Spike, Lord and Master

The past five years of Left Bank Books’ career in St. Louis has arguably been the best we’ve had.  The supposed death of bookstores and recession be damned, we’ve done some pretty cool stuff, even if the only one who got rich and famous was Spike, our beloved bookstore cat.

After our business partner, Barry,  retired from the bookstore in 2009, Kris and I worried about whether we would be up to the task of keeping this stubborn St. Louis institution alive.  His shoes were giant, and almost impossible to fill.  Add to that  the birth of the second location of LBB downtown and the pressure was on.

One of the many fortunes we count at ye olde bookstore, is the  smart, ambitious, talented, hardworking, dedicated and patient (with both the owners and the customers) staff of booksellers we are lucky enough to have.

I’d like to take a quick moment on this blog to thank one in particular who has been with us these past five years and has grown our events series into a force to be reckoned with.

Danielle Borsch interviewed for her job at the beginning of 2008.  One of the reasons she got the interview was because her resume had honest to god footnotes and hinted at the magnetic, dynamic person she is.  We were worried because she had two other jobs – one hosting bar trivia and the other producing and acting in The Immediacy Theater troupe she formed with

Danielle Borsch, Outgoing Events Coordinator

her friends.  I wish I could go back to the meeting with Kris and Barry after that interview and tell her how wrong we were to have worried about her ability to manage her time, how she would meet and exceed our expectations.  Every. Single. Time.

The three of us grew to love her and depend on her spot-on intuition about hosting events.  During her tenure, we hosted the likes of Jimmy Carter, Tony LaRussa, Terry McMillan, Jonathen Franzen and David Sedaris (more than once) and hundreds more.

It was fitting then, that her last event with us was this past Saturday, when David Sedaris stopped at our Downtown store to read from and sign his newest book, Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls.  We’ve hosted David on every one of his book tours, and knew that this event would be big.  It would need experience.  It would need stamina.  It would need talent.  It would need Danielle.

Kris and I sat on our couch scowling out the window around 3pm when we heard thunder.

We were all set up to do our outdoor listening party on the streets of downtown St. Louis complete with tents, lawn chairs, beer, food – and books – lots and lots of paper objects that don’t mix kindly with Midwestern spring weather.  I say we scowled because of the thunder, but I have to admit that my scowl was also the result of the worst ear infection I’ve ever had.  So bad, in fact, that I missed one of my favorite

The downtown listening party primed and ready to hear David Sedaris.

authors AND the last event of one of my best friends.  My sister and her friend volunteered to work the event, and around midnight, she came back to my house reporting that when David arrived, the clouds went away and the sun came out.

It was 3 am before poor Kris got home, still buzzing from the event and far past her ability to be coherent about it, but I did hear stories from that night from those who were there.  Mostly the surprises were limited to the good to the weirdly good – the giant sticker books David brought with him, from which he selected one for each customer and incorporated the sticker in the autograph of the book; the patient waiting for a lung transplant who made it to the event and talked to her favorite author; the Mormons who left a very kind note for him because they couldn’t stay.

Hannah Nutt, Incoming Events Coordinator

The event went well, and ushered in the era of our next Event Coordinator, Hannah Nutt, who, like I did when Barry left, has big shoes to fill, but I’m not worried.  She has taken the reigns and will steer this event series in her own way, with her own (many, many) strengths.  We’ve also moved one of our best booksellers, Lauren Wiser, into our events and publicity mix.

I say this because I will miss Danielle for so many reasons both professional and personal that it has been hard to untangle the layers.  I’ve been writing this blog post, and even in its writing a piece of sunshine has peaked through the thunderous clouds in my head.  I’m remembering the anxiety we’ve had every time one of our bookstore family members leaves and the uncertainty that comes along with replacing that very unique, seemingly irreplaceable person.

Lauren Wiser, Publicity Manager

I’m also remembering the hope and joy and fun in discovering the humor, strength, passion and fortitude of the new members of our family.  I can’t wait to get to know our newest member better.  I can’t wait to see what she and Lauren come up with.

As I see it, the main strength we have as a store is our ability to look forever forward.  I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

I can’t wait to see what we can do together.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Journey with a children's/YA version at Teach Mentor Texts.

I did it!  I finished City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare!  I can't say there were a whole lot of surprises (even when I didn't see something coming from a long way away, I still realized it before Clary), but the plot picked up, and I'm interested to see where the character dynamic goes from here.

After that, I needed something I could breeze through, so I picked up Collision Course, the second book in the Titanic series by Gordon Korman.  I'm not a big fan of adding fictionalized stories to the Titanic, since every story you could ever want to tell was already there in real life (well, maybe not the one totally ridiculous one he added), but there's enough fact here to make it worthwhile, and he does a nice job of capturing some of the complex emotions between the collision and realizing that all was lost.

I started Necromancing the Stone, the second in Lish McBride's Necromancer series.  This is great fun, written with a wonderful sense of humor, and the rare book that I think can be sold to boys and girls equally easily, both in content and marketing.  I'm reading an ARC from Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers.











I also started Archetype by M.D. Waters, the first in a two-book adult series.  This one doesn't come out until February, so there's no cover yet.  It's very compelling so far.  A literary science-fiction story in the vein of The Handmaid's Tale.  I'm reading an uncorrected proof from Dutton.

I also read some picture books coming from Macmillan this fall.

The Greatest Dinosaur Ever by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrated by Gennady Spirin
A nice nonfiction title for the very young.  Not so much detail that they'll lose interest.
I read an F&G from Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers.


Fall Ball by Peter McCarty
Great for young sports fans.  Love the illustrations.
I read an F&G from Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers.


Cool Creations in 35 Pieces by Sean Kenney
It's nice to see a LEGO book that doesn't require tons of specialty kits.
I read an F&G from Christy Ottaviano Books.


Dino-Baby by Mark Sperring, illustrated by Sam Lloyd
A cute way to teach little ones the dos and don'ts of having a little brother or sister.
I read an F&G from Bloomsbury Children's Books.


Moo! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
This very silly story told in (almost) one word could be a lot of fun as a read-aloud.
I read an F&G from Walker Books for Young Readers.


The Tiger Cubs and the Chimp: The True Story of How Anjana the Chimp Helped Raise Two Baby Tigers by Bhagavan "Doc" Antle with Thea Feldman, photographs by Barry Bland
A worthy addition to the interspecies friendship genre.
I read an F&G from Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers.


I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec
Almost too cute, kids will have fun finding all the kitties.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


The Table Sets Itself by Ben Clanton
A fun and subtly humorous take on this aspect of etiquette.
I read an F&G from Walker Books for Young Readers.


Penguin in Love by Salina Yoon
I lovely and sweet addition to the Penguin books.
I read an F&G from Walker Books for Young Readers.


On My Way to Bed by Sarah Maizes, illustrated by Michael Paraskevas
I love these tributes to imagination, and this one will look very familiar to anyone who's had to enforce bedtime.
I read an F&G from Walker Books for Young Readers.


How Big Were Dinosaurs? by Lita Judge
Another nice nonfiction piece, this one a little more advanced.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


Musk Ox Counts by Erin Cabatingan, illustrated by Matthew Myers
These books are so much fun.  Love the breaking of the fourth wall.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


The Crocodile and the Scorpion by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
This is a very pretty adaptation of the classic tale, but it's a bit iffy to have a picture book where everyone dies at the end.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


Hello, My Name Is Ruby by Philip C. Stead
A sweet book about making friends that is perfect for those on the shy side.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon
A beautiful book with fantastic illustrations.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


A Single Pebble: A Story of the Silk Road by Bonnie Christensen
A great jumping-off point for learning about Eastern history and cultures.
I read an F&G from Roaring Brook Press.


Beatrice Spells Some Lulus and Learns to Write a Letter by Cari Best, illustrated by Giselle Potter
A fun book with lots of things to spell.
I read an F&G from Farrar Straus Giroux.




This week I'll be working on finishing Necromancing the Stone and Archetype.  I also hope to pick up The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, Volume 8 for their author event.

What are you reading?

Last week, I talked about food, water, meds, and storage, so you’re off to a good, basic start. You’ve probably thought of a few other things you might need, too, especially depending on your particular situation. Let’s start with fuel – how, after all, are you going to cook that food  you’ve stored if there’s […]

Reblogged from Michelle Proulx - The Blog: I am happy to announce that not only did I survive my first book signing, it in fact went fairly well -- huzzah! Pictures/video will come sometime in the next week as my photographer/videographer/hair stylist Rhiannon assembles the footage, so we'll have to stick to text for this post. […]

Brokerages struggling to fill staffs
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
The brokerage flew him to St. Louis, where he practiced knocking on a model door in a classroom of would-be brokers at the company's headquarters, then sent him back to Atlanta to walk the streets for 10 hours a day for about $30,000 a year plus ...
It's getting harder to sell grads on the brokerage businessSouthCoastToday.com

all 2 news articles »

Before her death in 1973, Pearl S. Buck wrote one final novel. But The Eternal Wonder languished in a Texas storage unit for decades until its discovery last fall.

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In his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, author Anthony Marra takes readers to Chechnya. Set amid daily violence, Marra follows a landscape where people disappear, informers betray and those with humanity endure great hardships.

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Raw Story
The Wire creator David Simon eviscerates the dystopia creating war on drugs
Raw Story
In his vision, the war on – and the curse of – drugs are inseparable from what he called, in his book, The Death of Working Class America, the de-industrialisation and ravaging of cities that were once the engine-rooms and, in Baltimore's case, the ...

and more »

Join us at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at Left Bank Books--Downtown when the authors and illustrators of The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, Volume 8 will discuss and sign their work.

The Grannie Annie works with kids grades 4 through 8 (ages 9 to 14) who submit stories of their family history based on an interview with an older family member.  The pieces selected for publication are paired with student illustrators.  These stories run the gamut of the human experience and span generations back in time, linking kids with the past in a unique and creatively engaging way.  You can find more information on the organization at their website.

Copies of all the Grannie Annie collections (except Volume 1, which is out of print) will be available for purchase.  If you can't make it to the event, call Left Bank Books at 314-367-6731, ext. 2, to order signed, personalized copies.

Timeline Photos
Read, and think different! :)

The Guardian
David Simon, creator of The Wire, says new US drug laws help only 'white ...
The Guardian
In his vision, the war on – and the curse of – drugs are inseparable from what he called, in his book, The Death of Working Class America, the de-industrialisation and ravaging of cities that were once the engine-rooms and, in Baltimore's case, the ...

and more »

Salon
Illinois' fracking and coal rush is a national crisis
Salon
Pat Quinn in Springfield, Ill., besieged southern Illinois residents who have been left out of backroom legislative negotiations over a controversial and admittedly flawed regulatory fracking bill are calling on the nation to contact Gov. Quinn and Lt ...

and more »

Dive right in to summer books
STLtoday.com
She wrote the novel over about 2 1/2 years, spending many mornings working at a St. Louis Bread Co. on Delmar Boulevard, and revised it with help from her agent, and then publisher, Riverhead Books. As a creative writing teacher whose big publishing ...

When Raymond Sokolov began writing about food, it was considered a specialty portfolio. Today, celebrity chefs abound in the U.S. and Britain, with cookbooks, TV shows and groupies. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sokolov about his new book, Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food.

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Reblogged from rmactsc: At any time our normal, peaceful lives can be interrupted by the violent actions of others.  You never want to be in a position of helplessness if a violent attack in your home by a criminal is imminent.  The defensive use of firearms in properly trained hands goes a long way towards […]

Timeline Photos

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles.

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She found the photograph early in the day, while she was cleaning for spring, pulling a winter's collection of domestic detritus out from under the bed. Ticket stubs, grimy grocery notes, coffee-stained lined paper, and dead pens. Their life: movies, food, and books.

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The gleaming stainless steel arch in St. Louis is, officially, a monument to westward expansion. But in The Gateway Arch: A Biography, Tracy Campbell argues that the monument's meaning is more complicated. He tells NPR about the controversies, the clout and the costs behind the 630-foot structure.

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In his new book, pilot and columnist Patrick Smith explains why you have to turn off your cellphone for takeoff and landing, and why your ideas about autopilot are probably all wrong. He wants people to "re-appreciate the act of air travel. It's not as horrible as everybody thinks it is."

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