Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays includes them all:
Merry Christmas,
Merry Couple of Days after Christmas and
Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is well and cool, in the 72 degree December day we're having. Here's one: Hope you don't get heat stroke this Christmas!

Updates:
*Tons of books at the store, almost all for sale.
*Lots of rare books for your viewing pleasure
*Putting new books out on the shelves on a regular basis.
Do come by and say hi!
I thought this was awesome:

Confession
Last night my little boy confessed to me:
Some childish wrong;
And kneeling at my knee
He prayed with tears-
"Dear God, make me a man
Like Daddy- wise and strong,
I know you can."
Then while he slept
I knelt beside his bed,
Confessed my sins,
And prayed with low-bowed head.
"Oh God, make me a child
Like my child here-
Pure, guileless,
Trusting Thee with Faith sincere."
-Andrew Gillies

ps. I had one year of sobriety yesterday!

The English Major Bookstore is Six Months Old!!!

The English Major Bookstore is
Six Months Old
Today!!!!!!





Keep up the fire's of thought,
and all will go well... You fail in your thoughts or
you prevail in your thoughts alone.
-Henry David Thoreau



There never shall be one lost good.
All we have willed or hoped or dreamed
of good
shall exist.
-Robert Browning

Wow, I mean, what can you say on top of that?


Other than to say, we still have books for sale at the store - if you haven't made it in yet, you can do so six days a week, except today (Monday) , when I am closed and actually have some time to blog. Lots of new arrivals, lots of stuff I took in in trade over the past few months and finally have shelf space to put stuff on. By the way, shameless plug here, but I am low on shelving, as those of you who have been in the store can tell. I need bookcases like nobody's business and search for sturdy, gently-used units on a daily basis. I actually recently acquired a handmade, Naugahyde-paneled Bookcase, but still need a whole aisle full of them. If you see any or know of any, please let me know! Thanks in advance.

Oh, kind of big news, I am starting a new service at the store and that is an enhanced search for books you all are looking for. If you have listed your name or email with me and given me a title of a book you are looking for, I will be getting in contact with you over the next couple of weeks (I know, too late for Christmas, sorry, first-time business owner and all) about details. I will find the books you want!!

Goodbye, fellow Memphians and those from far-away places. I hope the 45 degree differences in temperature over 24 hour periods feel as much like a time-traveling experience for you as it does for me - "Oh, look, it's September again for a day, and in December! How fun!"

And by the way, please feel free to leave a comment. I would really like it if you did. A lot. Thanks!

Ranier Marie Rilke

But if the archangel now, perilous, from behind the stars
took even one step down toward us: our own heart, beating
higher and higher, would beat us to death. Who are you?
-Ranier Marie Rilke
Duino Elegies, 2

Angels and Rilke

Well, I hope all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving! I drove a carriage all night, but actually had a great time! So, I have a book called A Book of Angels by Sophie Burnham which had accidentally been put in the wrong section. As I was returning it to its home-away-from-home, I started flipping through it. My mom had a thing for angels some time ago, but other than knowing that, as a kid, I was followed around by my Guardian Angel, I have not giving much thought to angels in my adulthood. Lo and behold, this book is really cool! It deals with death, ghosts, all kinds of interesting things. Will I be sitting up here all day, reading, instead of working? Maybe. Just maybe. I can't say for sure.I am enjoying this book and although it is for sale for a mere three dollars ($3), give me a little time with it before you all come in to snatch it off my shelves! Of course, the book starts off with a poem by Ranier Marie Rilke, who is, to me, the very definition of what a poet is!

But if the archangel now, perilous, from behind the stars
took even one step down toward us: our own heart, beating
higher and higher, would beat us to death. Who are you?
-Ranier Marie Rilke
Duino Elegies, 2

Friday, November 28, 2008- 10% off everything in the store!!

Oh yeah, you read right. The English Major will have a

"Black Friday" Sale
of 10% off Everything In The Store!!!!
Come check it out!

Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty.
- George Bernard Shaw

Random Samplings from Random Books

"...and little Dagonet mincing with his feet:
"Knight, an ye fling those rubies round my neck
In lieu of hers, I'll hold thou hast some touch
Of music, since I care not for thy pearls.
Swine? I have wallow'd, I have wash'd- the world
In flesh and shadow- I have had my day.
The dirty nurse, Experience, in her kind
Hath foul'd me- and I wallow'd, then I wash'd-
I have my day and my philosophies-
And thank the Lord I am King Arthurs's fool.
Swine, say ye? swine, goats, asses, rams and geese
Troop's round a Paynim harper once, who thrumm'd
On such a wire as musically as thou
Some such fine song- but never a king's fool."
Alfred Lord Tennyson
from Idylls of the King, p. 214
$2

"...Yet mountains and lakes as playgrounds are not enough, no matter how well supervised. A Lake District National Park can be no mere conservation area, still less any kind of static or even working museum. Not all the cash flowing in from the tourists, not the standards so well maintained by The National Trust, which owns key parts of the park, can amount to much if a genuine organic life doesn't pulse in beneath the well-cared-for skin. The region, as far as I could tell, seemed to be surviving. Alive, if precariously. Which of us can say more?"
Norman Shrapnel
Nature's Wonderlands- National Parks of the World
$12



"English majors in college show up in my writing workshops years later, after trying a career in another field, because a dream was born in them back in school when they read Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann and Virginia Wolf, and they can't get it out of their heads. So after a few years as computer programmers, they see it doesn't give them that kind of hard rain in the afternoon outside the window. They know there is something else and that it's in their own brain. I honor English majors. It's a dumb thing to major in. It leads nowhere. It's good to be dumb, it allows us to love something for no reason. That's the best kind of love."
Natalie Goldberg
Wild Mind - Living the Writer's Life, p. 140

No Room

Well, I turn 29 again tomorrow. It is an amazing thing when the exact same birthday keeps coming, year after year ( after year, after year, etc.) It is freezing cold these days, I am reading about forty different books and have some bad news. Due to a total lack of space, I cannot take in books for trade anymore. I want people to know that this was not a marketing ploy, to suspend trade over Christmas, it was more like a rookie, first-time business owner mistake. I simply don't have any more room and am working on solving that problem. As for now, I am selling only. On the smallest scale, of course, I can trade - say, a couple of books (two, maybe three. Or four). Hope to see ya'll in the store soon!

Analogies (from Leaves of Gold, edited by Clyde Francis Little):

Despair is like forward children, who, when you take away their playthings, throw the rest into the fire for madness. It grows angry with itself, turns its own executioner, and revenges its misfortunes on its own head.
-Charron


Genius is the gold in the mine; talent is the miner who works to bring it out.
Lady Blessington

Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement.
-Goldsmith

There is no negativity in the present moment.
-Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

Will the Ceiling Hold?

"The simpler one writes, the better it will be.
In trying to dress things up, one only distorts them."
-Saint Bernadette on her deathbed, April 1879


Busy, busy, busy. Lots going on. Over 300 books came in over the past ten days! Rainy, cold day- such a good day to read and listen to raindrops and think, eh? More Later!

History, Philosophy, New Age Thought and Practice

Descartes goes into a McDonald's for lunch. He tells the girl behind the counter that he wants a Big Mac. She asks,"Do you want fries with that?"
He replies,"I think not."
And disappears.

Hee Hee.

However, for the record, The English Major Bookstore has declared, as specialties, the following areas:

*History*

*Philosophy*

*New Age Thought and Practice*

I do have some exciting news! Firstly, yours truly is, or may be, in the new movie Soulmen, with Bernie Mac, which came out today. I was a hired extra who just happened to be on my horse and carriage, so, assuming I was not cut, I am the carriage driver in the movie!

Secondly, there is going to be a forthcoming book club and poetry groups created at the store. Things are still in the planning stages, but I would like to have a book club once a month as well as a poetry night/ poetry-writing group meeting each month. Anyone interested, feel free to get in touch with me at karmormem@live.com with suggestions or ideas.

Great Quote:

Read the best books first or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

-Henry David Thoreau

Hi Mike, Amy and Blank!

I'm So Excited - Who Is Going To Win?!??!

“If ye love wealth better than liberty,
the tranquility of servitude
better than the animating contest of freedom,
go home from us in peace.
We ask not your counsels or your arms.
Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.
May your chains set lightly upon you,
and may posterity forget t
hat you were our countrymen.”
- Samuel Adams

"In the beginning of a change,
the patriot is a scarce and brave man,
hated and scorned.
When his cause succeeds however,
the timid join him,
for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
-Mark Twain

Ahhh, Poets

I walked with poets in my youth,
Because the world they drew
Was beautiful and glorious
Beyond the world I knew.

The poets are my comrades still,
But dearer than in my youth,
For now I know that they alone
Picture the world of truth.
-William Roscoe Thayer


MISTAKES
There are six mistakes in life that many of us make, said a famous writer, and then he gave the following list:
*The delusion that individual advancement is made by crushing others down.
*The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.
*Insisting that a thing is impossible because we ourselves cannot accomplish it.
*Refusing to set aside trivial preferences in order that important things may be accomplished.
*Neglecting development and refinement.
*The failure to establish the habit of saving money.

Sins of Society
Someone has said that the seven deadly sins of society are these:
*Policies without principles
*Wealth without work
*Pleasure without conscience
*Knowledge without character
*Commerce and industry without morality
*Science without humanity
*Worship without sacrifice
-An Observer

The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.
-Sheridan

Rare Books for Sale!

Hey! I have books for sale! As always, there are books I take in trade which are coming in daily. Check out the store or stop in and say "hi!" if you already have.

I have a rare book called When We Dead Awaken: A Dramatic Epilogue in Three Acts by Henrik Ibsen, copyrighted 1900, published by Herbert S. Stone & Company, Chicago, IL., translated by William Archer. It is a small hardback, aproximately4 1/4" x 7" and is part of The Green Tree Library Series. The owner's name is inscribed in the front cover, but otherwise a Good copy. Beautiful green with gold gilded lettering, top gilted, printed by R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company, Lakeside Press, Chicago, IL. price: $250.00

I have what I consider another little gem, It is called Keep America Singing, "published by the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. to preserve the flavor, traditions, and some principal records of progress during the Society's first ten years...in order to encourage further progress and preservation." ( from from page) Dec, 1948. It is an ex-library copy marked "Salvage". There is moderate edgeware bt a very clean, tight copy overall. Price:$25.00


"In the beginning of a change,
the patriot is a scarce and brave man,
hated and scorned.
When his cause succeeds however,
the timid join him,
for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
-Mark Twain

C'est Moi!!!!

http://drakezeke.com/Podcast/102908%20823.mp3
If you want to hear my interview with Drake and Zeke on 98.1 The Max this morning , you can go to this link and listen. If you have ever been interviewed on the radio, well, you would have been more prepared than I was! This was a first for me and was pretty fun. Everyone was really nice and although I was pretty nervous, I think it went well. Drake and Zeke were really funny and as cool in person as they are on the air. Plus, they got free books out of the deal; is that the real reason they had me on? Hmmmm... I am so glad that they did have me on- the fact that these two Memphis Icons included me in their show really was an honor! Take care, ya'll and have a great day!

P.S. If the aformentioned link doesn't work, you made need to follow these instructions from the DrakeZeke.com website:
"To download, please RIGHT CLICK each audio file and select"save target as" in Internet Explorer, or "Save Link As" in Firefox.The files are named in this manner "month-day-year-time."The most current date will always be at the top left."

P.P.S. To my family and friends, thanks for all the support - I really needed and appreciated it. This is all new territory for me and I am grateful for all the help I can get!



I shut my eyes in order to see.
-Paul Gauguin

Jupiter: Sinful or Not?

Jupiter, not wanting man's life
to be wholly gloomy and grim,
has bestowed far more passion
than reason.
-Desiderius Erasmus

That which is not reasonable is sinful.
-Someone I Remember Not

Crazy busy up here today, having restructed things a bit. My customers now have a comfortable spots in which to sit and I have many books to shelve. I am a little nervous about the radio interview tomorrow, but overall think it will be fun.
Take care, all, and congratulations on moving into the new house, Michael. Call your sister every now and then!!

Clear Your Schedule on Wednesday October 29, 2008 from 8:10 - 8:25 a.m.!!

Drake and Zeke, of 98.1 The Max, have graciously invited me to be a guest on their show on Wednesaday, October 9, 2008 from 8:10 - 8:25. I am so excited - I can't wait! You can listen live at http://www.981themax.com/. Drake and Zeke also have their own webisite at http://drakezeke.com/. If you tune in, you will get to hear me go on and on and on and on and on about the bookstore! What fun!


Wednesday October 29, 2008 8:10- 8:25 a.m.
98.1 The Max (WXMX)
Mornings With Drake and Zeke


A sincere belief that anything is
will make it so.
-William Blake

The mind is its own pace and itself, can make
a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
-John Milton

**Imagination Creates Reality**

Books, books, books, books, books, books, books! My Lord, do I have a lot of books. Let me rephrase that - Holy Crap, there are so many books up here!! People are trading books daily up here and we are overflowing with the written word! Ideas, knowledge, pictures, lessons about life and the best way to live it, political opinions from the left, from the right and some from outer space - these things are at my feet, on my shelves and almost bursting through the front door!! For the love of God, help me to get out from underneath all these! I promise, you won't regret it and remember, if you were to purchase a book and found it boring or just inappropriate for your needs, bring it back and we will do a trade for something better. Also, be sure to let me know if here are things you are looking for- I cannot promise a find, but I can promise a diligent search.

One supreme fact which I have discovered
is that it is not willpower,
but fantasy-imagination which creates.
Imagination is the creative force.
Imagination creates reality.
-Richard Wagner

The Volumes It Did Speak!!

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/oct/18/it-speaks-volumes

So, my last post was Friday, October 17, the day before this wonderful article about the store was in the Commercial Appeal. Mr James Dowd, the reporter who wrote the piece, did such a great job in writing the piece that people came in droves, absolute droves. People kept buying things I have been wondering why I still had, books I knew people would like, which were priced right and were really good books, but which had sat on my shelves for so long. A lot of people know about the store now, which is really amazing. Drake and Zeke, of 98.1 The Max, whom most people are well aware are voracious readers, a fact of which I was totally unaware but am glad to know, have invited me on their show, so more and more readers are finding out about The English Major. It is brilliant, not to say that I am, but the experience of so many people doing business here is awesome. A little mind blowing, but awesome.

I have just gotten back from two days at The Documentary Film Festival in Hot Springs, AR which was also stunning, but it means I have little time for my blogue. More later!

The True University

The true University of these days
is a collection of books.
-Thomas Carlyle

I have this beautiful book called Journeys Through Bookland - A New and Original Plan for Reading Applied to the World's Best Literature for Children by Charles H. Sylvester originally copyrighted in 1909, though this is a first edition printed in 1955. It is $4.50, in great shape, no dj and some of the writers included are Robert Burns, Lord Byron, Edgar Allen Poe and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. As far as reading, writing and arithmetic go, it strikes me that this book would take care of the reading part of a kid's education for the better part of a couple of years. Oh, and it smells good. Though not technically part of the accepted vernacular for describing books, this book smells wonderful!

**** Change of Hours : As I still have my full-time job as a carriage driver ( carriagetoursofmemphis.com ), I have realized that it is necessary for me to close earlier on Friday and Saturdays, so instead of six, I will be closing at five, which, of course, means five-ish.
Hours of Operation:
Tuesdays - Thursdays, Eleven to Six
Fridays and Saturday, Eleven to five
Sundays, Noon - Five

As per usual, I have many new books in the store as the trading part of the book business at the Bookstore is great! Come on by!

Truth, Justice and The American Way

No position in life can be secure,
and no achievement can be permanent
unless built upon truth and justice.
-Napoleon Hill

An aim in life is the fortune worth finding;
And it is not to be found in foriegn lands,
But in the heart itself.
-Robert Louis Stevenson

Every failure will teach you a lesson that you need to learn
if you will keep you eyes and ears open and
be willing to be taught.
Every adversity is usually a blessing in disguise.
Without reverses and temporary defeat,
you would never know the sort of metal of which you are made.
-Napoleon Hill

W.H. Auden

In Brueghel's "Icarus," for instance, how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
-W.H. Auden

Books For Sale!

Well, I don't have time to list the books I wanted to in the depth I wanted to, so I thought I would do the brief version. I figure these books don't have to be described as completely as they would if I was selling them online and mailing them. You can come and check them out at the store!!

**King Edward VII and His Court - First Edition, @1930, published by E.P. Dutton and Company Inc.- $15

**The Bedside Book of Famous American Stories - Edited by Angus Burell and Bennett Cerf, @1936, published by Random House, - $10

**Mathematics For Everyman by Egmont Colerus, @1958, Emerson Books, Inc.-$8

**The Greek Treasure by Irving Stone, @1975, Doubleday. This copy is signed by the author and has no dustjacket -$10

**Lieutenant Carey's Luck by Lieutenant Lounsberry, @1899, Street and Smith - $22

**Arms and The Woman by Harold MacGrath, @1899 by Doubleday and S.S. McClure - $10

Lots of Changes at The English Major Bookstore!!
*Tons of New Arrivals
*A paperback section that is alphabatized
*All modern fiction books are alphabatized
*A New Section Tentatively Called Earthen Pleasures (?) - books on hiking ( in many, many places all around the World), on the Earth, on the environment
*I got a haircut!

To my wonderful litle brother, Michael, reading this all the way out there in Denver, tell your adorable zygote to keep on dancing and that Aunt Karin says hi and your wife as well! I love and miss you both - thanks for reading my bahlouge!!

Also, Local Folks, the story on the store is going to be in The Commercial Appeal hopefully within a week, so be looking for me!! (and Fritz!)

I Love Ya'll!!

After my last blog entry, everything else seems like a step down. Everyone told me I had to have pictures of my store , that I just had to have them, and while I am glad to have them and to have posted them, they kind of set the bar pretty high for forthcoming blogs. Y'now, this is my first blog and as such, I don't really know all the unspoken rules of blogging so, for now, I can kind of make up my own. Plus, I don't really think very many people are reading this as no one ever comments and yet I know one or two people are, in fact, reading my bahlog. Having said all that, I don't have much to blahblahblog about, so I thought I might mention some books.

The English Major is opened on Sundays, remember! Before the books, though, I did want to mention that the store has been open just three and a half months and is, therefore, not quite a Fortune 500 company yet. In spite of that highly odd fact, I wanted my customers to know that ya'll are everything I thought you would be. I am enjoying the store and my role in it so much. When this whole thing began, almost a year ago, I had an idea in my head what it would be like to own a used bookstore. It has far surpassed what I thought it might be like - it is awesome! Talking to people who love to read and who read such a variety of things is such a blessing, for lack of a better word. It is awesome. Thanks, everyone, for including me in your literary endeavors!!


Some wonderful books I have:

*Pride's Lions by Morgan Llywelyn ( @ 1996, First Edition, $5)

*Killing Time in Buffalo by Edgar Award -winning Author Deidre S. Laiken. This book is " a story of suspense and the search for self that sets an increasingly mysterious and menacing series of events against the hazy, hypnotic background of America in 1967 - an era when the scent of marijuana smoke pervaded the air and life seemed at once innocent and suddenly strange." (from the front flap) Hmmmm, sounds intriguing. This is also a first edition, @ 1990 and is a whopping $5.

*I have this wonderful book about Isadora Duncan called Isadora Duncan and Her World (@ 1993, first edition) This book is 192 pages with eight pages of color prints in the back. The book is split into three categories Lyrical (1877-1903), Dramatic(1903-1913) and Heroic (1913-1927)and has tons of black and white photographs of her in her life. About Isador from the forward: "Isadora was a wild voluptuary, a true revolutionary. She flouted every tradition. She was the law-giver Mosaic in her endeavor. She tried to enforce a new code of human behavior and was out-spoken as few people have ever been. She alone and unhelped changed the direction of her entire art.... But for on foot of film exists of this great dancing, of our greatest original, and the pictures in this book - many never before made public - are therefore important." -From the foreword by Agnes de Mille.It is a beautiful book and is just $20.



Life is the root, Art is the flower.
-Isadora Duncan

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!

One Million books in a cornfield!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDAtNgjTRgM

This video is awesome. These folks literally have, somewhere in the neighborhood of, a million books and counting. I am in The Yellow Book and The Yellow Pages online, they are on CBS and they don't even advertise! You have to check out the link. If I were more savvy in the ways of computers, of course, I would link you up right here. But today, Saturday, August 23, you will have to cut and paste. Maybe someday. I remember years ago someone gave me Jack Keroac's list of 20 things to do to be a great writer. I remember two of them : only get drunk at home and always boldly emblazen the date on the page on which you are writing. I believe it is supposed to make you more aware of the day you are in and probably aid in being more present in that day. Always a good thing. Is it tacky to end every blog entry by encouraging folks to come by the store? It is my first blog, of which I am very proud to have, but I am somewhat unclear on good blog manners. How 'bout this: Ya'll come check out the store, if you haven't, and I'll quit ending every entry asking you to come check out the store. Fair enough?

"Reader, look, Not on his picture, but on his book."

"Reader, look, not on his picture, but on his book."
Ben Johnson : lines on Shakespeare's portrait

Apparently, I love books on quotations. I can't seem to put down my current source of good quotes, The Dictionary of Quotations by Bergen Evens. But then I found a Mirriam-Webster Dictionary and am loving it, too. So, that is one book, or I should say, yet another, that you have missed out on owning as I have absorbed into my own collection. It happens. Ya'll really need to come by and check out the store! I am open six days a week which offers ample time to fit me into your schedule. Mornings are quite slow right now, so that might be a good time to browse around. I open at eleven, but let's not hold me to that too tightly, eh? Unless you bring coffee, it might behoove you to make it five or ten after. "Behoove", a very 'Square Pegs' word, eh? Take good care, all!

We Are Open For Business!!

The English Major Bookstore at 1700 Madison Ave. is finally open!! It took so long, so much time, work, money, etc., but we did it! We have over 11,000 books that are fiction and non-fiction, hardback and paperback and run the gamut of topics, from history and religion to gardening and art. We are open Tuesdays through Saturdays, eleven till six and Sundays, noon till five. We also buy and trade in addition to selling, so come check out the newest used bookstore around in the heart of Midtown, of course!!