Pictures!!!

Well, I figured out the pictures all on my own!! This is the Outside of the store - if you follow the arrows pointing to the left, I am in that corner by the front of the car.



This is a pretty good shot of what you see when you walk in the door!


This is the Front part of the store, non-fiction to be exact.

A guy shopping! ( It's actually my photographer friend, posing.)



Now, although this looks like an outdoor shelf of books, it actually is more significant than that. It serves to let people know that even if I had an 'Open' sign you could see from the street , the fact that these books are out there means that I am, in fact, actually open!

Me!
Me again!











And these are some of the other good shots!



And I believe that is it. I can't believe I figured out how to do this! Pretty good for a first timer! I'm so glad to have proof for my out of town family that I did actually open a bookstore!;) Hope ya'll enjoyed this! Have a good one!

To be simple
is not always
as easy as it seems.
-Ferdinand Hodler

Local Artist Martha Kelly Now Showing at The English Major Bookstore

Alrighty, well, I have pictures of the store, but you can't see them!! Ha Ha! They are really cool looking, too, but my computer told me to do a, b and then c in order to make them visible to anyone but me, which I did, and then, lo and behold, it didn't hold up it's end of the agreement. (I'm sure it's the first time a computer has done this, too!). I will figure this out, somehow, someway. I should say that what will actually happen is I will ask someone else to figure this out for me!

Anyway, my little store has undergone some big changes recently. She had pictures of her taken, a counter installed up front, art hung, and a wall of books created. I have already mentioned ( ranted about?) the pictures, however, the counter was my engineering brainchild, which is a rare type of brainchild for me to have, but this one really worked. It is starting to feel like a Real bookstore! I am saving the best for last, but I wanted to explain my wall of books. I have blocked off, or I should say my bookstore lickspittle has, the back quarter of the store with bookcases, thereby creating room for storage, so the 900 or so boxes of books laying everywhere now have a place to go and be unseen until such time as they are necessary. Also, several previously boxed books will be on these shelves. What remains boxed can be organized in the back "room" and I am very excited to have a place to do that!

Not as excited about what's on my walls, though!! Last Friday, Martha Kelly, a professional local artist, hung thirteen of her pictures on my walls and I am soooooo glad that she has. They are absolutely gorgeous, as I am sure you will agree when you see them. Many have a Greek theme to them, as they are of her time in Athens, but several are landscapes of local spots. Martha shows at Perry Nicole Gallery (http://www.perrynicole.com/) and has a show of her of newer work starting there on November 7. To see a sample her work, go to freewebs.com/marthakelly or, of course, you could come in the store. Not today, though, as it is Monday and the store isn't open. Should you absolutely have to see them, feel free to call and we can work something out. Tomorrow, the store will be humming and buzzing, as it does six days a week. On that note, I am going back to my day off.
But not without a couple of quotes first!

Paradoxically though it may seem,
it is none the less true,
that life imitates art
far more
than art imitates life.
-Oscar Wilde

Life grants nothing
to us mortals
without hard work.
-Horace

As an adendum, there is a beautiful piano being given away on craigslist. Go to: http://memphis.craigslist.org/zip/858808742.html to see it. It looked too amazing to not mention!

Rock This Block Isosceles Style Belvedere Block Party!!!!!!!!!!

We are having a block party!!!! It is at the park across the street from the store on Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 10a.m. to six p.m.
From their flyer:
Show your support for the neighborhood, while enjoying our own recently-revitalized triangular patch of park paradise. Local businesses and organizations have teamed up to create a day filled with fun. There'll be live music, food and beverages, family activities, and the Healthy Memphis Common Table will announce their new Executive Director. So be at the triangle- or be square.
For more information call (901) 276-0561
Sponsored by Lexus of Memphis
(and a bunch of other folks) - it sounds like a lot of fun! And so, as Executive Director of The English Major Bookstore ( as well as its only employee), I urge you to come out and support the neighborhood and have some fun!!!

****I have so many new books coming in the store, about 20 a day. I just got about 15 mysteries in, several of which are by Hanning Mankell (translated from Swedish) and as well as Janwillem van de Wetering. They look awesome and average about $6. I also recently acquired a Time-Life series of oversized books called Great Cities - from Rome, to Tokyo, these books are colorful, informative and in great shape!
As always, if you have been to the store, feel especially free in letting others know about it. And if you haven't, well, give me a call and we will sit down and figure out what is wrong with this picture. You must come check out the store!!!

****What's that? What am I reading? I am reading Napoleon Hill's Laws of Success and
Stories From History by Agnes Strickland. This book was acquired by Miss Mary Hillsman from Mr. Robbie Williamson, both of Memphis, for Christmas, 1887. It is on loan to me and is actually a book of juvenile tales, so yes, I am reading a book for 12-year olds. But the historical events covered are interesting and it is from 1887!! It is like being transported to a different time. I love it, too, because that is such a simplistic way of expressing that sentiment, yet that is exactly what it is like for me, like being taken back in time! I am but a simple girl, apparently.

I shall close with a quote.

Use what talents you possess;
the woods would be very silent
if no birds sang there
except those that sang the best.

- Mr. Henry Van Dyke

There was set before me a mighty hill
And long days I climbed
Through regions of snow.
When I had before me the summit view
It seemed that my labours
Had been to see gardens
Lying at impossible distances.
--Stephen Crane

I searched out this poem on the Internet to get the right spelling of the poets' name and came across a site called American Poets, I believe. For this poem, and many others, I am sure, there is a comments section where you can say what you think the poem is about. I found this poem about a month ago and thought it was pretty funny. A person climbs this huge mountain which people usually do, as far as I can tell, in large part for the sense of accomplishment. Then, after all that hard work, the climber can only lament that what he sees is too far away. What do you think you are going to accomplish when walking away from something, namely climbing a mountain? Distance, I would assume. To me, it was a poignant way of saying that work stinks. The poet seems to be saying that he should have stayed in the gardens, which we all know are beautiful, rather than setting out to do this huge thing which was only going to take him farther away from what he obviously wanted, the garden. Now, I know nothing good comes but from hard work, believe me, this I know, but try to convince me it doesn't still stink sometimes.


****However, speaking of work, I have a book in my possession called Memoirs of a Huguenot Family. It has been translated and compiled from the original autobiography of the Rev. James Fontaine by Ann Maury. I don't normally take books on consignment, but bent my own rule for a friend. This is an 1853 edition which ranges in price, based on my research, from $150-450 because it is so rare and contains. The seller is motivated to sell and would take $100 for it. For
more information, please give me a call or leave a comment.


**** I also have taken in an awful lot of books in trade, so the New Arrivals section has grown tremendously. The English Major Stuff section has been categorized into poetry, plays, anthologies, etc. All the modern fiction is now alphabettized and I got a rug! Come check out the changes and enjoy your day!

The Store is Three Months Old!! Can you believe it?!?!

Well, the store has had it's fair share of ups and downs, but has proudly and successfully made it to Three Months Old!! Can it walk on its own, well, no, not quite yet. I still work my other full time job at Carriage Tours of Memphis (http://www.carriagetoursofmemphis.com/) as a carriage driver. Feel free to get in touch with Chrissy, the owner, to set up a reservation for a tour (with me, of course) around our beautiful downtown*. But from where the store began, it has come a long way. I am still short a middle row of bookshelves and I shamelessly ask for them whenever I can, this being one of those times. I have about 4,000 books still in boxes because I basically got ripped off my middle row of shelves (long story). Hopefully after the first of the year, I will have some shelves erected. Until then, if you see any on the side of the road or at a garage sale or any other place on the planet, please let me know. I will carry said shelves on my back, if need be.
Other than that, she's doing well. The utility bill is doable, the leaks in the roof are effectively sealed (if only for now) and the credit card machine is up and running. I am proud of her and people like her, they really do! Apparently I wasn't foolin when I wrote in my business plan that this area needed a used bookstore, because I am hearing and seeing a lot of gratitude from people just for being open! Someone flat out said," Thank you for being here." I love having a used bookstore and although as a one-woman operation, it is a lot of work, I absolutely love it. I get to meet and hang out with the Best People! If you haven't been by, please stop in sometime. Have a loverly weekend, ya'll and remember, in my humble opinion, if you make time to do more reading, the rewards far outweigh the time you invest!

*The tour is $45 for a half hour, $75 for an hour and can begin and end pretty much wherever you want. We go through one of the oldest parks in the country as well as one that overlooks the river so you can see Mud Island and The Pyramid. You can grab a drink and bring it with you and I have yet to have a ride from Memphis where people did not learn something about this city they thought they knew so well!! If you've never done it, you've got to try it!

*Be * Here * Now*

"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 4:6



My new favorite quote. I had no idea such a philosophy was endorsed by God! Someone asked me the other day what my favorite book in the store was. I wanted to claim something lofty, by Jane Austin or Herman Melville, Geothe perhaps, but I had to be honest - it is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Yes, Oprah's new pet, but that book changed my life. I loved it, especially when he talked about how the idea of living in the present moment and placing a large part of one's focus on the here and now is espoused in all the major religions, Christianity included. Then I found this quote and saw what he meant. What does this have to do with the books in the store, the ones resting quietly in their respective, if temporary, homes? Well, not a lot. However, my previous post, and I guess this one as well, included, I made mention of a couple of books with pointing out the fact that these books are here, in the store, in the present moment, for sale. For example:



*** I have a beautiful copy of Moby Dick by Herman Melville (2004) in very fine (meaning excellent) condition. It is a Collector's Edition, bound in genuine leather, published by The Eaton Press in Norwalk, Connecticut. This copy contains an introduction by Clifton Fadiman and is illustrated by Boardman Robinson. Moby Dick is called one of the "100 Greatest Books Ever Written" on the front page and Eaton Press has written a Publisher's Preface which states that the introduction by Clifton Fadiman is "One of the best pieces of writing about a book ever created by an American critic..". Eaton Press goes on to say that "This edition represents both the luxury that Melville himself never knew and the permanence of his literary art." It is gilded in gold and looks brand new. It is just $30.



*** I have Blonde and You Must Remember This by Joyce Carol Oates, who was referenced in the preceding entry. It dawned on me that I talked about her and her work, without mentioning that they are on my shelves, awaiting adoption. Blonde is a first edition harback, copyrighted in 2000 and is in great condition. It is $6. You Must Remember This is also a hardback and is in really good condition, copyrighted in 1987 and is just $5. If you don't know a lot about Joyce Carol Oates, she is intense. It is hard to put down one of her books without finishing it.



***Do I have Jane Austin, yes I do. I have a copy of Persuasion, however , if you want to see it, you will have to let me know as I set it aside for my own reading pleasure and as of this writing, I cannot find it. Geothe is here as well, and of course, the 11,000 other books I was going to list in this bolgular entry, but opted to stretch out over a few more entries. Take care, ya'll (or You, as I am pretty sure there is, maybe, only only other person who reads this) and have a great Copper-Young Festival Weekend!

"If food is poetry, is not poetry also food?"

This quote is by Joyce Carol Oates ( Writer's Hunger : Food as Metaphor," New York Times (August 19,1986) ) and is, apparently, a pretty popular quote, but one I had never heard. Here is another.

"When people say there is too much violence in [my books], what they are saying is there is too much reality in life. "
New York Times (July 27, 1980)

I started reading Joyce Carol Oates about the time of these quotes and read quite a bit of her work. I like the second quote a lot because I did stop reading her books because of the violence in them. Is there too much reality in life? Probably. If life could be a little more fanastic and illusional, that would be great. If there were no karma, no effects to causes, no need for the ability to respond for our actions, well, that would make for a good book, eh? "Too much reality in life" - I love it. Speaking of a philosophical basis for one's life, I plan on starting some groups at the bookstore, fairly soon. I would like to have a writer's group, a reader's group ( book club), a philosophy group and a salon-type event tentatively called a Self-Education Group. The last group would entail having a subject for which everyone who wants to attend would find information about, through whatever sources. We would, then, come together and talk about the subject with as many different viewpoints as attendees. Genius, isn't it? I think the group may qualify as a con-ver-say-shun, but I like The Self-Education Group. (Notice the correct use of hyphenation.) When exactly these groups will be coming to life is actually depndant upon seating. I am ready to go, other than that! I will keep ya'll updated and, by the way, The English Major Bookstore now accepts Visa, Mastercard, The Discover Network card and American Express! Take good care!