horrors: Voices of the 1900 Galveston Storm" in the Texana section, plus both of David Weber's "Bolo" books -- hc/dj/1/1... unremaindered! -- in the SciFi/Fantasy stacks.

On the way back down Westheimer, I noticed one of those "75% Off Books" places (I can't remember the cross street, but it's right next door to Whole Paycheck Foods). Lots of dreck, but I did find remaindered copies of G.P. Taylor's juveniles, "Shadowmancer" (trade pb) and "Wormwood" (hc/dj/1/1).

I hadn't been out to HP Kirkwood in a dog's age, but they were just loaded with yummy stuff. Dang, I'm seriously gonna have to get 'outside the loop' more often!

51liBarry Primeira Mensagem
Ago 10, 2006, 8:37 pm

For Greek, I like both "Biba's." One is on West Gray and the other is on Memorial, just east of Memorial Park. Apparently the two restaurants share a history, but they seem to have diverged st some point, as the gyros meat is somewhat different at each location. Both are cheap and also have yummy 'Greek' pizzas, as well as the standard Greek fare.

52Eurydice
Ago 10, 2006, 10:51 pm

liBarry: sounds terrific, thank you! The 'cheap' in your description will, shall we say, hasten the day I go there?

Bestine: I hate that 75% Off Books - lots of just awful stuff to wade through - but I'm thrilled you found something good in all of it. The Half-Price Books at Kirkwood, in contrast, is an old favorite. What do you think of the new space they're in?

I'm still off in California, happily, and don't have the time I'd need to discuss autobiography with rlunday, but would love to see anything ANY of you post about what you have in your libraries, areas you'rs building, or what you're reading.

I will confess, though I am fond of my home city, right now I do not miss it. :)

53Bestine
Editado: Ago 11, 2006, 11:39 am

What are we reading? OK, I'll bite.

As evidenced by my library, my taste runs to plot-driven genre fiction. I generally slough off the ridicule of my higher-brow buddies with claims that my faves "may be dreck, but my chosen dreck has much better characterization than most" (yeah, and my brother reads Playboy for the articles... heh heh heh).

However... I must admit that, now and then, I do feel a twinge of shame over letting my brain gorge on a steady diet of the literary (stretching it) equivalent of "Mountain Dew," and I try to force feed it something, uh, meaningful...

Well, I know there are some serious poetry/literature fans on this list, and have I got something for you: Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile by Verlyn Klinkenborg, inspired by A Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White..

This isn't a novel. It's a single poem, masquerading as prose. It's 157 pages of perfect little morsels, one after another as (to quote one of the blurbs on the back cover) "Through the mind of a tortoise, we are led to examine and explore our cruelty, compassion, and curiosity as human beings."

My first attempt to read this extraordinary thing was a fiasco. I read voraciously, gulping down books in a single sitting. My mind just froze up trying to digest something as double-chocolate-mousse-cake-with-triple-chocolate-icing-and-a-side-of-Godiva-Liqueur-rich as this. I had to quit it and dash through both David Weber Bolo books (Bolo! and Old Soldiers), just to get a grip.

I've started over now, and am taking Timothy a bit at a time. It's pretty amazing.

Yeah, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

54dchaikin
Ago 11, 2006, 2:12 pm

What I’m reading… Well, Bestine, now I'm a bit embarrassed for reading Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Actually, I shouldn’t be embarrassed because it’s a pretty powerful little book. But, compared to what you’re reading, it’s just basic popular fiction. It’s an example of one of the main kinds of books I’ve been reading lately… books like Middlesex, Life of Pi, the Kite Runner, Secret Life of Bees, The Time Traveler’s Wife. These are the kinds of books that sometimes show up on the Booker prize or maybe the Pulitzer Prize fiction lists and tons of LT users own them. They really get to me, so I keep reading them, and love them.

I love poetry too, but I need an access point, and that usually means it needs a regional reference, maybe Texas, or some other reference I can easily start at, like geology. So, that means Larry D. Thomas (who lives in Montrose), and Walter McDonald, and it also means I end up reading a lot of Rick Bass who is a geologist, and my current literary hero John Graves… I read Goodbye to a River recently and was wowed. But, then I’m a sucker of literary autobiography-like books. I love A River Runs Through It too.

Otherwise, I like micro-histories, and coal: a human history is on my short list to read.

And I like the sort-of journalist style literary nonfiction like Jon Krakauer, Eric Schlosser, Michael Lewis, John McPhee (another geology connection) etc. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright is on my short list to acquire. My inspiration for this last bit is The New New Journalism, which is simply a bunch of interviews of these kinds of authors about their writing styles.

If you have any ideas, I am looking for literature with a Texas or geological connection, including poetry… Or something else out there that seems fun, something like Terry Pratchett or Neal Stephenson. Rex Stout might be a nice find for me. I’ll have to check something out.

55Bestine
Editado: Ago 11, 2006, 7:35 pm

Dear Dchaiken. My watchword for this year is "Bite Me," and if anybody gives you grief for reading Margaret Atwood, you have my permission to use it. ;-)

56rlunday
Ago 12, 2006, 2:34 pm

The Gilbert White looks interesting... have you read Henry Beston, or Loren Eiseley...? There are several terrific poet-naturalists (Thoreau being the granddaddy, but not the first)....

In Cold Mtn (the novel I assume, though I haven't read it; but it's a device in the movie, so I assume they were true to Frazier's book), the lead character carries around WIlliam Bartram; that, and another by William Byrd, offer interesting (if less frequently lyrical) descriptions of nature.

57Bestine
Editado: Ago 14, 2006, 1:47 pm

Finished my second reading of Timothy; or Notes of an Abject Reptile. I am now picturing Verlyn Klinkenborg as The God of Writing, quill pen clenched between his teeth as he self-edits with an axe in one hand and an Xacto-knife in the other. So many ideas, so much truth in such few, such precisely chosen words.

No, alas, I haven't read Beston, Eiseley, Bartram, Byrd or any of the poet-naturalists.

I did, however, recently read an odd 'then and now' novel based on the hunt for the stuffed remains a famous 'one of a kind' bird collected by one of the 18th C amateur naturalists/explorers. Of course, I recall neither the names of the 18th and 20th C protagonists, nor the title of the book, nor its author. I picked it up at the library solely due to its beautiful cover art (I'm such a Phillistine) and found it rather ho-hum: predictable romance, unmemorable characters, too much angst, not enough action to thrill. And, unlike "Timothy," it just didn't have enough of that 'zap' of extraordinary writing to push me into making that very real effort to 'change reading gears.'

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Library Day for me, and now that all the kiddos are back in school, I'm hoping to find a larger selection of mysteries and sci-fi. Time for a well-deserved refill of "Mountain Dew!"

58dchaikin
Ago 18, 2006, 2:23 pm

Yesterday, I stopped by that Half-Price billions of miles from downtown (which is closer than I am) on Kirkwood and Westheimer. Good find! Thanks for the suggestions.

59Bestine
Editado: Ago 22, 2006, 5:49 pm

Hunting Report!

Dropped by Becker's Books on Westview (about a block west of Antoine, and a block east of "Ashland House Restaurant") today. Rlunday mentioned Becker's upthread, but I figured I'd give it another plug here 'cause, as usual, I was struck dumb by the huge amounts of every category of fiction and non-fiction imaginable... the classic, murky, maze-like 'used bookstore' ambiance... the bizarre inconsistencies in pricing (esp paperbacks, which often seem kinda high).

Picked up two of Dick Francis' more obscure, earlier works in pb ($4 each, ouch) and two hc/dj/1/1s that I didn't already have, in fair shape ($5 and $10, wow!). I've been drooling for a year over an early Dick Francis hc/dj/1/1 that's priced $70. Yep, it was -- and is -- still there. Also found a hc/dj/1/1 of Isaac's Storm -- the British Edition, no kidding -- for $14. So, yeah, I'm a happy camper today.

Becker's is kinda out of the way (Katy Freeway/Ikea area), but if you are seriously jonesin' for the 'old fashioned used bookstore experience,' give yourself a minimum of 2 hours, take a flashlight and hit the stacks: 7405 Westview, 713-957-8088.

Hours are kinda odd... they don't open until 11am. But they take visa and mastercard, and whoever's at the till always seems ready to talk books.

60kmcquage
Ago 22, 2006, 11:28 pm

Hurrah! I just moved outside the loop, in the Antoine/290 area, and I've been desperately seeking good bookstores in my area. Thanks for the tip!

61Eurydice
Ago 22, 2006, 11:47 pm

It sounds terrific; good to hear that from both of you (Bestine and rlunday). I'm going to have to make a pilgrimage in that direction in the next month or two.

62Eurydice
Ago 22, 2006, 11:48 pm

Incidentally, thanks for including the phone number, Bestine!

63vikk Primeira Mensagem
Set 7, 2006, 6:53 pm

I've gone to the Book Browser for years. Used to be called Crandall's. It's over near Antoine and Pinemont. Doesn't look like much from the outside but they have plenty of books and actually will let you know if you're looking for a special book. They once called me a year later when they finally got the book in.

BTW, I'm new here. Hi all!

64Eurydice
Set 7, 2006, 7:02 pm

Hi, vikk! Good to see you here. The more of us (Houstonians), the better. :)

The Book Browser sounds great. I've never been there, but had the miserable experience, in less familiar parts of town, of driving in the car with someone else, and passing up enticing signs, even for inauspicious fronts, with no possibility of stopping. It's a dreadful feeling. As is forgetting where you even saw the sign. ;)

65Bestine
Nov 2, 2006, 8:08 am

Hunting Report

I wandered into Half Price Books in the Village yesterday and, my goodness, **never** have I seen the store so well stocked. Plus, maybe they have a new manager or something? It looks like somebody has actually started to do some thoughtful merchandising.

I may just be "feeling the glow" of scoring big on five old Georgette Heyer novels, but I'm intrigued enough to wander over to Montrose soon to see if the good karma is working for more than just one branch...

66vikk
Maio 10, 2007, 2:30 pm

Hey, thanks for the tip on Becker's. I used to live in that area and still have my post office box in Spring Branch. Now that I'm officially--as of yesterday--not working at my day job I'll have more time. :) I also plan to check out the New Orleans bookstore mentioned elsewhere, too.

67Bestine
Maio 13, 2008, 11:07 pm

RIP Ron Stone. Good night, neighbor.

68dulcibelle
Maio 15, 2008, 11:17 am

Don't forget. The annual Houston Public Library book sale is this weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Most books are $2.00 or less.

Friday, May 16, 4:30 - 9:00 for Friends members only (memberships can be purchased at the door starting at $20).

Sat., May 17, 9:00 - 5:00

Sun., May 18, Noon - 4:00. This is "bag day". All the books you can fit in a library provided bag for $10/bag.

69Eurydice
Maio 15, 2008, 2:51 pm

This is very tempting. Here I am in the midst of a moratorium on book-buying, and yet....

I always regret missing these sales. Nearly always, it's a matter of finding out 'just a little too late'... Thank you for reminding everybody, dulcibelle!

Bestine: I remember Ron Stone seeming old when I was a child. So I hope, at least, it was a long and fruitful life; without too much suffering at the end. Getting news online for years, now, I've lost the connection to anchors, even of the past, that one may have. But he was quite an icon of my childhood - one of the voices and faces always before us.

70cherlyng
Maio 26, 2008, 12:47 am

Hi, I am fairly new to LT though a native Houstonian. I still miss Deterings, love Murder by the Book and the old Brazos bookstore. Ginza's is an awesome and decades long family run japanese restaurant off San Felipe just east of Fountainview. I am just beginning to enter in/catalog my books in my library. I have gotten through most of my children's lit books except for the classics and have about 46 boxes to go. Any suggestions of a quick and fairly error free way of getting one's books entered? Thank. And good to know about the Friends of the Library Book Sale- i will look forward to it for next year.

71dchaikin
Maio 26, 2008, 9:35 am

Hi cherlyng, welcome to LT. You can enter books quickly if you have a list of ISBN numbers for the books. Then, you can use the LT Universal Import (see here: http://www.librarything.com/import ). If you don't have a list of ISBN's, you can either type them up or go crazy and buy a Cuecat scanner (I don't have one, so I can't vouch for them).

Error free is another story. If you use the universal import, than LT gets all the data from amazon.com, an error-rich source.

If you add one-by-one, using the add book tab, then there are quite a few sources you can use, like the Library of Congress, and these usually have a lot less errors.

If a book does not have an ISBN number then I think you need to add one-by-one with the add book page.

Enjoy!

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