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Author: admin (Page 21 of 36)

What to do for St. Valentine’s Day?

On February 11, 2011

Surprise! St. Valentine’s Day is this coming Monday! It’s not too late to run by the grocery store Monday evening and buy that big heart shaped balloon and some wilted flowers, but here’s a better idea . . . books. I could list all of the reasons why books are a great idea but I think you know all of that stuff.

Here’s another idea if you want to go all out. Have you heard about our First Editions Club? Here’s the deal – once a month we either send you (or in this case your loved one) our featured signed first edition, or you can come pick it up and present the special book personally every month. What are the books? Well, it depends, they are always something special though, a hot literary book like Cold Mountain or a huge bestselling mystery like John Grisham. Sometimes we have even picked great pieces of non-fiction like say Willie Morris or Curtis Wilkie. This month we’re excited to have a really great literary work by Irishman Joseph O’Connor, you can read all about his new book Ghost Light on our blog here.

To see what else we have picked so far for 2011, click here.

A review of 2010 picks and the stories behind each pick can be found here.

Bringing Yoga to Life by Donna Farhi

By admin

On February 10, 2011

In Health

Some people confuse the practice of yoga for religion, or that it is somehow at odds with their own religion. I have never found a book more eloquent yet practical in illustrating the beauty and peace of yoga as a life philosophy. The book is entitled Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living (Harper, 2005) by Donna Farhi, a western practitioner of yoga for more than 30 years. Farhi is one of the most well-respected and loved teachers of the western yoga community.

Through practical application, Farhi helps us to understand the basic tenets of yoga philosophy. Whether you are a eager beginner or an experienced practitioner, this book will help you navigate the ups and downs of life as well as enrich your daily yoga practice with your teacher or your own solo practice.

Farhi also helps clarify another misconception about yoga. Yoga is not about how perfect you do the poses. What is most important is that you are simply present and attentive to your body and breath. It goes back to what any good teacher says: Just do your best. And in striving to do your best, you can naturally improve your yoga practice without being a negative critic.

I was surprised at how much Farhi’s reflections inspired my own daily living off the yoga mat. I have marked and underlined and put so many exclamation points throughout the pages. I savored the words and would read this book again.

If you are looking for more help with your yoga practice, Farhi has written two excellent books: Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit and The Breathing Book.

You Know When the Men Are Gone: “I just read a great book”

By admin

On February 2, 2011

In Staff Blog

Everywhere Siobhan goes readers echo their own experiences of military life as did many at her reading last night. However, there are those readers who have never been close to military life at all and read her book in one sitting.

A 10-city tour for a collection of short stories? Short stories as a Lemuria First Editions Club pick? Amy Einhorn, an imprint of Penguin, definitely has a remarkable ability for picking fresh new talent. It was just two years ago that Kathryn Stockett made her debut with The Help. In both cases, Lemuria was lucky enough to work with these authors.

Even though Siobhan is wrapping up her tour today, independent booksellers will continue the buzz just as we at Lemuria spread the word:

“I just read a great book . . .”

Joe writes about selecting You Know When the Men Are Gone for our January First Editions Club selection here. Lisa writes about the special appeal this collection of short stories will have to military families, and Lemuria customer Donna Evans shares her connection to the book–read all about it here.

“You Know When the Men Are Gone” Speaks to the Hearts of Military Families

By admin

On January 28, 2011

In Fiction, First Editions Club

When I read You Know When the Men Are Gone, I was impressed with Siobhan Fallon’s writing alone. The stories could have been about anything. It was clear Fallon knew how to write a good short story.

But since her stories are about military family life, there is no doubt many readers who are part of military families will find special meaning in this debut collection. We happened to learn that a customer of Lemuria is not only part of a military family but is also acquainted with Siobhan Fallon through her son-in-law.

Donna Evans’ son-in-law became life long friends with Siobhan’s husband, Major Evans, while they were both living in Hawaii. Major Evans was actually a groomsman in her daughter’s wedding. As a wedding gift, Siobhan gave her daughter and her husband an advanced copy of You Know When The Men Are Gone.

Donna shared these thoughts with us:

“After our daughter read it she quickly handed it off to me, knowing I’d like it. We have a number of military men in our family and we are very patriotic. Our son in law Captain Lowell Goldman was deployed to Afghanistan during his courtship with our daughter (Ellie Evans Goldman). Of course, I loved getting to read these wonderful stories which also happened to teach me some things I could not have known about the intimate issues of military families.”

“Siobhan has described family life at Ft. Hood before, during and after deployment during the early 21st Century. The book is so contemporary. I don’t think it would have been written quite this way in the Viet Nam or World War II eras. The type of warfare, the roll of women in society, the use of email and telecommunications from the battle front are all current. These colorful stories include tales of love, strength, longing, worry, jealousy, anger, and forgiveness. There are acts of sisterhood among the wives, heroism and humanitarianism from the soldiers, misbehaving children who don’t fully understand their parents’ problems, and passionate love. Any American citizen would benefit from reading about the sacrifices made daily by our ‘families in uniform.'”

In the video below, Siobhan Fallon speaks candidly about her book and life on a military base.

Joe writes about selecting You Know When the Men Are Gone for our January First Editions Club selection here. Siobhan Fallon will be signing at 5:00 and reading at 5:30 on Tuesday, February 1st.

We’re in the glow: Jeannette Walls at Lemuria

By admin

On January 27, 2011

In Staff Blog

Were you one of the lucky ones who came to hear Jeannette Walls speak last night? If you’re like me, maybe you’re still in the wow-phase.

What a classy, genuine woman.

Here are a couple of things that stood out in my mind:

In response to those who say memoirists are exhibitionists Jeannette said that her readers can read about her life and maybe learn something without actually having to go through it. And isn’t that why we all read? A good book is a good book–whether it is fiction or nonfiction.

She reminded us of the age-old tradition of story telling and urged us to tell our own stories, the stories of our grandparents and great grandparents as these earlier generations were true pioneers where hardship was the norm.

Writer Susan Cushman wrote in her blog this morning:

“Don’t you love it when you get more than you expected? That’s what happened on Wednesday, when I drove down to Jackson . . . First of all, I loved Walls’ first book, The Glass Castle, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading her second one, Half Broke Horses yet, although I purchased it when it came out in 2009. But the fact that she was still touring and reading (to packed houses, like she did at Lemuria last night) fifteen months after the book’s debut is a tribute to its staying power—and hers.”

“What I also didn’t expect was the powerful, inspirational talk she gave after her book signing. She didn’t read from either of her books, but talked about both of them and answered questions. Her enthusiasm reminded me of my friend, River Jordan, especially when she talked about “the power of storytelling.”I didn’t expect her to look up from the books she was signing for me and listen—as though there was no one else in line—to my brief personal story of trying to write a memoir and now a novel. She encouraged me on several personal and professional levels, like a life coach and mentor might do.”

I imagine many of you who were there are still running over fragments of the evening in your mind, feeling inspired, too.

Indulging in the memoir

By admin

On January 25, 2011

In Staff Blog

A while back, in preparation for Mary Karr’s visit to Lemuria, I began to think hard about why so many people are drawn to the memoir. I think we all know why, but I wanted to put it into words. I reflected on a long-past course in women’s memoir, flipped through some of the course reading and was assured by this quote from Kennedy Fraser:

“I felt very lonely then, self-absorbed, shut off. I needed all this murmured chorus, this continuum of true-life stories, to pull me through. They were like mothers and sisters to me, these literary women, many of them already dead; more than my own family, they seemed to stretch out a hand.” (Read more of this blog, The Power of the Narrative, here)

You might have heard that memoirist Jeannette Walls will be at Lemuria on Wednesday. I cannot wait to meet her. I am also selfishly pleased that I have another opportunity to think about Jeannette’s memoirs and all the other ones I love as well. To further indulge in the memoir, Lemuria is also fortunate to be visited by Rodney Crowell (read about his visit and memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks here), Jeannette on Wednesday, Mark Richard’s House of Prayer No. 2 in February (it comes with these instructions: read even if you do not know who Mark Richard is) and Andre Dubus III in March for his new memoir, Townie (already receiving great reviews prior to its February 1st release date).

I finally remembered my coworkers and their favorites:

Nell and Kaycie love the bright and young Sloane Crosley.

Nell says: “It had me doubled over laughing when I read I Was Told There’d Be Cake. Her writing reminded me of Dave Sedaris if Dave Sedaris was a straight female with a penchant for creating awkward situations and then living in them to the fullest. Crosley writes for Playboy sometimes and that witty and sexy humor permeates the entire book.” (Read Kaycie’s blog here.) I suppose you might not consider Sloane a traditional memoirist, but perhaps she writes the mini-memoir in an essay.

Norma, on a deeper note, could not stop talking about Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Pulitzer Prize winning author Gail Caldwell. She writes: “This book begins with Knapp’s death but Caldwell chronologically unfolds the back story of their relationship; telling how Knapp was the perfect friend but even funnier and more interesting than one could have imagined.” (Find the rest of Norma’s write-up here.)

How about it for Dave Eggers and David Sedaris? And we all loved meeting Mary Karr last July. I could mention more, but what is your favorite memoir?

The signing with Jeannette Walls starts at 5:00 on Wednesday with a reading to follow at 5:30. Bring a friend!

Chinaberry Sidewalks: Rodney Crowell at Lemuria

By admin

On January 20, 2011

In Staff Blog

A little visiting with your friends, some relaxing beverage, an intimate reading accompanied with song, a room packed to the gills all for a visit with one of the most famous songwriters out there, a personally signed book in your hand: This was Lemuria last night as singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell kicked off his book tour for Chinaberry Sidewalks.

Rodney said that you write a book because you have to write a book. This certainly was a book he had to write–it took ten years to write his memoir, but the work has garnered the attention of respected, colorful characters like Rick Bragg, Mary Karr and Kris Kristofferson. It is unquestionable after listening to Rodney sing last night that he has the heart of a poet, he is a wordsmith of the old school with songs like “Back down there . . . the sweet delta dawn” and the beautiful Roy Orbison melody “What kind of love?”

I asked Rodney about his connection to Mary Karr–who was just here this past July. I figured there was a meaningful one since they were both writers with a gritty Texas childhood. Not only are they buds, but collaborating song writers. Rodney said they will have an album coming out soon. Hopefully, they will do a tour and share a wonderful evening with us again.

Bookstore Keys: Selling Books Is a People Business

By admin

On January 14, 2011

In Newsworthy

As you can imagine, Lemurians have been reading a lot about changes in book selling. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but there is one theme that comes up again and again: relationships.

“Madeline MacIntosh, who is Random House’s president for sales, operations, digital, has worked for both Amazon and book publishers, and finds the two strikingly different. ‘I think we, as an industry, do a lot of talking,’ she said of publishers. ‘We expect to have open dialogue. It’s a culture of lunches. Amazon doesn’t play in that culture.’ It has ‘an incredible discipline of answering questions by looking at the math, looking at the numbers, looking at the data . . . That’s a pretty big culture clash with the word-and-persuasion-driven lunch culture, the author-oriented culture.'” (“Publish or Perish” by Ken Auletta, The New Yorker, April 26, 2010)

Jane Friedman, formed CEO of Harper Collins, has opened up her very own e-book company. Despite her shift to the e-book, she still recognizes the importance of developing relationships with authors as well as the concern that Amazon could take on a wider role as publisher: “An author needs a publisher for nurturing, editing, distributing, and marketing. If the publishers are cutting back on marketing, which is the biggest complaint authors have, and Amazon stays at eighty per cent of the e-book market, why do you need a publisher?” (“Publish or Perish” by Ken Auletta, The New Yorker, April 26, 2010)

Laurence Kirshbaum, a New York Literary agent, echoes Jane Friedman and Random House’s Madeline MacIntosh: “‘Writers like Anne Tyler and Elmore Leonard have to simmer quite a bit before they are going to boil. Publishers no longer have the patience to work through multiple modest successes . . . There is a real danger these people could be lost today.'” (“Authors Feel the Pinch in Age of E-Books”, The Wallstreet Journal, September 26, 2010)

However, there seems to be no lack of patience and nurturing in Amy Einhorn’s relationship with the up and coming author Siobhan Fallon. Read what Fallon wrote on her blog in November: “The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I received an email telling me that I was going on a “Pre-Pub” trip to meet some important indie booksellers. Denver, Boston, Seattle, LA. . . . Here we all are worrying the publishing industry, and yet the very savvy publicity people at Putnam have decided to send a very un-savvy first-book-of-short-stories-writer (short stories!?!) off on a little cross country adventure, with drivers waiting at airports, nice hotels, and restaurant dinners booked. You must think I am delusional. Yes, shake your head and tell me again that this kind of stuff just doesn’t happen in today’s publishing world. But, by some incredible miracle, this is all about indie bookstores. Indie bookstores are making my writing dreams come true.” (Read full blog here.)

Publishers establishing and maintaining good relationships with authors helps independent bookstores. The more authors and publishers work together, and the more publishers and independent bookstores work together the more books we can sell. There is a series of neurological connections created here–passed from author to publisher to bookseller to reader–resulting in an experience for the reader. You see the beginning of this in Siobhan Fallon’s case.

A book is a rather long term commitment. You don’t read it in 60 seconds. You spend days, weeks, maybe even months with this author, this physical book. And once you have finished reading, it stays with you forever. I think our society may have reached the end of its consumer binge. Many customers are waking up and they’re demanding community, customization and experience–not just a download, not just a cheap book. There is talk of Amazon opening their own brick-and-mortar stores to supposedly provide community, customization and experience. Which independent bookseller has already been doing this for years? It’s time for publishers and independent bookstores to do some serious work together.

The Bookstore Key Series on Changes in the Book Industry

Finding “Deep Time” in a Bookstore (March 8th) Reading The New Rules of Retail by Lewis & Dart (March 3) The Future Price of the Physical Book (Feb 18) Borders Declares Bankruptcy (Feb 16) How Great Things Happen at Lemuria (Feb 8th) The Jackson Area Book Market (Jan 25) What’s in Store for Local Bookselling Markets? (Jan 18) Selling Books Is a People Business (Jan 14) A Shift in Southern Bookselling? (Jan 13) The Changing Book Industry (Jan 11)

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Bookstore Keys: A Shift in Southern Bookselling?

By admin

On January 13, 2011

In Newsworthy

As mentioned below Borders has been in the news a good bit in the last two weeks. It seems that they’ve had a great deal of trouble keeping in good standing with publishers. Well, the announcement came out yesterday that they are finally meeting with publisher representatives this afternoon – so we’ll be expecting an announcement, or some news late today.

In the same breath they announced that they are closing one of their distribution centers, the one in LaVergne Tennessee. Apparently the Tennessee distribution center is one of three or four – they have a large center in California another in Pennsylvania, but only the one in the south. Of course this sounds like bad news for Borders (and of course it’s horrible news for the 300 employees who lost jobs) but what does it mean to the larger book industry? And to southern retail bookselling? Well, two things, one: LaVergne is also the location of the major southern distribution center for Ingram. Ingram is one of the two big book distributors in the South. So will Borders be handicapped when it comes to getting books quickly from Ingram? But secondly, and more importantly, this means that Borders is severely handicapping their southern efforts – maybe even giving up the south. If they are planning to close more stores, and it seems almost guaranteed that they will, then does the closing of the southern distribution center mean that many of the closings will be in the South? Does this mean that Books-a-Million will be changing their strategy as well? How will this effect independent bookselling in the South?

The Bookstore Key Series on Changes in the Book Industry

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The Story behind the Pick: You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

By admin

On January 12, 2011

In Fiction, First Editions Club

January’s First Editions Club can be one of the hardest to pick, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. Think about it, there are so many books coming out in the three months before Christmas, holiday sales etc., that January turns out to be somewhat of a dry month for publishing. So, very few books being released equals very few choices for the First Editions Club. The good news is January is the month where we have to work a little harder and dig a little deeper, and usually come up with something unique and fun. Often the pick is a first time author or an author for whom we really have to pitch a tour stop to the publisher. (all of the First Edition Club authors come to the store for a signing – it’s part of the deal) For instance Kathryn Stockett, Stuart Dybeck, Mary Ward Brown, and William Gay have all been January FEC authors.

January 2011’s First Editions Club pick is You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon. You Know When the Men Are Gone is the first book of short stories we’ve picked since Grisham’s Ford County in 2009 and before that, Pia Ehrhardt’s Famous Fathers, but we didn’t pick it because it’s short stories, (although I do love to promote the short story) no, this pick came about purely from reading and enjoying a book.

You Know When the Men Are Gone is a collection of somewhat connected short stories. This isn’t one of those books where each story has the same characters, or where the stories can be pieced together into a sort of loosely hinged novel, no, these stories are more connected in theme. Each is about spouses, children, or parents of soldiers in the Middle East. There are stories that delve into the soldiers perspective, but for the most part the stories are mainly from the perspective of the wives of soldiers. But no worries, this is by no means a limitation, neither is the “wartime” theme – although readers may be concerned that they won’t like the book for those reasons – as Lisa says here, “Fallon transcends the politics and gets to the heart of the matter: the families who serve our country. Besides that, she is a great writer, worthy of reading no matter what the theme.” And isn’t that why we’re here? To find that reading experience that offers that sort of transcendence?

Siobhan Fallon’s collection, published by Amy Einhorn books, is due out on January 20th. She will be signing (5:00) and reading (5:30) at Lemuria on Tuesday, February 1st.

Author: admin (Page 21 of 36)

What to do for St. Valentine’s Day?

Bringing Yoga to Life by Donna Farhi

You Know When the Men Are Gone: “I just read a great book”

“You Know When the Men Are Gone” Speaks to the Hearts of Military Families

We’re in the glow: Jeannette Walls at Lemuria

Indulging in the memoir

Chinaberry Sidewalks: Rodney Crowell at Lemuria

Bookstore Keys: Selling Books Is a People Business

Bookstore Keys: A Shift in Southern Bookselling?

The Story behind the Pick: You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

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