The Green Hand

Tennyson in brief

2011-12-11T12:04:00.000-05:00

Just for a little Sunday fun (?), here is the first poem in Tennyson's complete Poetical Works as published by H.B. Nims in 1886. I love the fact that I had to look up a few of the words (lintwhite, mavis). The phrase that first drew my eye to the poem when I opened to it was "At eve the beetle boometh/Athwart the thicket lone." Surely the start of a good story if there ever was one.

Claribel
A Melody.

I.
Where Claribel low-lieth
The breezes pause and die,
Letting the rose-leaves fall:
But the solemn oak-tree sigheth,
Thick-leaved, ambrosial,
With an ancient melody
Of an inward agony,
Where Claribel low-lieth.

II.
At eve the beetle boometh
Athwart the thicket lone:
At noon the wild bee hummeth
About the moss'd headstone:
At midnight the moon cometh,
And looketh down alone.
Her song the lintwhite swelleth,
The clear-voiced mavis dwelleth,
The callow throstle lispeth,
The slumbrous wave outwelleth,
The babbling runnel crispeth,
The hollow grot replieth
Where Claribel low-lieth.

Water damage -- not very jolly!

2011-11-27T12:38:00.001-05:00

I started yesterday morning thinking the worst problem I was going to have was when I'd be able to get the rest of the Christmas decorations up, and when my shipments of various goodies and stocking stuffers would be arriving via UPS and FedEx. Silly me.

When I opened the door of the shop around 10:00am after running a few errands, I immediately smelled something very strange. Next, I heard the drip drip drip that I have dreaded hearing since the first leak the shop had, just after opening in 2009. I threw down my coat and bag and ran for the back of the store, and started moving items away from the water, starting with my computer.

Having a leak in a bookstore is bad enough, but the timing couldn't have been worse. :P The weekend of Black Friday? Are you kidding me?!! This is the short window of time when customers inject the economy with a much needed last hurrah before the months of winter drought kick in, namely January, February, and March. (Luckily, as they say, "That's what we have insurance for"...)

When I came in, water was dripping copiously from the area just in front of the counter and the area behind, where my work area and backstock sits. Water was trickling out near the counter from where it was flooding the ceiling crawlspace that covers most of the front part of the shop, and through the electrical fixtures (lights and smoke detectors) and vents over the first row of bookcases near the counter, and along the back wall of the work area and the side wall. Those of you who have been in the shop know just how many books are packed into this space. Miraculously a lot of them escaped unscathed, so while there were numerous book casualties, overall it could have been much, much worse.

I was told by the Trelawny workmen that someone upstairs stuffed a bunch of washcloths into a drain. Of course. Why wouldn't you? Seems perfectly normal to me. *smacks forehead with palm* Ahh, Congress Street. You are a wonder.

The shop is likely going to have to remain closed through Tuesday at least, which really stinks. I'm being hopeful, though, and waiting to hear from the ServPro and insurance assessors that I'll be meeting with on Monday. Catching the leak early on was a huge break, and ServPro's quick arrival and setup should make a big difference. With any luck no ceiling or walls will have to be replaced, just cleaned and repainted. (You can't see it, but I'm crossing my fingers.)

Today I'm spending the day tying up loose ends, updating everyone online, and then sitting down to the not very fun task of slogging through all the boxes of damaged books that will have to be thrown in the dump. Ugh.

But I'm just happy it wasn't worse (imagine if it had happened on Monday when I wasn't here), and that I DO have insurance, and I'm going to look at it as a chance to clean and reorganize my work area. Ack!!

I owe big, HUGE thanks to a bunch of folks who helped out.

The Portland Fire Department was quick to show up and diminish the chances of an electrical fire. Not only that but they helpfully brought in a bunch of tarps to protect the books in the at-risk area. AND they even helped lug books out of the way of the leak, definitely living up to their reputation of going above and beyond no matter how small the task. I hope that was their easiest call that day. Once they got called in, the Trelawny Building work crew did their best to fix what they could and assess the damage.

I had a crew of half a dozen friends who gave up their day off to lug books and help clean up the mess, all of whom are amazing lifesavers: Ross Kearney (and it was on his BIRTHDAY!!!), Jan Wilkinson, Amie & Dave Neikirk, Brandon Kawashima, Chad and Kristine Pennell -- you guys are awesome. I know who I can call if the apocalypse ever comes!!!

Even the local businesses in the area helped out -- Local Sprouts donated much-needed buckets, the Merchant Company donated boxes for sadly demised books, and Coast City Comics/Fun Box Monster Emporium for totes for the same purpose. As Jan said, "Small Business Saturday, indeed!!"

New arrival: Devils' Drums from Medusa Press!

2011-11-20T16:57:00.001-05:00

Although the Green Hand is ostensibly a used bookshop, we also try to carry a few select small press items that focus on our weird fiction interest. We have just restocked all the selections from Medusa Press's catalogue, with the addition of their new release, Vivian Meik's Devils' Drums!

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Devils' Drums by Vivian Meik

Since its publication in 1933 as part of the Creeps series, Vivian Meik's short story collection Devils' Drums has long been an especially desirable book for collectors of weird literature. When one considers the scarcity of the title and the fact that it hasn't been reprinted for nearly eighty years, it's easy to see why sellers ask for very high prices for worn copies.

This wouldn't mean much if the stories were not as enjoyable and as thrilling as they prove to be. Vivian Meik's best horror fiction is unconventional, and it is probably for this quality that his work will be remembered.

Devils' Drums contains his very best work.

With this book Meik found his métier. Set in and around Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique and Malawi), the ten chilling stories in Devils' Drums provide an abundance of zombies, curses, vengeful ghosts, and arcane witch doctors to appease the most pulp-hungry reader, and are a refreshing contrast to much of the British horror fiction of the early part of the twentieth century.

For this long-overdue reprint, the original contents have been augmented by two uncollected tales, and an episode from one of his autobiographical books that reads remarkably like his stories.

Douglas A. Anderson has also written a thorough, well-researched introduction to Vivian Meik's colorful career and adventurous life, with many anecdotes revealed here for the first time.

Medusa Press is proud to reissue Vivian Meik's Devils' Drums after decades of silence for a new generation to enjoy.

Edition limited to 300 copies, hardcover, 214 pages + xxx

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Medusa Press is producing really wonderful little volumes that focus on too-often neglected authors and their work, including the astoundingly good fiction of John Gordon (a personal favorite of mine). Not only are they produced in small batches, like some sort of microbrew bookery, the designs they cook up are succinct and delightful. And if that wasn't enough, the quality of the bindings is solid, attractive, and engineered for enjoyable reading.

Devils' Drums features striking 5-color cover art (see above), but the design doesn't stop there. The book is bound in matching ochre yellow cloth, with additional design elements struck into the cloth in black. The endpapers inside are a rich chocolate brown.

As I started to write this post, and began casting about for some additional information about the press, I was shocked and dismayed to find no interviews with Medusa's members online. Of course, not being able to leave well enough alone (as usual), I felt compelled to drop them a line and assuage my curiosity the good old fashioned way!

Elysia Chuh juggles many roles at Medusa Press, including designer, art director, and partner at Medusa Press (as well as processing their online orders from bookshops like us!), and was kind enough to answer my questions. Her official title is "Co-owner/Book Designer,” but that seems to only cover part of the job. She also designs for other publishers, and just did a couple of covers for Centipede Press which will be coming out in January: “Night and the City” and “London Stories,” both by Gerald Kersh.

Q: When did Medusa Press start?
We started in 2004 with the publication of Frank Chigas’ The Damp Chamber, which garnered some very good press for us, and allowed us to continue forward with John Gordon’s great works.

Q: Why did Medusa Press start? What was the inspiration, the initial goal, and has that evolved at all?
I think our initial intention was to put out reprints of obscure supernatural/horror collections, along with new works that harken back to that style. I think we haven’t evolved much from where we started, but in our case, that may be a good thing! We’re very much of a traditionalist mindset (classic story structure, book design and artwork that compliments the vintage/retro look).

Q: Who was involved in starting Medusa?
Medusa Press was started by a small group of people in the San Francisco Bay Area who have a passion for the genre, and is definitely a homegrown, part-time effort, which we work on when when there is time to do so. We would love to someday get it to the level where it could be a full-time company like others who started small (Nightshade Books, PS Publishing) but that might be a far way off.

Q: Starting up a small press as the economy foundered so heavily must have thrown a fair number of roadblocks in your way. Did it make you more determined to succeed, make your decisions the result of a more careful process...?
With small press, there is always a big challenge with getting a return on investment, so you have to make sure there’s an audience for it. Short story collections don’t sell (which is why big publishers never put them out), so it’s a dying art of sorts, one we want to preserve. With small press, it’s very expensive to print the books (unless you’re doing print-on-demand), and they don’t fly off the shelves, as there is a very select group of fans and collectors of the genre that will buy them on a regular basis. Our process in choosing the right books to put out is determined by several factors, such as whether the author’s works have already saturated the market (another Poe or Lovecraft collection?), whether the rights are easily available, and whether there is some desire from readers to have this author’s works in their collections. So, when one adds all this up, it can be a slow, time-consuming process to put a book out. As an example, Meik’s Devils' Drums took eight months to put out, from start to finish.

Q: Have folks been discovering you, or are you our little secret still?
We have been getting larger interest in our press since first appearing on the scene, and now have regular customers who look forward to the next release, regardless of how long it takes us to get it out! I suppose we are a little secret still, if our still unsold inventory is any indication. It’s hard vying for space with reviewers, which ultimately gets the visibility we need.

Q: Do you have any tidbits to tantalize readers with regarding future endeavors of Medusa?
We have a few projects in various stages that we are working on, and hope to have something out soon. Look out for more reprints from horror’s golden age, along with another collection from Frank Chigas, which he is currently working on.

Come visit us @ Coast City Comicon!

2011-11-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

This weekend we're taking part in our first convention, the Coast City Comicon (tickets are available at the door). It's being held here in Portland at the Eastland Park Hotel on Saturday and Sunday, and it should be a blast! We will have local guest authors at our table, and loads of the tasty new Philip K. Dick books on sale. Huzzah!

Our main author guest is Michael Connor, who just wrapped up his art exhibit Fuzzy Allotropes 2 here at the shop. He will be at our table throughout the weekend (when he isn't heading panel discussions at the SPACE Gallery!). Our other author is Mark LaFlamme, Lewiston native, crime beat writer for the Lewiston Sun Journal, and a terrific horror author. Mark is being held hostage by alpacas so he will only be able to visit on Sunday afternoon, starting at 2:00. I recently reviewed his short story collection Box of Lies: http://greenhandbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-mark-laflammes-box-of-lies.html

Here is the schedule of events for the convention as it stands now:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH
8:00pm-1:00am Convention kickoff! Nerd Rave @ SPACE Gallery with DJ Pony Farm and Waranimal, plus Heloise and the Savoir Faire, plus a costume contest w/crazy prizes!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH
10:00-6:00 Vendor and artist tables open @ Eastland Hotel
10:00-4:00 Super Mario 3 Tournament in Dealer Room @ Eastland Hotel:
A timed, score based, big screen Super Mario 3 Tournament! Crazy prizes from Coast City Comics for winners! No Powerglove required.
10:00-6:00 Wet Paint Project demonstration @ Eastland Hotel
Guest artist Chris Dingwell will be demonstrating the dynamic painting techniques that allowed him to produce such masterworks as seen in his new book, Inside Out, copies of which will be available. Dingwell will be joined throughout the weekend by special guests who will throw their painting techniques into the mix. Prepare to be amazed.
12:00-1:30 Self Publishing 101 @ SPACE Gallery with special guests:
-- Comic artist & writer Ben Bishop (Nathan the Caveman & Lost Trail)
-- Comic artist and writer Michael Connor (Coelacanthus comic zine)
1:30-3:00 Breaking into Comics panel @ SPACE Gallery with special guests:
-- Comic artist & colorist Ray Dillon (DC’s Brightest Day & IDW’s Servant of the Bones)
-- Comic artist & creator/editor Renae De Liz (IDW’s Servant of the Bones, Womanthology, IDW’s The Last Unicorn)
-- Andy Schmidt (former Senior Editor @ IDW Comics, former Editor at Marvel Comics, founder of Comics Experience career school)
-- Comic artist, writer & editor Mort Todd (former Cracked Magazine editor-in-chief, owner of Comicfix)
--& other special guests TBA!
3:30-5:30 Deadly Spawn screening (78 min) @ SPACE Gallery, followed by Q&A w/director Ted Bohus.
4:00-6:00 Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Tournament in Dealer Room @ Eastland Hotel
6:00-9:00 Dinner break!
9:00pm Doors open for Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts screening @ SPACE Gallery
9:00-11:00 Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts – East Coast premiere screening
For the first time, see Warren Ellis’s work and life as seen by himself and others in this sharp new documentary by the team that brought you the critically acclaimed film Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods. This premiere screening is timed to coincide with the film’s West Coast weekend premiere at the Napa Valley Film Festival!
9:00-12:30 Doors open for Comiccon Rock & Roll After Party (21+) @ Empire. Hear the fantastic Flipsides with the Heeby Jeebies, and added attractive attraction the Whistlebait Burlesque troupe at Empire Dine and Dance, 575 Congress (corner of Forest and Congress). $5 cover or FREE w/your comicon badge!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH
10:00-6:00 Vendor and artist tables open @ Eastland Hotel
10:00-6:00 Super Mario 3 Tournament continues in Dealer Room @ Eastland Hotel
10:00-6:00 Wet Paint Project demonstration @ Eastland Hotel
Guest artist Chris Dingwell will be demonstrating the dynamic painting techniques that allowed him to produce such masterworks as seen in his new book, Inside Out, copies of which will be available. Dingwell will be joined throughout the weekend by special guests who will throw their painting techniques into the mix. Prepare to be amazed.
12:00-1:30 Cryptozoology in Comics discussion panel @ SPACE Gallery with special guests:
-– Perhapanauts comic artist Craig Rousseau and writer Todd Dezago
-- Loren Coleman, director of the International Museum of Cryptozoology
1:30-3:00 Philip K. Dick panel discussion @ SPACE Gallery w/giveaways from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s new edition of author Philip K. Dick’s books, including copies of Exegesis!
Special guests:
-- Author Alex Irvine (Marvel’s Hellstorm: Son of Satan, The Narrows, A Scattering of Jades)
-- Zack Handlen of the Onion AV Club
-- Sam Pfeifle of the Portland Phoenix
3:00-4:30 Guerilla Film-Making discussion panel @ SPACE Gallery with special guests:
-- Ted Bohus, director of Deadly Spawn
-- Rob Fitz, director of God of Vampires
-- Barry Dodd, director of Ragged Isle
-- Shawn French, director of Wrong House
-- Shoggoth Assembly members
4:30-7:00 God of Vampires screening (106 min) @ SPACE Gallery,
Followed by Q&A w/director Rob Fitz.
7:00-8:30 Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods screening @ SPACE Gallery. This critically acclaimed documentary about the life and work of comic writer Grant Morrison is crafted to feel in part much like one of his stories, and was produced in close collaboration with the author himself.

8:30-10:30 Coast City Comicon wrap-up party (21+ only) @ Geno’s Rock Club: The Geek Chorus presents that awful Captain America movie from the 70s

Game Geeks will be running Heroclix Superman Sealed Drafts all weekend, for $24 (clix included), as well as Magic The Gathering: Standard Constructed Draft tournaments. Check in at their table for more details, or you can also call their shop before the con at (207)767-1101.

LOCATION INFO
Main Convention Floor:
The Eastland Park Hotel is at 157 High Street, near the major intersection of High, Congress, and Free Streets, where the Portland Museum of Art is located. Opened as a grand establishment in 1927, the hotel has maintained itself over the decades as one of Portland's most prominent hotels. The convention is being held in one of the large event halls at the hotel. If you reserve rooms at the Eastland, make sure to mention you are attending the convention for a discount. http://www.eastlandparkhotel.com/

Discussion Panels and Film Screenings:
The SPACE Gallery is at 538 Congress Street, about a block and a half from the Eastland Hotel, where the convention floor is. This venue is small and heavily involved with the very young and vibrant local arts scene, as it is located in the same block as both the Maine College of Art, the Artist Studios Building, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. http://www.space538.org/

For a Google map which shows the distance between the two locations, which will allow you to get driving directions to either spot:
http://g.co/maps/v66qn

REVIEW: Mark LaFlamme's Box of Lies

2011-10-19T16:57:00.002-04:00

This review is really, really late in coming, because I wanted to do it up right, and I didn’t want to skimp on it. Chances are you wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told you, because chances are you haven’t heard of the book, Box of Lies, even though it’s been out a full year as I write this. You may not have even heard of the author, Mark LaFlamme, unless you live in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Why this is, I can’t explain. LaFlamme has been steadily writing and releasing excellent horror and weird fiction books since 2005, and each one has had a slightly different but equally captivating overall character. I’ve liked and admired every single one of his books I’ve read, and that’s most of them. Why one of the big publishers hasn’t picked up his contract is beyond me.

LaFlamme was born in Waterville, Maine, and continues to live here with the rest of us loonies. Clearly this has affected his brain, and has fertilized his imagination to an ungodly level. As if that wasn’t enough, for the last 17 years or so he has been writing the Lewiston Daily Sun’s crime beat, and has been the author of their “Street Talk” column for many years. The influence of this journalistic work on his fiction is a straightforward approach that takes the reader on roads that would never have been taken otherwise (one hopes).

I know in the past I’ve compared some of his storytelling skills to Stephen King’s, but truly his voice is his very own, and a strong one at that. Unmistakable and somehow honest even though what he tells us word by word is a string of lies. That, I suspect, is because he knows the truth, intimately. Working the crime beat in Lewiston, Maine, is a hard way to learn about reality, yet that is what he does, every day, every late night shift. Yet somehow within him a spark of light still lives – though perhaps that light simply serves to throw darker shadows as he speaks in these stories.

Page by page in Box of Lies, LaFlamme giveth and he taketh away. Is what we imagine real? Is that which we think real imagined instead? In "Table for One," LaFlamme turns the fancies of the paranoid mind of the restaurant diner into solid worse-than-you-could-imagine reality. In "Pepper," a visiting alien finds out what makes Earthmen tick. In "The Bender Argument," LaFlamme gives us a scenario that posits what you might get if you like philosophy a little TOO much, a story which would make one hell of a nightmare movie, a perfect Twilight Zone episode, and would make Philip K. Dick himself proud.

Those of us who spend time musing about the unknown histories of our local street people may notice that LaFlamme has the talent to transmute these blanks into new stories, such as Elsy in "Find a Penny," wherein we find out what happens when you can’t tell a bad penny from a good one until its spell is woven in intractable time. Others of us who wonder what happens in communities after the press is done reporting on the latest icy winter sport fatalities will find out perhaps more than we wanted to know in "Bone Lake," where the search goes on for the dead that have left land for the cold dark waters.

The 28 stories in Box of Lies vary in size from 5 pages to 31 pages in length, which gives a wonderfully varied pace to the collection, and subject matter ranges from the graphically horrific to the futuristically normal, which reminds me of some of my favorite horror/weird fiction authors’ collections, like Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. But when I asked him if he prefers writing scifi or horror, LaFlamme answered, “I'm constantly telling people that I don't write either. I don't set out to write horror or science fiction. It's just that my characters tend to do things that are: A) horrifying, or B) in defiance of known physical laws. I like to think of myself as a perfectly normal writer whose characters misbehave. I even tried to write a romance once. The heroine ended up dead, hacked into a dozen pieces and shipped to Venus. Not really. But that sounds pretty good. I might write that one.”

As a Mainer, his stories are often set here in the Pine Tree State, but as he succinctly explains, “The slithering freak plants in Vegetation are no more creepy because they are set in Homefield, Maine. I could have set that book in Dork, Utah and the substance of the tale wouldn't have changed a bit.” Yet somehow his home state creeps its way into the tales, for whatever reason. It may have something to do with the long winters, which form the impetus for him to create: “I absolutely hate winter. It's cold. It's dark and it seems endless. I can't ride my motorcycle much and there's no point in going to the beach at all. Maine winters are harsh and long. With all that time spent indoors, it's easy to become introspective and gloomy. Which I do. If I didn't have fictional worlds to turn to, I'd probably go into my basement and never come out.” (Maybe that’s another story for you to write, Mark!)

Like me, he has pondered why Maine does seem to stand out from other settings. “There IS something about Maine. It's rugged. It feels isolated from the rest of the world. The people here have their own way of doing things. I think that gets overplayed in Hollywood sometimes, but there's no doubt that living here is conducive to creativity. And perhaps lunacy.”

Some folks who read LaFlamme’s work in the Lewiston Sun Journal develop the idea that he’s from away, but that may be due to the fact that he, like many Mainers, has felt the need to roam. “I spent some time in the south - Charlotte, NC and Newport News, Virginia, specifically - but didn't last long down there. Like so many others, I came back. It was almost a subconscious decision, some homing mechanism I don't fully understand. Someday, I'd like to move out to California or Arizona. Could I stay out there? Remains to be seen. In the meantime, I'm here in Maine, my roots getting thicker by the hour.”

Since I couldn’t figure myself out why none of the big publishers has picked LaFlamme up yet, I asked him directly. He said he hadn’t initially planned to stick with his independent publisher, Booklocker, beyond his first book The Pink Room, but “six years and four novels later, I have no plans to go anywhere else. Why would I? Right now, I have final say on things like title, cover and layout. Once my novel gets through tweaking, editing and design, it gets to the market fairly quickly. It's out there getting read and making money instead of sitting on some big publisher's slush pile along with five hundred others. It's the golden age of indie publishing, although too few people know that right now.” For LaFlamme, going indie has allowed him to focus his time on book writing instead of spending futile hours trying to craft proposals to big publishers and agents, a gamble which doesn’t often pay off in the floodtide of material coming through their office doors each day.

LaFlamme made an observation on the newly rejuventated state of independent publishing in a growing electronic book market: “A lot of authors are turning down respectable offers from traditional publishers these days because they like the freedom and earning potential of the indie way. And yet, a lot of people still believe that authors are self-published because they have no other choice. There's still that stigma, but I suspect it won't last forever. With more and more indie authors out there, chances are good that your next favorite book will be written by one of us. Hopefully by me personally. There are plenty of authors doing extremely well just by selling their books on Kindle. Look up Amanda Hocking, Joe Konrath or John Locke to find out just how well.”

In September 2011 he released his newest book, Delirium Tremens, which lands solidly in the horror genre. This latest accomplishment from LaFlamme leads readers into the terror-laden life of alcoholic Stephen Boone, soon to die if he doesn’t cease his liquor habit. Problem is, if he stops drinking, all the dead people that visit him when he’s sober will come back. A Catch-22 erupts when spirits of a mother and daughter involve him in the details of their murder, and there is no going back. You can find this book on Amazon in either print or electronic versions, along with his prior volumes, such as Box of Lies, Dirt, and The Pink Room. You might even find copies of a few of his titles at your local independent bookshop, such as Portland's Green Hand Bookshop. You never know!

Philip K. Dick book release!

2011-10-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

In a rare foray into the world of new book selling, I am happy to announce that, as of today, the Green Hand has in stock the 8 newly released titles from the Philip K. Dick catalogue that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is printing. The cover design is simple and sharp, I'm really enjoying the aesthetic they landed on for the series. For those of you tired of piecing together a mix-matched collection, here is a chance to pick up freshly minted copies in this swanky but affordable softcover edition! Come on in and check them out!

The titles I now have in stock are (as shown, L to R, top row then bottom):
The Simulacra
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
Lies, Inc.
The Divine Invasion
Valis
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
A Scanner Darkly
Now Wait for Last Year

Sacred & Profane 2011

2011-10-11T17:47:00.000-04:00

FYI folks, no advance sales of tickets this year for the Sacred & Profane festival!! Buy 'em Saturday at the Casco Bay Lines terminal when embarking for Peaks on the 2:15 ferry, or get 'em @ the Peaks Island dock when the ferry lands @ 2:35pm.

Poetry as an object

2011-10-05T17:16:00.000-04:00

There is something about a book that is pure poetry in and of itself, in physical form. Of course, often there is wonderful poetry within as well, such as this great little piece from a 1936 edition of Rachel Field's Fear Is The Thorn:

Black Alder Berry

Under mid-winter skies I stood
Before red berries by a wood.
With these two eyes I saw them plain
Strung on bare twigs like scarlet rain.
There in that withered, frosty field
My throat went dry, my senses reeled,
And who I was and why I came
I could not say. My very name
Was lost to me -- I only knew
Color that breaks the heart in two.

On not operating in a void

2011-09-06T11:51:00.000-04:00

Some of you may or may not know that I list about shelf's-worth or so of items on half.com at any given time, mostly specialized items that might command a higher price than the general Portland ME public would be interested in paying (e.g., textbooks, some odd rarities). The money I make from doing this helps pay utility bills at the shop each month, and lets me take in some books that would otherwise sit on my shelves for an eternity or get dropped into the free bin.

I focus on my bricks and mortar shop for 99% of my sales, and enjoy doing that. I sold online for years on eBay, and especially with all the email automation they've instituted, the experience is just not the same, and certainly can't hold a candle to dealing with people face-to-face in my shop. Besides, I don't want to cherrypick what comes into the shop -- my Congress Street customers should be able to walk through my door with the expectation that on my New Arrivals table or on the general shelves there will be a treasure waiting for them that they weren't expecting to find.

I don't let that affect the amount of care I pay to outgoing books that I've sold online, however. Each one gets carefully packed and sent on its way in the hopes that it will arrive at its new home in the same condition that it left my shop. Rarely do I hear back from the buyers, and it really does feel like I'm operating in a vacuum most of the time when it comes to online selling.

And then... once in a while, something happens like this, and it makes my heart sing:

I just wanted to thank you (or whoever packaged my book) for impressing me to the hundredth degree. To start, your box is one of the safest boxes I've ever received any package in, book or otherwise. When I finally opened it, I was surprised by the packaging peanuts; no one has ever put packaging peanuts in a textbook delivery box for me in the past.

Then, after all of that, there was the book in gift wrap. ARE YOU SERIOUS? That is awesome. GIFT WRAP? You/your company are/is amazing. AND THEN THERE WAS THE LITTLE HANDWRITTEN NOTE! Seriously, that is amazing. I have never wanted to not throw a box out so much before, but I guess there's a first for everything.

Thank you for making my textbook purchasing experience astounding. I will definitely remember to check your company first for any future purchases. THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU!

It was a terrific way to start the day. I just wanted to thank everyone out there who goes out of their way to tell someone that they noticed what they were doing, and how much care they took to do it each time -- and I do so on behalf of all of us online sellers who feel like we're floating in outer space through much of our online transactions.

CLOSED Sunday this week

2011-08-28T09:51:00.000-04:00

Hullo everyone -- I don't usually do this, but since the International Cryptozoology Museum is already closing because of the storm, and the ghost-town like state of Portland's streets as the hurricane weather begins to set in, I'm going to leave the store closed today, Sunday, August 28, 2011. Sorry if any of you were planning on visiting today!! Stay home and stay safe and dry! :) And we'll see you again on Tuesday as usual.

The Inaugural Bird Visit

2011-08-19T17:51:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official. So far we've had a fish, many dogs, and a rabbit visit the Green Hand. But never before had we been visited by a feathered friend!

All that changed this evening when a traveling customer, Sean, began browsing the shelves with a covered cage in hand. Who was his traveling companion? None other than Harry, a cheerful and attentive green parrotlet! He had been seeing the world with Sean, starting out at Newark NJ that morning, and jaunting about upon arrival in Portland in preparation for a ride out to an island later. Thanks to Sean for humoring my fascination with the little guy! Of course, his bright green feathers nicely match my shop's plastic bags, so when they left the store, Sean's luggage matched Harry quite nicely.

I felt that it was worth commemorating the occasion with a portrait or two of Harry ensconced in his cage. :)

* * * * *
OSCAR UPDATE:
Many of you remember and ask after Oscar, the jumbo oscar fish, who is back living with my brother in his apartment now, happily eating 20-30 goldfish a week and growing ever more giant.

Above is a picture I took of him when I visited. To replace the constant hubbub of being in a public place, he has taken up watching television from his tank, but apparently does not approve of explosions, and takes off to the other end of the aquarium when movies and shows are rude enough to include kabooms in their plot arcs.

Old, cautiously optimistic bookmark

2011-06-27T13:33:00.003-04:00

Here's another cool bookmark find, an old souvenir from Portland ME with a cautiously optimistic message. Wonder when it's from? Most of my bookmarks come from between the pages of books that wander into my shop, but this one I found at a local outdoor flea market, down in Arundel on Route 1.

Sea Pieces - charming sheet music

2011-06-26T17:34:00.000-04:00

Here's another photo essay for your amusement and enjoyment! This time it is a type of material I rarely deal with, but it was too charming for me to walk away from. It is a paperbound edition of the sheet music collection Sea Pieces, written by Edward MacDowell, featuring a lovely cover designed by P.L. Jung of New York. This edition is dated 1899, and is published by the Arthur P. Schmidt Co., of Boston and New York.

While the cover is attractive, the contents are at least as enchanting. Titles of the piano pieces include To the Sea, From a Wandering Iceberg, Starlight, From the Depths, Nautilus, and In Mid-Ocean.

But Mr. MacDowell's delightful ingenuity does not end there, no sir, no ma'am! If you flip the booklet open, you find each piece sprinkled with such personable requests for the player's fingers as "In unbroken rolling rhythm," "Tenderly," "In languid swaying rhythm," "Ponderously," and "Gradually faster, but without hurrying. Mysteriously." Clearly Mr. MacDowell did not want any wishy-washy, landlubbery players mucking up his pieces' intended execution!

I snapped pictures of several of the most intriguing directions for posterity:

The art of the North Wind

2011-06-24T11:46:00.000-04:00

Now and again, a book comes through my hands here at the shop which makes me stop in spite of the hurry of business. Today as I was pricing a 1950 copy of George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind, I had one of those "stop and smell the roses" moments. The binding of this book, while fairly solid, is not what makes it special. What makes it special (beyond its lovely storytelling) is the series of wonderful illustrations that pepper its pages.

George and Doris Hauman illustrated this edition, and their work is simple, lively, and enchanting without being too airy-fairy, just as it should be. Working in bold but fine black linework, paired with a pale aqua-blue ink to offset it and give shade or color where needed, these pieces are enough to charm any reader.

I thought you all might enjoy seeing some of the pieces as much as I did as I leafed through these pages. You can click on the images to see more detail.

The facing title page

Each chapter heading is graced with a drawing.

Little Boy Blue calls to everything in the woods

"Now let's go and dig for stars."

The Haumans are also the ones who did the illustrations for the 1961 edition of The Little Engine That Could.

TONIGHT! "fast on the ground, fast in the air" art opening

2011-06-03T14:18:00.000-04:00

WHAT: First Friday Artwalk! "fast on the ground, fast in the air"
WHEN: opening Friday, June 3 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm, on display through June 2011
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME

Drawings of airplanes and racecars by the inimitable Carlotta Valdez will be zipping into the public for the first time tonight during the Portland Artwalk! Plus, don't miss the grand opening of our new neighbors across the street, the Merchant Company! They're going to be packed with all sorts of nifty art, and tonight they have enough celebratory refreshments and groovy music to keep everyone happy.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Merchant-Company/201304096556952?sk=wall&filter=12

REVIEW: Performed by Lugosi

2011-05-20T13:14:00.001-04:00

I was very pleased to receive a review copy of this book as part of the Early Reviewer program over at LibraryThing.com.

Performed by Lugosi: A bold new look at the stellar icon of fantastic cinema and the tales that inspired his greatest roles
by S. Michael Wilson
http://www.smichaelwilson.com/
2010, Idea Men Productions

Performed by Lugosi is a unique pairing of literary and cinematic sensibilities. In one volume, S. Michael Wilson has collected the original pieces of fiction that inspired Lugosi’s on-screen performances and his own thorough and sharp-witted responses to how the film studios adapted the texts to their own use, with a special focus on Lugosi’s role in the process. Stories include classics by such renowned authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

I was pleasantly surprised to find, alongside his informative and well-researched account of the films’ histories, a running current of Wilson’s own particular sly wit and his backhanded brand of movie reviewing, a style which is near and dear to my heart, and aptly suited to the callow treatment that film studios of the day often gave to their scripts’ literary roots.

Shining through the historic accounts and casual commentary is Wilson’s genuine regard for Bela Lugosi. Long a fan of Lugosi myself, I found this a very appealing mix of elements, and can only imagine that anyone curious about Bela will be likewise rewarded by their reading of this painstakingly assembled compilation. Drawing from a number of texts about Lugosi’s strange and complex relationship with the Hollywood studios of the day, Wilson discusses others’ ideas as well as his own about how Bela responded to the very particular requirements of the industry he found himself a part of, a sometimes-uncomfortable arrangement for all parties involved.

Each original story is present for the reader to absorb on their own, followed by an account of the movie that resulted. This section introduces the film’s vital statistics, including the studio’s often heavily-distorted, character-driven plot line, and the pre-screen treatment of the material, production notes, Bela’s involvement in the film, and, like a tasty dessert at the end, food for thought in the form of Wilson’s musings, which often provide an insightful and appreciative view of the movie.

Run-on sentences in the land of the West!

2011-04-10T14:58:00.000-04:00

I've been sorting through a mixed lot of old Western paperbacks, and I'm having a lot of fun in the process, because they are a hoot!

Here's a heck of a run-on sentence from the back of "Gringo Gun" by E.E. Halleran:

"Caught in a vicious power struggle between feuding factions, fearful of betrayal by the intense, dark-eyed Jessie, who has a long memory for the past and more courage than most men, and menaced by the wild Chiricahua Apaches with fierce grudges of their own, Tom finds he must draw upon every ounce of his nerve and cunning just to live."

Yep!

Other things I've come across?

Apparently the "EDGE" paperbacks make up "the most violent Westerns in print," w/titles like "Massacre Mission" & "School for Slaughter"!

"He rode south to Texas to face a juggernaut of death." -- Blurb from paperback of "The Outlaw Josey Wales" by Forrest Carter.

Another great Western blurb:"His six gun brought law to the river and hell to him!" from Forbidden River by Al Cody.

Gringo Gun image borrowed from the great Retro Hound blog site.

EVENT: First Friday Artwalk "Mysterious Waters" opening

2011-03-31T18:03:00.001-04:00

Mysterious Waters: A series of ink and watercolor drawings by Brandon Kawashima, inspired by themes from Japanese folklore and images of environmental pollution.

Opening during First Friday Artwalk, April 1st, 2011, from 5:00-8:00pm at the Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME.

This show of drawings, crawling with labyrinthine lines but colored with delicate simplicity, attempts to grapple with the mystery of our relationship with the natural world, which we adore and abuse simultaneously. The show will be on display through the month of April.

Free tickets to ZooZoo by Imago Theatre!

2011-03-30T16:14:00.001-04:00

Look closely-- these are great costumes!

Anyone out there a fan of performance art and animals? We have a pair of tickets to ZooZoo, performed by Imago Theatre, at 7:00pm this Friday night, April 1st (Merrill Auditorium, Portland, ME)!

Drop us a line and we'll pick a winner tomorrow!

"Defying classification, they have populated the stage with characters and beings such as comedic amphibians, acrobatic larvae, circus boulders, and metamorphosing humans in works which tantalize the senses, the intellect, and the passions. From adaptations of classics to excursions into vaudevillian existentialism, Imago's repertoire is as vast as the forms they shape. With commissions for stage, film, and television, Imago blurs the lines of the expected to break new ground, exploding performance boundaries yet maintaining humor and humanity."

"Imago Theatre tours internationally while also producing a season at its home base in Portland, Oregon. The company's critically acclaimed FROGZ opened at the New Victory Theater on Broadway in New York, in April of 2000 and returned to the New Victory in May 2002. FROGZ also performed a smash hit month-ling run at the award-winning American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusets in the summer of 2005."

FMI: http://portlandovations.org/shows/2010-11/imago_theatre_zoozoo/

Closing early Tuesday for talk in Augusta!

2011-03-19T16:54:00.001-04:00

I'll be closing the shop early, at 5:00pm, this coming Tuesday in order to get up to Augusta, where I'll be giving a short talk about my book, Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011
WHERE: Reading Room of the Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop St., Augusta, ME
COST: The program is free and open to the public.
FMI: Call (207)626-2415 or visit www.lithgow.lib.me.us

Path to Storytelling workshop

2011-03-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

In May 2011, Lynne Cullen will be offering a three-part storytelling workshop at the Green Hand. The cost is only $65; this covers all three sessions and also includes a graduation performance evening to which students can invite friends and family (the date will be determined at the last class). Spaces will be limited, so book early!

To sign up for this workshop, or for further information, please contact Lynne Cullen at:
207-846-1321 or thetwacorbies@yahoo.com.
Workshop website can be found here:
http://members.surfbest.net/carnivores@surfbest.net/New%20Workshop.htm

Storytelling is a social art form, and can be a powerful medium in our personal lives. Whether you wish to use storytelling in your work (teachers and health workers, for example) or would like to perform stories at storytelling clubs (such as Seanachie Nights or MOOSE), this workshop will give you a firm grounding in storytelling skills.

During this workshop, you will explore your natural abilities and learn how to remember and tell traditional stories, using simple imaging and memory techniques. Not only will you have fun, but you will leave with the beginnings of your own collection of stories.

This workshop is suitable for people at all levels of experience, including anyone who has never told a story before.

* MAY 10-- The first session will introduce participants to the rich world of traditional storytelling, through a combination of discussions, handouts, and games.

* MAY 17-- In the second session, we will delve more deeply into stories and storytelling, through exercises to aid visualization and language. At the end of this session, participants will be given a short, traditional story to learn.

* MAY 24-- In the third session, each participant will tell their story in front of the class and receive constructive feedback on presentation and content.

* Finally, each participant will have the opportunity to perform a traditional story at a graduation performance.

Lynne Cullen is a local (seanachie) storyteller and a playwright. She is a member of LANES (League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling), MOOSE (Maine Organization Of Storytelling Enthusiasts), and the Society for Storytelling. She is the creator, producer and host of Seanachie Nights, a monthly storytelling evening decidated to traditional stories and music. In 2009, Lynne was awarded a MaineArts Grant to finish her full-length play: 'The Amazing Life and Mysterious End of Ragana: Mistress of Illusion'.

EVENT: Open Music Sky Jam storytelling event

2011-02-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

The Open Sky Music Jam is participatory storytelling in musical form -- a potpourri of musical delights from land and sea. In celebration of the February school vacation week, the Jam will be arriving at the Green Hand Bookshop and inviting folks to join in on a rollicking ride of fun. Families are invited to come and play along on rhythm instruments!

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Jenn Bliss is a founding member of Moonship Productions.

Moonship Productions is an eclectic, energetic, esoteric vessel created by JENN BLISS and JASON BERUBE which produces engaging theater, art and music installations, festivals, circuses, giant puppets, field recordings, which is tied in with their travels around the world. They recently participated in the procession at the Sacred and Profane arts festival on Peaks Island, Fall 2010.

For more information on Moonship Productions:
http://www.themoonship.com/
moonshipmail@gmail.com
617-620-9517

Free tickets to Doug Varone!

2011-02-08T16:51:00.001-05:00

Anyone out there a fan of modern dance and a booklover? We have a pair of tickets to this in-part literary themed dance performance next Wednesday night!

Drop us a line and we'll pick a winner at noon tomorrow!

"The performance concludes with Chapters from a Broken Novel, a new work co-commissioned by Ovations along with Bates Dance Festival. Created from a collection of hundreds of phrases, snippets of conversations, found quotes and vivid images gathered together in the pages of Varone’s journal — these “chapters” revel in a multiplicity of meanings that live between the lines. From the smallest gesture to full-throttle bursts of movement, Varone’s work can literally take your breath away."

FMI: http://portlandovations.org/shows/20010-11/doug_varone_and_dancers/

UPDATE: Our winner is Mike B.! Thanks to everyone who threw their names in the hat! :)

Pre-Storm Special!

2011-02-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

For all our loyal Green Hand customers: All sci-fi and mystery books -- buy 2 get 1 free! Stock up for the next storm! Mention this post at checkout!

-- Store credit cannot be used (gift certificates are fine).
-- Sale runs through Saturday and Sunday, February 5-6.
-- Paperback, softcover, and hardcover are eligible!

EVENT: First Friday Artwalk "Streets of New Orleans" opening

2011-02-01T17:19:00.002-05:00

WHAT: First Friday Artwalk opening of STREETS OF NEW ORLEANS, street photography by Teressa MacHugh
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland ME
WHEN: Friday, February 4th, 2011 from 5:00-9:00 (on display through the month of February 2011)
FMI: contact Michelle Souliere at (207)450-6695 or michelle.souliere[at]gmail.com

This First Friday we kick off our 2011 Artwalk exhibit series with a showing of photographs by Teressa MacHugh, in "Streets of New Orleans."

A taste of the sultry realm of New Orleans via camera is given to viewers in this collection of recent photographs taken on Bourbon Street last summer. Feel a little southern exposure, give your eyes a little taste of Mardi Gras this February!

Mysterious musical visitors, the Watchers, will be returning to ply their sonic wares from 7:30-8:30pm.

RSVP at the Facebook event page! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176663459035935

Early snow closing: Friday 1/21

2011-01-21T12:38:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone-- we're going to close a little early today, at 3:00pm. Please drive safely, and stay warm!!

Happy Snowpocalypse!

2011-01-12T11:39:00.000-05:00

On my way to open the shop today, I snapped a few shots. Enjoy!

The East End -- windblown and covered in snow.

The trusty Subaru awaits!

Heading out from our lucky parking garage spot into the windtunnel of High Street.

This cameraman was shooting footage of snowbound pedestrians at the corner of High and Congress. A thankless job!!!

Interview by Penny Dreadful

2010-12-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

Penny Dreadful, diabolical hostess of the wonderful Shilling Shockers horror host show (seen here in Portland and elsewhere on public access television stations), was kind enough to interview me about the bookshop back in October. I thought I'd posted it when she put it online, but apparently not!

It's available via her LiveJournal blog at http://pennydreadful13.livejournal.com/9260.html, or you can read on here, for those of you who haven't read it yet elsewhere:

Interview with Michelle Souliere of The Green Hand Bookshop
Oct. 14th, 2010 at 6:17 PM

When the crisp Autumn wind rattles my attic windows, I like nothing more than to light a candle and curl up by the cauldron with an ancient grimoire or tale of terror. Outside of a black cat, a book is a witch's best friend. Inside of a black cat, it's too dark to read.

The printed word can whisk us away into worlds of wonder, and The Green Hand Bookshop in Portland, Maine is a place of many wonders indeed. I recently spoke with The Green Hand's proprietor, Michelle Souliere.

Michelle, could you tell us what inspired you to open a book store?

I have long been a booklover, and tried my hand for many years at bookscouting for local dealers and selling on my own via eBay and half.com. At one point I tried to avoid getting involved to the point of having a shop -- it seemed like more of a burden than I was ready for. However, over the last few years, it became apparent that was all I really wanted to do. I enjoyed working at the Portland Public Library but the large machinery of the institution seemed to trod upon so much of the vitality in the staff as it went about its work. I found myself thinking more and more in terms of "Wouldn't it be nice if..." I set tentative goals for sometime in the future, say 5 or 10 years down the road. Then the economy freaked out, and I moved to another job to save myself from debt, only to have that yanked out from under me as the university rearranged its departments due to budget cuts and other changes in focus. It became apparent that maybe I'd be better off taking a chance on my own now, since even the old tried-and-true jobs seemed to be increasingly unstable, and the money I'd saved in a 401(a) account during a 15-year stint as an office worker certainly wasn't multiplying on its own.

When did you first open for business? How has the response been from the community?

I first opened for business on First Friday, November 6, 2009. The response from the community has been terrific. A lot of the local neighbors seemed very relieved to have a legitimate business with the appearance of real stability opening up on this corner. There has also been a lot of curiosity as to what is going on here.

As an enthusiast of dark literature and forgotten lore, I must say I am pleased to hear that you have a "killer horror section." Could you tell us a little bit about your literary interests?

*laugh* My interests are very broad. I tend to have a smorgasbord of in-process books nearby, and dip into various volumes depending on my mood. However, I tend to have at least one good supernatural, horror, or other fantastic fiction book around, as this is my favorite genre. The best of the bunch? My top ones include M.R. James, Arthur Machen, H.P. Lovecraft, Manly Wade Wellman, Stephen King, John Gordon, Dan Simmons, Mark LaFlamme, and more. I'm always adding to the list. I also love mysteries, and favorites in that field include Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, John Dunning, and John Connolly. However, there are dark times of the year when one must move to lighter fare or risk forever losing oneself in the shadows, and on those occasions I get a kick out of Stella Gibbons' "Cold Comfort Farm," Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books, Mark Helprin, John Crowley, and more. Magical realism is another favorite genre (Helprin and Crowley certainly have works in that field), and of course Ray Bradbury remains one of my icons, how could I ever forget the first time I read "Dandelion Wine" or "Something Wicked This Way Comes"?

This is not to say that I veer away from non-fiction. I read heavily in fringe non-fiction (cryptozoology, paranormal, occult, mythology, folklore, and the like), and historic non-fiction, especially New England related. I also have a penchant for travelogues and biographies, and enjoy science and math related reading, such as "The Radioactive Boy Scout" and "The Mystery of the Aleph."

For an idea of my staple books, you can stroll through my account on LibraryThing, which gives an excellent slice of around 170 favorite parts of my library:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/msouliere

You have listed many of my favorites as well Michelle! Now, could you explain the origin of store's name: "the green hand?"

A few years ago, when I left my office job, I felt like it was time that I try to put my art degree to work, and one of my goals was to create a branding umbrella to encompass all my creative pursuits. One of the themes/logos that came up was the green hand. The two things I find myself drawn to over and over again are eyes and hands. The original green hand has an eye in the center of its palm. The art track fizzled, though I maintain a sporadic studio practice and do not intend to give up making my work, ever.

I stumbled across the green hand when I was casting about for a name and logo for the shop. Somehow, it just insinuated itself into place as the only option!! So far it has been ideal. It suggests something mysterious, which in turn generates curiosity (I hope!), and at the same time the green alludes to growth (five times the power of a mere green thumb!). On a more literary level, it pertains to the pulp magazine imagery of a green hand reaching out to some hapless victim, or an alien hand, perhaps... alluring dread!

What can visitors expect when they cross the threshold to The Green Hand Bookshop?

They can expect a wide variety of subject matter in the shop's inventory, which I take great pains to keep well-organized and carefully curated. The shop, very atypically for a used bookshop (at least from what I can tell from people's reactions), is spacious and bright. I won't spoil the surprise of the first thing you see coming through the door! But there are old-fashioned streetlamps, and a bench for perching on, and some old wooden chairs, and thousands of delicious books to browse through for as long as you like. :)

You share your storefront space with a fascinating museum. Could you talk a little about that?

The International Cryptozoology Museum shares space with the Green Hand in a wonderfully symbiotic relationship. To enter the museum, you approach the gate at the back of the bookshop, and therein lie many marvelous things, some naturally occurring, some man-made. Loren Coleman, the museum's owner and a well-known cryptozoologist in his own right, is there to give you your tour personally more often than not, which is handy if you have some of his books that you'd like him to sign while you're visiting. Fans of Bigfoot, the yeti, the Mothman, chupacabras, and many other mysterious and rare creatures will be in seventh heaven when they walk through the door.

You are also the creator of the fantastic Strange Maine blog. How did that come about?

I found it baffling that no one had formed a single site online that collected resources about Maine's intriguing elements. Add to that my unfortunate propensity for doing things instead of waiting for someone else to do them, and.... well you get the picture.

Your husband Tristan also runs a marvelous business right across the street from The Green Hand. What can visitors expect to find there?

The Fun Box Monster Emporium is a throwback to the toy emporiums of old and at the same time practically a museum of homage to the pop culture of the 1980s. Good stuff! Not only does he carry a ridiculous variety of action figures and other collectibles of the '80s, he also has vintage video games up the wazoo, not to mention the actual working pinball and arcade machines he keeps the shop popping with. In other words, it's fun.

Any exciting future plans or upcoming events at The Green Hand?

We're psyched to have Dan Blakeslee, a.k.a. Doctor Gasp, playing deliriously eerie Halloween tunes here on the night of October 13th, and Lynne Cullen telling wicked spooky stories the night before Halloween. We are also happy to be hosting meetings of the Speakeasy Society, which is made up of folks who are keen on the Jazz Age world of silent films and their stars. Who knows what we'll do next?!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Michelle.

The Green Hand Bookshop is located at:

661 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101

REVIEW: "The Painted Darkness"

2010-12-31T11:59:00.000-05:00

"The Painted Darkness" by Brian James Freeman is a quick, captivating read. The novella, published by small horror press veteran Cemetery Dance, sets the reader into the mind of Henry as he spends his time sunk into working on his paintings. The pieces are of a fantasy/horror bent, featuring monsters and blood, and he paints them as though in a trance, motivated by a mantra whose genesis is buried deep in his childhood – “I paint against the darkness.” He sets his brush to canvas with his father’s advice to him as a child ringing in his ears: “Just start at the beginning and the rest will take care of itself.” As he begins to work, his mind empties. Hours later he emerges from a fog after placing the latest piece carefully down with its face to the wall. It is not until much later that he inspects the latest series of work, flipping them over one after another, to see just what horrors he has painted this time.

His involvement in his work to the exclusion of all else has his wife Sarah worried. They’ve just had a fight over the amount of time he’s been spending in his attic studio, high up in the remote old stone farmhouse they recently bought. The fight caught Henry off guard as he was hurrying back upstairs to finish the latest piece. He hadn’t realized how upset Sarah was. After he went back upstairs, she left, driving off in the minivan with their three year old son Dillon to visit her parents.

Now Henry is in the old house, all alone. Alone except for the presence of his fears, a blank canvas, an approaching blizzard, a cranky and potentially dangerous old boiler in the basement, and… something else. Something so terrifying and unknown that he hasn’t seen the likes of it since that time when he was five years old.

Since he doesn’t really remember that event so well, he has no idea what he’s up against. He just knows it is very, very bad.

* * *

The novella is a tricky form. Too long to be a short story, yet not quite long enough to be a novel, its very easy to make it feel like it’s either a short story that’s been padded out or that it’s an embryonic novel not fully fleshed out. “The Painted Darkness” is one of those novellas that makes one want more, which is the better end of the spectrum to land on, as far as this reviewer is concerned.

The suspense is effective, caught as the reader is between the multiple threats of unmanageable ready-to-explode boilers, blizzards, lonely madness, upset wife, and unspeakable Other Horrors. The best ingredient, however, is the memory of child-Harry. The glimpses into his five-year-old mind’s experiences are like wandering into a snow globe crafted by my favorite kind of horror master – one who can drop tiny bits of what-was-that into the real world, creating a magic both terrifying and alluring at the same time.

All in all, a good read to curl up with by the fire on a cold winter night.

Free Videoport offer if you Buy Local!

2010-12-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

Wow, just when you thought ol' Father Christmas couldn't think up anything else, the elves at Videoport came up with a great idea. For every $10+ purchase you make at a Buy Local business (which includes the Green Hand Bookshop) between now and December 18th, you can get a free video rental at Videoport to watch while you're wrapping your gifts! No kidding!

For a full list of vendors, see the IndieBiz directory at portlandbuylocal.org

Be sure to get your receipt at the register and hang onto it for reimbursement at good ol' Videoport!

REVIEW: "The Little Stranger" and others

2010-12-04T16:02:00.000-05:00

After a spate recent recommendations from friends, I picked up "The Little Stranger" for a try, and in this way had the uneasy pleasure of finally reading my first Sarah Waters book.

This story starts with golden, hazy recollections by village practitioner Dr. Faraday of his sole encounter as a youth with a fabled local manor estate, Hundreds Hall. Unfortunately, the reality of the present day is not so rosy. By chance, and later by habit and fascination, Faraday finds himself bit by bit becoming entwined in the everyday life of the Ayres family.

They still retain their position as longtime gentry of the countryside, but over the years the estate has been eaten away until its footprint encompasses only the grounds of the house itself, an adjoining park, and their struggling farm nearby. Mrs. Ayres remains as lovely and gracious as ever, but her two children, now grown, show the signs of their post-war struggles to maintain the property in spite of the times. The labor of keeping up appearances has reduced them to the point where their personal appearances hint at a certain eccentricity, as niceties are replaced by necessities.

I found it very easy to get pulled into the strange vortex of the world of The Little Stranger's characters. As the book starts, the reader settles into post-WWII Britain, where everyone lives with the ghosts of not only the war, but also of the way England lived before the war. The tension between then, now, and in-between is palpable, and the pain it causes the Ayres family and Dr. Faraday is at times raw, pushing everyone's to their breaking point as they attempt to maintain the "proper" British facade at all costs.

It takes a while for the really eerie part of the story, the title's haunting, to kick in. By that time, you're sailing along thinking you're safe in these staid, British seas. Well, keep brewing that hot tea and stocking up on biscuits, because you won't want to put the book down once the story kicks into gear. I won't give any spoilers here.

For me, this book aligns itself with others I've read in the last couple of years that harbor an obsession, mild on the surface but running deep, with lost family property and the feel of the land and its old houses. Those who enjoy The Little Stranger, and like a story with an undercurrent of the supernatural, will likely enjoy these too. Both books I am thinking of are by author John Harwood.

His debut novel, The Ghost Writer, shares with The Little Stranger a lingering sense of the post-war years in Britain. It is fundamentally intriguing and the ending ... well, perhaps you should just read it for yourself. The text is set up so that it is interspersed with short ghost stories written by the narrator's lost Victorian ancestor, a real treat for someone like myself that has a soft spot for supernatural fiction tidbits tied in with an intriguing, overarching storyline.

Harwood's second novel is the one I read first -- The Seance. It was the first Victorian pastiche I've read in a long time that felt real and sincere -- in other words, truly seemed like something written long ago, with more solid underpinnings than modern make-believe. Tremendously haunting, and full of deeply-felt gothic undertones, the book is also rich with compelling mysteries and characters that will keep you turning the pages long after dark.

There is an excellent discussion by Shade Point, with links leading to others, of The Little Stranger's narrative and the controversy that has been swirling around Waters' storytelling methods that I highly recommend to the curious and to those who have read the book already:
http://www.cypruswellcommunity.org/community/ShadePointReviewsTheLittleStranger1

EVENT: First Friday Artwalk "Flights of Fantasy" opening

2010-11-19T10:24:00.001-05:00

We are very, very excited for the holiday-riffic Artwalk coming up in a couple of weeks! Besides debuting some truly magical artwork by David Stoddard, we're also happy to spread the rumor that The Watchers will be playing, and KittyWitch Perfumery will be plying their essential intoxicating wares for those hunting for perfectly delectable stocking stuffers.

The whimsical artwork of Portland artist David Stoddard features Wizards, Faeries, and Dragons, as well as Robots, Vampires, and Mad Scientists. Throw in a healthy dose of steampunk and there's something for everyone. David works in a variety of mediums, including Watercolor, Acrylic, and colored pencil. The "Flights of Fantasy" show will be up throught the months of December 2010 and January 2011 for your viewing pleasure.

Additional super-fun December First Friday BONUS:
Those of you who had the chance to swing through November's First Friday may remember hearing the mysterious surf stylings of The Watchers. Rumor is, they will be setting up and swinging again during part of the evening!!! Santa hats and some sort of Christmas madness may be involved.

PLUS: KittyWitch Perfumery will be on hand with their delicious handcrafted essential oil scents in case you are looking for an irresistible stocking stuffer for yourself or someone special! You can preview some of their goodies here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hollis-Center-ME/KittyWitch-Perfumery/129033453821753

DOUBLE PLUS:
Michael Connor, of Coelacanthus zine, is also going to be selling his wonderiffic small drawings at our mini craft fair.

EVENT: Gleefully grim ghost tales!

2010-10-26T20:53:00.000-04:00

Join storyteller Lynne Cullen amid the shelves of old books at the Green Hand Bookshop as she shares her darkest folktales in the shadow of the Crookston Bigfoot.

WHAT: Stories from the Dark
WHEN: Saturday, October 30th, 2010 @ 7:00pm
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland ME
COST: Free (although donations will be gladly accepted by the artist).

The only hint that Lynne will give about the tales she will tell, is this; "If people ask, you might want to tell them that the stories aren't for small children, encompassing as they do: gore, mother murder, father murder, walling people up, fire breathing black goats, dead babies, and the like. I know that kids 12 and up have probably seen it all, so they're probably OK. I'm just sayin'."

Sacred and Profane festival 2010!

2010-10-13T15:55:00.000-04:00

This year Sacred and Profane is on Saturday, October 23rd, leaving Portland on the 2:15pm Peaks Island ferry boat! The Green Hand is pleased to be one of the ticket purchase points this year. Tickets are now available!

Every year Peaks Island hosts this festival around the time of a full moon during harvest season. Artists are gathered months ahead to prepare for a transformation of the abandoned Battery Steele, which sits at the center of the island.

On arrival at the island, visitors approach the event in a procession, encountering costumed performers and other unknowns along the way. No electricity is available, so participants wander through the different rooms of the complex by provided candlelight. Site specific works are many and varied, and the experience is apt to product a mystified, euphoric mood in participants as they wander through, never knowing what they'll encounter next. It's its own kind of spooky. :)

At the tail end of the festival, delicious hot food is provided to visitors before they depart back to the mainland.

Visitors are responsible for buying their ferry tickets at the Casco Bay Lines terminal. Festival tickets are sold separately and are $10 each. The number of tickets is limited due to capacity, so advance purchase is encouraged. Tickets are available at Strange Maine (the shop, at 578 Congress Street, Portland, ME 207-771-9997, http://www.kraag.org/strange/) and at the Green Hand Bookshop (661 Congress Street, Portland 207-450-6695 http://greenhandbooks.blogspot.com/).

Dear Mr. Poe

2010-10-07T11:28:00.000-04:00

Today is the 161st anniversary of Poe's death. If you have a chance, pick up Peter Ackroyd's brief biography of him which focuses on his last days, called Poe: A Life Cut Short. A quick, heavily intriguing read.

Here's to you, Mr. Poe, and your writing, which to this day is still right up there among the American literary pantheon. Good job in spite of all the rest.

Illustration (c)2006 Michelle Souliere.

EVENT: A house visit from spooky Dr. Gasp!

2010-10-06T12:24:00.002-04:00

As I cast about looking for the perfect spooky Halloween treats to have at my shop, wondering what fun events could be added to the calendar for all you fine folks out there, little did I realize that one of my favorite annual Halloween events would fall right into my lap!

WHAT: Halloween Music with Dan Blakeslee, a.k.a. Doctor Gasp
WHEN: October 13, 2010 @ 8:00pm
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress St, Portland ME
COST: $5 suggested donation gladly accepted.
FMI: (207)450-6695 or email me at michelle.souliere[at]gmail.com
You can RSVP if you'd like at the event page on Facebook

Doctor Gasp is paying a house visit at the Green Hand Bookshop! Doors open at 7:00, and Dan Blakeslee will tune up and be ready to shake his chains at you by 8:00! Who knows what disguise the doctor will be wearing this year? Family friendly spooktakular rompings!!!

This event is free, although donations will be appreciated. The Green Hand Bookshop is located at 661 Congress Street, near Longfellow Square in Portland, next to Joe's Smoke Shop.

Can't wait for the lucky 13th? Just click below to see the fantastic little video for one of my favorite Halloween songs by Dan, "Vampire Fish"!!!

Dr. Rabbit's Foundling - Tiny Toad amuck!

2010-09-23T14:19:00.001-04:00

Occasionally I run across a kids' book that defies previously established levels of cuteness. Cyndy Szekere's work often fits that category. Who can forget her illustrations of fuzzy critters and their adventures for books like Pippa Mouse and The Clumpets Go Sailing, and her own Tiny Paw Library and The Mouse That Jack Built (among many others)?

At the shop, I just put out a copy of Doctor Rabbit's Foundling, by Jan Wahl. It was a great chance to dip into one of her books I hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting. In this story, Dr. Rabbit comes across a little bamboo bucket and a note from a sad mother. To his surprise, the tiny bucket has a tadpole in it. The weeks pass, and the tadpole grows into Tiny Toad, and boy, doesn't Tiny Toad give the doctor a run for his money! I can't recommend this sweet book highly enough. :)

I've scanned a few pages for you to look at and get an idea of how irresistible the book really is for yourselves! Click on the images to see larger versions.

There is a terrific autobiographical article about Cyndy here:
http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1294/Szekeres-Cyndy-Autobiography-Feature.html

Stickers! We've got 'em!

2010-09-21T12:50:00.000-04:00

Well, it has finally come to pass that we have some super-dandy Green Hand stickers for sale at the shop now! Hooray! Now I have to figure out places to stick 'em. :)

The exotic representative of the Alhambra

2010-09-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

Is his smile shy, or coy, or.... ?

Every now and then I come across intriguing cover image choices, and this is definitely the oddest one I've ever seen on a classic Washington Irving book!
Found on an old, petite hardcover edition of Irving's Alhambra originating in Granada, Spain, as published by Editorial Padre Suarez. The cover art is captioned on the front flap as "G. Morcillo: The Prince Ahmed." The book sold for 95 pesetas.

FMR: most beautiful magazine

2010-08-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

Back in the early 1990s, in my many hours spent browsing at Yes Books here in Portland, I encountered a fabulous magazine, lushly printed like no other, and full of a fascinating array of articles. Every issue seemed to be hand-picked to reflect my interests! That magazine was FMR. Recently, I came across a stack of back issues at a rummage sale, which are now out on the shelf in the shop. It's been so nice to revisit them!

Topics are many and varied, from antique androids to colonial era gravestone art to ... well, you name it!

To quote designboom.com, since they seem to have summed it up so nicely,

The magazine bears Francomaria Ricci's initials as its title 'FMR'. Pronounced in French, the title appears to read 'ephémère'. First and foremost 'FMR' is an object. 'The most beautiful magazine in the world' acts as a model for perfection, presenting noteworthy iconological
and art historical studies without being pedantic.

Magnificent, large photographs, and exquisite drawings are faithfully reproduced on a black background, the pictures and the clear bodonian type stand out brightly -- isolated shapes in their chromatic relief and in their volumes in order to help the eye to contemplate attentively.

[Source]

(Be sure to visit their site, as it is striking and full of delicious design goodies.)

EVENT: First Friday Artwalk "Relics" opening

2010-08-22T13:56:00.001-04:00

The Green Hand is very pleased to present "Relics," a series of digital and traditional photographs depicting industrial decay, anachronism, and forgotten places around Portland and Southern Maine, as captured by the intrepid Eric Pomorski.

WHAT: First Friday Artwalk opening of "Relics" by Eric Pomorski
WHEN: Friday, September 3rd, 2010 from 5:00-8:00pm
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME
FMI: (207)450-6695 or see the Facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101655499895193

Fans of urban exploration, abandoned mill buildings, and other remnants of Maine's past will be especially interested in this show. A wide range of Eric's work is posted on Flickr here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/epomorski/

We are very excited to have his work on display throughout the month of September!

Rearranging!

2010-07-21T18:32:00.000-04:00

Well, nothing ever stands still here in the shop. The other week we started work on expanding the sci-fi/fantasy section, and today we kicked off another chain reaction.

A few of the changes:
-- The literary biographies (authors and poets) have their own little bookcase now.
-- There is now an "Adventure and Intrigue" fiction section, with everything from spy novels to Civil War novels to nautical adventure, etc.
-- The "Exploration" and "Arctic" sections have been moved out of History into the section that also houses the shipbuilding/sailing books. It seemed like a natural fit!
-- There is a new Art section bookcase right at the front of the store as you come in, housing some of the oversized books, some art history, photography, and Collectible guides (including autos/airplanes).

On the agenda as we move more stuff around:
-- Adding a pair of double-sided cases near the counter, where the "New Arrivals" table is now, one of which will house the weird non-fiction.
--Expanding the horror section into the tall bookcase which previously housed the weird non-fiction books.

Hot diggity! There's no sitting-on-hands going on here. :) More to come, too... stay tuned!

Tom Swift mysteries

2010-07-15T14:14:00.001-04:00

I'm about to put out a stack of the old creamtone hardcovers of the Tom Swift books (which will complement the shop's collection of later editions nicely). Leafing through Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders a section caught my eye, in Chapter XI: The Vampires... enjoy!

Tom laughed quietly.
"A shadow!" he exclaimed. "Since when were you afraid of shadows, Ned?"
"I'm not afraid of ordinary shadows," answered Ned, and in his voice there was an uncertain tone. "I'm not afraid of my shadow or yours, Tom, or anybody's that I can see. But this wasn't any human shadow. It was as if a great big blob of wet darkness had been waved over your head."
"That's a queer explanation," Tom said in a low voice. "A great big blob of wet darkness!"
"But that just describes it," went on Ned, looking up and around. "It was just as if you were in a dark room, and some one waved a wet velvet cloak over your head -- spooky like!"

T. H. White waxes ordinary

2010-07-13T14:57:00.002-04:00

Another delectable morsel from a book world gone by -- from a 1936 hardcover of T. H. White's "England Have My Bones" comes this charming introductory explanation of the contents:

This book cannot pretend to be written by a naturalist, and it is not for naturalists. It is a book about things, for people who have lost them; because it has given me pleasure to rediscover my things, and I should like to shew them to other people who might be pleased as well.

It has turned into a book about the tangible side of country life. People, I felt, ought to pay more attention to the temperature of their baths, and the way they fill their pipes, and the birds who are squandering their song for a chance audience, and the spectacles of nature that give food for the pleasures of rumination, and the construction of fires, and the time to drink sherry, and the season at which a hot water bottle improves upon the comfort of warming one's own bed. In fact, it is an empirical book, an effort to return to the various world. Sport is a good way of doing that.

At the same time, I am sorry to feel that it must be a book which requires apology, or at least explanation. Fishermen will be maddened by the flying, aviators by the snakes, zoologists by the instructions for playing darts. It may seem a fair criticism to say that too many things are done, and none of them expertly.

EVENT: New Philadelphia Poets LIVE! Saturday

2010-06-24T16:41:00.001-04:00

On this Saturday evening, June 26th, members of the poetry collective New Philadelphia Poets will be reading at the Green Hand Bookshop. Additionally guitarist Jeff Brennan will be performing songs. The event is free!

WHAT: New Philadelphia Poets live poetry reading!
WHEN: Saturday, June 26, 5:30pm
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland ME 04101
COST: Free!
FMI: Call the shop at (207)450-6695

You can RSVP online at the Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137309466280499

The New Philadelphia Poets (newphiladelphiapoets.com) is currently composed of nine members: Debrah Morkun, Patrick Lucy, Sarah Heady, Angel Hogan, Matthew Landis, Carlos Soto Roman, Marion Bell, Jamie Townsend, and Gregory Bem. Based throughout the city of Philadelphia, the group is always rearranging its perspectives and fluctuating in its activities.

NPP’s primary focus is on arranging events that encourage the poetic culture of Philadelphia and welcome the influx of traveling writers and artists in a diverse spectrum of venues. Recent events have included Reckoning the Decade at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, where NPP presented a retrospective on the first decade of the 21st century, and Invisible Keepsakes, an alchemical carnival put on in Isaiah Zagar’s Magic Gardens on South Street in Philadelphia during the 2009 Philly Fringe Festival.

Individual Performer Information:
Jeff Brennan comes from many places and has many homes, but currently lives in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. He went to Roger Williams University where he experienced an existential decapitation via the academic scythe, and then moved to New York and suffered harsh employment conditions in every borough. Now in the City of Brotherly Love, he works with the estranged staff of the Philadelphia International Airport. He maintains his sanity in this madness by selling books about dysfunctional families, writing short fiction on the desert, dogs, and mothers, and by composing albums that comment on the destructive force of escalator life and pharmaceutical determinism.

Sarah Heady grew up in New York's Hudson Valley and moved to Philadelphia in 2007, after graduating from Oberlin College with degrees in art history and creative writing. She has been writing and producing events with the New Philadelphia Poets ever since, including the recently-birthed Jubilant Thicket series in South Philly she has started with Debrah Morkun, which features poets of all types and wine from the Philadelphia region. She is currently working on a poetic project centered around abandoned American spaces, Ohio and Bruce Springsteen. Sarah's day job consists of doing incredibly boring tasks for an incredibly cool organization, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. She likes to bike around the city and lose herself in nostalgia for American artifacts tossed aside by others. Ask her about the theme park.

Gregory Bem was born in Illinois, grew up in Gorham, Maine, lived in Rhode Island for a minute, and now finds his home in an ex-teddy bear factory in central Philadelphia. The screams of faux bear birth are loud and uncomfortable. Four days a week he works as an academic support aide at Olney High School West in North Philadelphia, which has the worst attendance and strongest academic failure in the city. The other three days are spent performing community service projects throughout the city, and working at Reading Terminal Market, the country’s largest covered urban market, as a gourmet grocery clerk. He’s an advocate for exploring urban decay, believes in the happiness of baking, runs Lone Byte Presson and off line, and with the New Philadelphia Poets hosts events and initiatives all over Philadelphia.

Debrah Morkun is one of the founding members of the New Philadelphia Poets. After hopscotching across the country in search of nameless wonders in places like San Francisco and New York City, Debrah aligned herself with the stars over Philadelphia. She currently lives in the Fishtown neighborhood with all the old ghosts and poets, and teaches college courses at a variety of local colleges and universities, but can be seen in many realms seeking out memory tapes, exploring structures of abandonment, and trying to find the historical heart and soul of American fortune, misfortune, and tradition. Her first full-length book of poems, Projection Machine, was released by BlazeVox Books in April 2010. She currently curates series and events with a community of others and is collecting inspiration for her current project, Hera Calf (working title). Says Debrah, “For this project I have a palette of influences, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, National Geographic Guide to American Railroads, abandoned Detroit, Cleveland, Frick's Lock, Chippewa Lake Park, etc. Early Rock 'N Roll, auctioneers, train schedules, Detroit Techno, POP! art, amusement parks, Arthur Miller's The Price, nostalgia. Tall Tales, John Chapman, Brother Jonathan, Old Nick, Samuel Wilson, John Henry. Motown. Memory Tapes. Documentary folklore.”

Review: A Dark Matter

2010-06-24T00:28:00.000-04:00

“No more than a dark shimmer in the air.” --Howard “Hootie” Bly

A Dark Matter is Peter Straub’s latest novel. Don’t let the fact that his work is classified as horror scare you away. This categorization glosses over the fact that in reality Straub writes speculative fiction of a highly literate nature, with a special focus on the shadows, which is true in this case and in past novels such as Shadowland.

As A Dark Matter opens, Lee Harwell is in search of his past. More correctly, he is in search of the past of his wife and friends, who experienced something one night in 1966 that they never explained to him, never let him in on, and never shared, though it shaped their lives and his from that night on.

In the mid 1960s, the ripples of world change were striding across the American landscape. There were those who adroitly gauged the effects of the growing social unrest and seized upon that wave. One of these was Spencer Mallon, a young adventurer guru, who swept into Madison, Wisconsin, and wowed his way into the hearts, minds, pantries and bedrooms of a series of young students.

All that talk of heady epiphanies ended on a night in mid-October, leaving behind Lee’s friends, forever altered, and another student’s mangled body in a field. There had been a transformation, as Mallon promised, but it wasn’t what any of them had expected.

Four decades later, Lee tries to put the pieces back together again, one person at a time.

Peter Straub’s books hold for me a certain type of enchantment, an allure that makes it difficult to nail down in my own words an accurate impression of his work. It has to do with mystery. It has to do with fleeting impressions and momentary glimpses that make you wonder. What was that about? Where did it come from? Did I really see that? Did I really hear that? Would a “yes” in answer to those last two questions really be a good thing?

Perhaps this quote from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass will make matters a little clearer:

`The name of the song is called "Haddocks' Eyes."'
`Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?' Alice said, trying to feel interested.
`No, you don't understand,' the Knight said, looking a little vexed. `That's what the name is called. The name really is "The Aged Aged Man."'
`Then I ought to have said "That's what the song is called"?' Alice corrected herself.
`No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is called "Ways and Means": but that's only what it's called, you know!'
`Well, what is the song, then?' said Alice, who was by this time completely bewildered.
`I was coming to that,' the Knight said. `The song really is "A-sitting On A Gate": and the tune's my own invention.'

You see?

I’m pretty sure I need to sit down and read the book again, because I want to. It’s been a few months now since I finished reading it for this review. It’s taken me that long to try to really process how the book captured me (and I still can’t quite do it). A lot of other reviewers have complained about the lack of oomph in the ending. I can see that – I think I myself felt a little let down, after the highs of the story itself. But if Straub really was doing an experiment with this book, in which time and perception weave their layers as bizarrely as they do in real life and its memories, why does the story really need an ending?

“You’ll see. Everything stops when you open the door.” --Spencer Mallon

New Arrivals - 6/17/10

2010-06-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

Lots of P.G. Wodehouse, a bunch of mysteries from Soho's excellent authors, a couple of Agatha Christie hardcovers, and some tasty cookbooks!

FICTION:
Heart Of A Goof by P.G. Wodehouse
King Of The Golden River by John Ruskin, illustrated by Iassen Ghiuselev (Victorian fairy tale)
Legend Of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
Meet Mr Mulliner by P.G. Wodehouse
Mr. American by George MacDonald Fraser
Mulliner Nights by P.G. Wodehouse
Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse Young Men In Spats by P.G. Wodehouse

MYSTERY:

Alive In Necropolis by Doug Dorst
Chorister At The Abbey (Norbridge Chronicles Murder Mysteries) by Lis Howell Curse Of The Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (Soho)
Deep Night by Caroline Petit
A Grave In Gaza (Omar Yussef Mysteries) by Matt Rees (Soho)
Headhunters: An Inspector Hen Mallin Investigation by Peter Lovesey (Soho)
Hurting Distance by Sophie Hannah
Murder At The Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Murder Of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
No More Dying by David Roberts
Siren Of The Waters (Commander Jana Matinova Investigation) by Michael Genelin (Soho)
State Counsellor: Further Adventures of Fandorin (Erast Fandorin 6) by B. Akunin
Year Of The Dog: A Detective Jack Yu Investigation by Henry Chang (Soho)

COOKBOOKS:
Baker's Odyssey: Celebrating Time-Honored Recipes from America's Rich Immigrant Heritage by Greg Patent, Dave McLean, and Kelly Gorham (cookbook)

Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A. J. Rathbun (cocktail recipes)
Luscious Creamy Desserts by Lori Longbotham (cookbook)

NON-FICTION:
Enigma Of The Knights Templar: Their History and Mystical Connections by Marilyn Hopkins (pictorial history)
Far Out: 101 Strange Tales From Science's Outer Edge by Mark Pilkington
Kali by Sarah Caldwell
The Last Fish Tale by Mark Kulansky (Gloucester MA history)
Monster Of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi (true crime)
Spellbound By Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies by Donald Spoto

EVENT: Hidden History of Maine author!

2010-06-14T18:03:00.001-04:00

WHAT: Author appearance
WHEN: Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 12:00 noon
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME
FMI: call (207)450-6695 or email michelle.souliere[at]gmail.com

Come to the Green Hand Bookshop for a reading and signing of the Hidden History of Maine by Harry Gratwick!

The history of the Pine Tree State would be bare but for the contributions of hardy and impassioned individuals—generals, governors, settlers and activists whose lives of leadership make up the story of Maine’s “hidden history.”

Author Harry Gratwick creates intimate and detailed portraits of these Mainers, from the controversial missionary of Sebastien Rale to Woolwich native William Phips, whose seafaring attacks against French Canada earned him the first governorship of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Gratwick also profiles inventors who “challenged the assumptions of [their] time and place,” such as Robert Benjamin Lewis, an African American from Gardiner who patented a hair growth product in the 1830’s, and Margaret Knight, a York native who defied nineteenth-century sexism to earn the nickname “the female Edison.”

Discover over four hundred years of Maine’s history through the tales of its unique residents, from soprano Lillian Nordica, who left Farmington to become the most glamorous American opera singer of her day, to slugger George “Piano Legs” Gore, the only Mainer to have ever won a Major League batting championship.

Harry Gratwick is a lifelong summer resident of Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay. He is an active member of the Vinalhaven Historical Society and has written extensively on maritime history for two Island Institute publications, the Working Waterfront and the Island Journal. Harry and his wife, Tita, spend the winter months in Philadelphia. Hidden History of Maine is his second book.

Marguerite Henry's horse books

2010-06-11T17:09:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, I went on a tear through the series of horse books that Marguerite Henry wrote. Between the stellar illustrations inside and out, and the remarkably clear descriptions of horse life and human drama within their pages, these books captivated me. Beyond her books and the horse classics, like Black Beauty and the Black Stallion books, I never felt inclined to read any other horse books. And in all honesty, her books seized me far more than the other equine classics did.

To this day, I still remember story elements from them.

We have a stack of the nice vintage oversized editions of a number of her books now in stock at the shop, and hopefully they will go on to delight a new generation of readers from here!

Review: Arcadia Falls

2010-06-09T10:02:00.000-04:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Carol Goodman’s latest book, Arcadia Falls, is an excellent page-turner. It opens by introducing us to Meg Rosenthal and her daughter Sally, as they leave behind a life that ended abruptly with the premature death of Jude, Sally's father and Meg's husband. Used to the affluent and high-profile environment that his financial trading job had demanded, they had been blissfully unaware of the debts he had incurred to maintain their lifestyle, and of Jude’s treacherous survivalist maneuvers which included cashing out Sally's college fund to cover the failing hedge fund investments of his clients.

Faced with these facts after his death, they had to sell everything, from their Great Neck house to almost the last stick of furniture they owned. Meg is forced to jumpstart her academic career, which had been suspended in order to start their family. This brings them to Arcadia Falls, a small upstate New York town that is home to the Arcadia School, once a breakaway artist colony, now a boarding school that challenges youngsters to explore their talents and develop their minds away from the crush of the urban world. Meg is to begin teaching a class in folklore to the students, and Sally is allowed to enroll and continue her schooling in the midst of a strange environment and a new set of peers.

However, it was not these elementary plot lines that drew me into the story. The allure for me is in the thread of darkly beautiful folklore and fairy tales woven into and around the school, its history, and its current day events. The tales, told within the storyline of the Rosenthals’ encounter with the school, are exquisite and challenging. Published by the school’s founders, Lily Eberhardt and Vera Beecher, in order to help fund the shift from artist colony to academy, the tales are magic, pure and simple. When retold on the school’s grounds, where apple orchards lift their gnarled arms to the sky in imitation of the storyteller’s sentient woods, and rumors of a white-gowned ghost that haunts a treacherous gorge recall other tales, they become all the more real.

Author Carol Goodman creates Arcadia Falls so well that it truly exists, a living symbiosis of trees, rocks, old barn studios and school classrooms, peopled by the students and teachers of today and their inescapable ties to the artists of the past. As Meg explores this world, so do we. From secret panels in the old school cottage she lives in, to luminous allegorical paintings, to collections of old letters and school documents, and chance conversations with artists who are now residents in the small town nearby, bit by bit the story comes to light.

What is made abundantly clear is that nothing is simple, or simply explained, when humans are involved. Our need to create stories, and to bind or sever our ties with the past, overrides common sense, overrides what others might see as the truth, and rewrites history with every breath.

This book will appeal to mystery-lovers, fans of folklore and fairy tales, those curious about the fabled havens of artists, and students of the human condition in general. It also reminded me of certain enchanting elements that attracted me to the book Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen, an atypically fluffy read for me. While this is the first of Goodman's books I've read, it is likely that I'll finally pick up some of her other books to read now that I've had such luck with this one. She is best known for The Lake of Dead Languages and The Night Villa.

Insel Bucherei treasure trove

2010-06-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

The other weekend I picked up a stack of slim, intriguing volumes in German.

Printed in Leipzig by Insel Verlag under their Insel Bucherei (Island Library) imprint in the early part of the 20th century, this series of books went on to inspire the well-known and highly collectible series of similarly designed King Penguin book series.

Insel Verlag began by exclusively printing exquisitely crafted high-cost books. However, with the start of the Insel Bucherei series in 1912, they recognized the need to produce affordable and attractive editions designed to appeal to customers with more modest financial means.

Book lovers still rejoice over these attractive volumes, which focused on shorter works by well-known authors. Subject matter ranges from fiction, to poetry, to art, to scholarly and philosophical texts. Some have quite lovely illustrations, and many are graced with the heavy script of old-fashioned German text.

For those curious about the equally delightful King Penguin books, there is a terrific gallery at Stella and Rose's Books here:
http://www.stellabooks.com/informationsource/king_penguin.php

The stack I acquired shows a wide range of wear. A common issue with these volumes is the loss of the spine. Chipping, yellowing, and soiling are evident in many cases as well. However, a small number of the books in this particular lot are remarkably free of wear.

The Green Hand, as of this morning, has the following titles in stock. Please, please, please -- forgive my very hack German translations! Titles with an asterisk next to the volume number are in excellent condition. With the exception of the first listing, all texts are in German, many of them in old blackletter type.

#9 Vittoria Accoramboni: Les Cenci (in French, Insel Bucherei's Pandora No. 9) by Frederic de Stendhal

#67 Dialog vom Marsyas by Hermann Bahr (a philosophical discussion of art)

#74 Portugiesische Briefe: Die Briefe der Marianna Alcoforado (Portugese Letters) by Rainer Maria Rilke

#76* Herodias by Gustave Flaubert

#81 Von Gottes: und Liebfrauenminne: Lieder aus Deutscher Mystik (Of God and Love of Our Lady: Songs from German Mysticism, translated into modern German) by H. A. Grimm

#88 Dantons Tod (Danton's Death: A Drama) by Georg Buchner

#113 Gottfried Keller by Ricarda Huch

#210* Das Gericht des Meeres: Erzahlung (The Court of the Sea) by Gertrud von le Fort

#220 Die Ballade vom Zuchthaus zu Reading (The Ballad of Reading Gaol) by Oscar Wilde

#221* Bilder des Todes (Images of Death) by Hans Holbein (illustrated)

#222 Die Vierundzwanzig Sonette der Louize Labe (The 24 Sonnets of Louize Labe) by Rainer Maria Rilke

#224 Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts: mit Doppeltitel von Emil Preetorius (The Life of a Scoundrel) by Joseph von Eichendorff

#241 Beethovens Personliche Aufzeichnungen (Beethoven's Letters and Personal Records) collected and explained by Albert Leitzmann

#250 Die Kleine Passion (The Little Passion) by Albrecht Durer (illustrated)

#251 Das Evangelium und die Briefe S. Johannis: In der letzten Fassung der Lutherschen Ubertragung (The Gospel and Letters of St. John, Low Lutheran translation)

#252 Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen: Ubertragen von Rainer Maria Rilke (Sonnets from the Portugese) by Elizabeth Barret-Browning

#257 Fragmente (Fragments) by Novalis

#257* Gedichte und Gedanken (Poems and Thoughts) by Novalis

#260* Aus dem Irrgarten der Liebe: Verliebte, launenhafte, moralische und andere Lieder und Gedichte (From the Labyrinth of Love) by Otto Julius Bierbaum

#263* Malerei und Zeichnung: Mit einer Federzeichnung Klingers (Painting and Drawing with a Pen) by Max Klinger

#269 Uber die Aufgaben des Geschichtschreibers (On the Task of the Historian) by Wilhelm von Humboldt

#287* Ehegeschichten (Getting Married: short stories) by August Strindberg

#295* Lucinde (Lucinde: A Romance) by Friedrich Schlegel

#300 Einfuhrung in Die Phanomenologie des Giestes (Introduction to the Phenomenology of Spirit) by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

#312* Die Betenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull (The Confession of Felix Krull) by Thomas Mann

#315 Von dem Fischer un Syner Fru (The Fisherman and His Wife: A Fairy Tale) by Philipp Otto Runge with 7 illustrations by Marcus Behmer

#452* Das Hausbuch: Bilder aus dem deutschen Mittelalter (The House Book: Images from the German Middle Ages) by an Unknown Master (illustrated)

#454* Vom Baum des Lebens: Ausgewahlte Gedichte (From the Tree of Life: Selected Poems) by Hermann Hesse

#457* Die Schellenkappe: Alte Deutsche Schwanke aus den Sammlungen des 16 Jahrhunderts (The Cap and Bells: Old German Tales in Verse [farces?] from the collections of the 16th Century) selected by Severin Ruttgers

#464* Schiller und Seine Welt (Schiller and His World) by Eugen Kuhnemann

#469 Quellen des Lebens (Source of Life: Outlines of a World View) by Richarda Huch (this volume is the only paperback in the lot)

#477* Deutsches Handwerk im Mittelalter: bilder aus dem hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwolfbruderstiftung in Nurnberg (German Craftsmanship in the Middle Ages: images from the house book of the Mendelschen Zwolfbruderstiftung in Nurnberg) with a foreword by Frederich Bod [NOTE: the Mendelsche Zwolfbruderstiftung was a home to old, feeble, or sick craftsmen]

#478* Schein und Sein: Gedichte (Illusion and Reality: Poems) by Wilhelm Busch

#482* Goethes Spruchweisheit: Spruche in Prosa (Goethe's Proverbial Wisdom: Proverbs in Prose)

EVENT: Strange Maine book release party!

2010-05-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

It's finally here! "Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State" by Michelle Souliere is available and for sale at The Green Hand and other fine local bookshops. Join us on the evening of May 27th for a release party and book signing!

WHAT: Book release party
WHEN: Thursday, May 27 from 6:00-9:00
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop @ 661 Congress Street, Portland ME

I'll do a short reading at the start, and sign books following that. We'll have refreshments, and Curtis Clark will be playing some music live, so it should be fun!!!

On Facebook, you can view the event page here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124774294204694&ref=mf

If you are interested in reading a review of the book, the folks over at the Talk Stephen King blog have posted a great one, the first one out so far, here:
http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/05/strange-maine.html

Limited Aleister Crowley editions

2010-05-22T13:53:00.000-04:00

Just arrived -- 15 different Aleister Crowley books, all limited printings put out by Gordon Press in the 1970s (printed by them in a hardbound edition of 200 volumes each). Tastefully bound in red with gilt foil lettering on their covers and spines. A great addition to your esoteric library!

Stephen King red leather library!

2010-05-20T17:50:00.001-04:00

Now hitting the shelves -- a whole row of Stephen King Library faux red leatherette hardcovers with gold foil stamped titles, etc. Some of these are quite coveted by collectors. Prices range from $10 to $30, quite reasonable for these limited release items. Tasty!

We also have a recent Cemetery Dance release, if anyone is interested -- Maine author Rick Hautala's Occasional Demons in a limited signed hardcover edition for $40. This is a great item for Maine horror fans, since not only is it a Hautala book to add to the shelf, but also it features another Maine horror star, Glenn Chadbourne, who executed a fabulous series of black and white illustrations for the volume. You may also have noticed that we have a copy of the complete Dark Tower Concordance, as released by Cemetery Dance, up on the shelf to the left of the red leatherette volumes.

Bit of an update

2010-05-14T12:18:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!

Well, here at the Green Hand, things are proceeding apace. Books arrive on an almost daily basis, and the shelves are mostly filled to capacity. Joy! So many tasty tomes. Of late we've had an influx which includes lots of William Gibson, Jonathan Lethem, Bret Easton Ellis, Jack Kerouac, Robert Jordan, and many, many more.

Meanwhile, the star new arrival is my book, Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State, published by the History Press, which is now available in shop. We're having a celebratory book launch and signing on Thursday, May 27, from 6:00-9:00pm here at the Green Hand, 661 Congress Street in Portland, Maine. Do come in for some fun!

June promises to be an exciting month as well, and we'll kick it off with a new artshow, Steampunk Chronicles, featuring the work of members of the Maine Illustrators Collective, a stellar bunch of artists if there ever was one! Just look at their member roster, a menu of purveyors of a veritable buffet of visual delights.

Any closet steampunk who wishes to come to our First Friday opening, June 4, 2010, from 5:00-8:00, is welcome, indeed invited, to arrive in their own steampunk garb and costumery. It should be a fun evening, and we're all looking forward to it. Image shown below is an early look at a piece being done by Joel Rivers for the steampunk show.

Hope you're all enjoying this as much as we are! :)

EVENT: May's First Friday -- in space!

2010-05-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

Space Oddity returns after its debut at Sanctuary Tattoo with a simultaneous sequel being held at The Green Hand Bookshop! Embark with us on a journey into the darkest depths of the cosmic wilderness in search of mad Space Art!!!

Join us for an evening of art, food, ambient music by Jacob LiBrizzi, and round out the evening after we close at 7:00 by joining us at the Port City Music Hall for Sanctuary Tattoo's 10th Anniversary Bash!

WHEN: Friday, May 7, 2010 from 5:00-7:00
WHERE: The Green Hand, 661 Congress Street
WHAT: Space Oddity II - The Sequel

Space. The final frontier. Space. It is all these things and more: rockets, planets, moons, asteroids, cosmic debris, stars, comets, aliens, UFOs, supernovas. Join the Portland Art Horde in their quest for mad cosmic art. The signal is emerging from Orbit Control headquarters (a.k.a. Sanctuary Tattoo)! All systems are go!!!

New Arrivals - 4/21/10

2010-04-21T17:21:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more miscellaneous new arrivals for your perusal!

Aikido and the Harmony Of Nature by Mitsugi Saotome
Strategy In Japanese Swordsmanship by Nicklaus Suino
Edmund and Rosemary Go To Hell: A Story We All Really Need Now More Than Ever by Bruce Eric Kaplan (comic)
Fabian Escapes by Peter McCarty (children's)

Green Wilma, Frog In Space by Tedd Arnold (children's)
Hank Finds Inspiration by Craig Frazier (children's)
Food Of A Younger Land: A portrait of American food before the national highway system, before chain restaurants, and before frozen food, when the nation's food was seasonal, by Mark Kurlansky (non-fiction)
Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire (fiction)
Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories by Tobias Wolff (fiction)
Protest T-Shirts: Designs from the Cult Independents by Korero Books (art)

Heaps of thank yous!

2010-04-19T12:22:00.000-04:00

Well, by now you may have read the news in the Portland Phoenix. The Green Hand was voted Best Used Bookshop in Portland for 2010. I've only been open for 5 1/2 months now, so I wasn't expecting anything of the sort. This means that it is you, the readers who voted, who made that happen. This is so exciting!

Their writeup, including a great photo of the shop, is here:
http://thephoenix.com/thebest/portland/2010/shopping/bookstoreused/

So thank you, thank you, thank you for the vote of confidence and the appreciation that this award indicates. I'll do my best to live up to the title, here at 661 Congress Street, wading about up to my knees in books. :)

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

To see all the Best of 2010 results:
http://thephoenix.com/thebest/portland/2010/

A funny thing from the back of the book...

2010-04-16T17:03:00.000-04:00

I was processing a stack of art books that just came in, and found this fellow staring at me from the back of a book about Boris Vallejo's fantasy painting techniques.

New Arrivals - 4/9/10

2010-04-10T13:50:00.002-04:00

-- Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style by Domenica Marchetti

-- Children Of The Gilded Era: Portraits of Sargent, Renoir, Cassatt and Their Contemporaries by Barbara Dayer Gallati

-- Classic Illustrated Animal Stories by Cooper Edens

-- Cowboy Stories by Barry Moser and Peter Glassman

-- Crusades by Michael Paine (Pocket Essentials)

-- Cupcake Heaven by Susannah Blake and Martin Brigdale

-- Eating India: Exploring the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices by Chitrita Banerji

-- Florist's Daughter by Patricia Hampl

-- Good Spirits: Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A. J. Rathbun and Photographs by Melissa Punch (huge compendium of cocktails!)

-- In Praise Of The Needlewoman: Embroiderers, Knitters, Lacemakers and Weavers in Art by Gail Carolyn Sirna and Shay Pendray

-- Jean Renoir: The Complete Films by Jean Renoir, Christopher Faulkner, and Paul Duncan

-- Lizard Man Of Crabtree County by Lucy A. Nolan and Jill Kastner (children's)

-- Official Nancy Drew Handbook

-- Paper: Handmade Style by Jeanette Bakker et al

-- Rabbit Who Couldn't Find His Daddy by Lilian Edvall, Sara Gimbergsson, and Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard (children's)

-- Rabbit Who Didn't Want To Sleep by Lilian Edvall, Sara Gimbergsson, and Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard (children's)

-- Sleepyhead by Karma Wilson, illus. by John Segal (children's)

-- Stuff On My Cat Presents: A To Z (board book)

Summer Of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Johnson Heade by Christopher E. G. Benfey

-- Super Quick Colorful Quilts by Rosemary Wilkinson

-- William Morris: Redesigning the World by John Burdick

Soap carving...?

2010-04-07T17:41:00.000-04:00

Another oddity from my scavenging -- a book about the fine art of soap carving, circa 1939. The book was written by Lester Gaba, and published in cooperation with the National Soap Sculpture Committee. No, I didn't know such a thing existed either.

The book is certainly one of the more interesting ones I found over the weekend, not only because of the photo illustrations of examples of the art, but also because of Gaba's narrative, which in addition to providing practical instruction, also introduces the novice soap sculptor to the philosophical, aesthetic and social controversies that he or she will be beleaguered by.

To anyone unfamiliar with soap carving, it would sound pompous to call it anything but good clean fun. In any case, it is certainly difficult to find a pigeonhole for it in the categories of art. It is easy enough for me to see the fun in it, surrounded as I am with soap chips and shavings every day from nine to five, but there are many people who find the classification mysterious.

They frequently ask, "Why do you use soap?" in that humorously patronizing way they have of showing interest in everything quaint. One lady hurriedly announced before I could answer the usual question, "I once had a cook who could make the loveliest decorations in butter, and you should have seen the flowers he carved out of radishes!"

While I do not pretend that soap carving will live through the centuries, I do feel that it is several steps beyond mere novelty. I no longer try very strenuously to establish its aesthetic status. If I say that soap sculpture is like painting in a third dimension, I am accused of vagueness...

TONIGHT: Opening for The Landscape Revisited

2010-04-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

WHEN: Friday, April 2, 2010 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm
WHERE: 661 Congress Street, Portland ME

A series of new work by Marion Francis which impels viewers to look twice at what at first seems to be American vernacular landscape painting.

Perhaps you've felt like you saw something out of the corner of your eye as you drove past Alton Bog, or while you sat around a rosy campfire deep in the woods. It may well be that you should start looking more closely at the Maine landscape to find what is lurking there... and meanwhile, you can also ask yourself what would have happened if famed painter Bob Ross had struck up a friendship with H.P. Lovecraft. This exhibit will be on display through the month of April 2010.

About the Artist…

I am a native of Maine and reside in the Greater Portland area. Married with three daughters and two grandsons, my husband and I enjoy traveling and displaying our antique automobiles at car shows and cruise-ins. Artwork is my means of relaxation and an outlet for my creativity.

I stepped into the realm of painting sci-fi and the paranormal as the result of a comment made about a painting I had done. With the possibility of an addition to the scene which would appeal to a new audience, I began to research the subject matter. Although the paranormal, ghosts, psychic awareness and reincarnation have been a fascination for me for many years, this has been a different process for me. Searching for ways in which to express my belief in the spiritual energy found in the dimensions of time and space, perhaps at another vibrational rate, are still ongoing. Branching out in this new area has been a challenging and amusing pastime. Special thanks go to Christian and Sarah Matzke for their knowledge of the subject and their encouragement in this endeavor.

I have had a love of painting all of my life. I work in mediums of oil, watercolor and acrylics on canvas, paper, wood and metal. Inspired by Maine’s natural beauty, I concentrate my oil and watercolor work in landscapes and seascapes. Using acrylics I enjoy creating folk art, tole and still life paintings on a wide variety of backgrounds. I especially enjoy painting Santas, with a collection of over two dozen displayed at Christmas and I gift my extended family with hand painted ornaments each year.

I would be pleased to discuss paintings on consignment if interest is shown in a particular subject or variation of my work.

Tricycle of Death

2010-04-01T16:58:00.000-04:00

Most of us who watch horror movies are well aware of the tricycle as a harbinger of death. This book makes it the entire story!!!

How about this for a teaser?

"Little Simon hated them. Just like he hated the new teacher. Handsome, brilliant, blind Christopher. He'd better leave Mommy alone. Or he would have to be punished. Punished in a sightless nightmare. Punished by a vengeful demon.

"Punished by the last sound his dying brain would know -- the squeak, squeak, squeak of a TRICYCLE."

[insert evil laugh and squeaking here]

Fishsitting the Oscar

2010-03-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

No, not the Hollywood award. This is a real oscar, flesh and fishy blood, who is (very imaginatively) named Oscar.

He is here in the shop as a guest for a couple of months, and seems to be settling his large self in nicely. Come by and say hello!

Review: Impatient with Desire

2010-03-29T20:12:00.001-04:00

At first glance, Impatient with Desire appears to be a romance, at least judging from its cover. However, its tranquil and pleasant demeanor belies the contents within.

The focus of this book is the plight of the infamous Donner Party. Long heralded as perhaps the most lurid example of American cannibalism, the episode of the Donner Party has lodged in history's craw in a way that rivals any other single event in the era of the Westward-bound wagon trains. Today the story maintains a cult following, many of whom overlook the most important part of the story -- how it affected the individuals within the party.

In this book, Gabrielle Burton turns our head to look at this part of the story, the part that is much more difficult to keep in our sight. She does this through the voice of Tamsen Donner, as given in journal entries and letters written to her sister and never mailed. While crafted by Burton for the book, these entries and missives speak from Burton's absorption of Tamsen's history through a variety of sources and over a span of many years.

What I found remarkable about this book was the fact that I forgot I was reading it. Tamsen speaks through the pages to the reader, and before long the reader feels as though they know her. She confides her frustrations to us, her recollections of the journey that landed them behind winter's unforgiving door, shutting them in their unwanted mountain holdfast. We glimpse the character of her companions, the character of her own self and that of her husband, George, and the fresh-formed faces of their five daughters.

We hear the hints of unrest among the eighty pioneers that started out together to make a new start on the west coast. Bit by bit, the events that formed the smaller group that found themselves stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are laid out before us, as recorded by Tamsen, gathering her recollections as the supplies dwindle and the winter lengthens.

What kept me coming back to the book, in spite of the ostensibly melancholy and desperate nature of the tale, is the grace and honesty with which Tamsen's voice tells it, with every ounce of her lively sensibilities.

While the wretched state of the residents of the camp is present and unavoidable, even in the face of ruin there remain sprinkled throughout crystal-clear moments of hope and joy, a testament to the spirit that drove the Donners to undertake the journey in the first place. There is humility and respect for humans in their direst states. There is an acquiescence in the face of unavoidable facts and in the face of choices that must be made in a worst case scenario. There is a refusal to give up without doing what is best and right for the people whose well-being one finds oneself responsible for.

All this rings through Tamsen's narrative, in her honest questions of herself, and in the transparency of the events as they unfold against the starkness of their winter siege. I found myself asking myself what I would do if I found myself in her place. I also found myself glad to know her, and glad to have read this book.

Definitely recommended!!!

For those of you who are interested, Ms. Burton has started a Facebook discussion page for fans of the book.

On parting with books

2010-03-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

Buying people's books en masse is both exhilarating and painful. Having been forced many times to cull my own bookshelves before I moved, I find these memories very visceral, and going through someone's library with them as they do the same is an experience that produces a tremendous amount of pathos as well as uplift from the sudden freedom from physical burdens.

But I'll let Ronni Bennett tell you about her side of the story in this article on her blog, Time Goes By...
click here: Sorting a Lifetime of Books

Photo by Ronni Bennett.

EVENT: New horror with Joe Hill TONIGHT at Borders!

2010-03-09T16:25:00.001-05:00

7:00 PM at the Borders in South Portland, ME, and another reading tomorrow, again at 7:00, at the Borders in Bangor.

As the man himself says, "Come on out, it’ll be just like seeing your favorite band in concert (if they didn’t bring their instruments, and didn’t actually play anything, and hid off stage while I read from my book)."

(photo from Joe Hill's site)

[Source]

First Friday - Gothicmangaka

2010-03-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

Announcing...
Gothicmangaka, an exhibition @ The Green Hand Bookshop
March 5th – March 31st, 2009

The Green Hand is pleased to present GOTHICMANGAKA from March 5th to March 31st, a solo show focusing on the exceptional artwork of Tom Brown.

Portland artist and comics creator Tom Brown offers a selection of intricate pencil work, including The Blind Fisherman sequence from his webcomic at www.itisacircle.com and work from The Hopeless Vendetta – a fictional online newspaper www.hopelessvendetta.wordpress.com

WHAT: First Friday Artwalk opening of Tom Brown's Gothicmangaka
WHERE: 661 Congress Street – Portland, ME 04101
WHEN: Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11-6, Saturday 11-7, Sunday 12-5
Opening Reception: Friday, March 5th, 5:00-8:00pm
FMI: (207)450-6695 or email michelle.souliere[at]gmail.com

The Blind Fisherman is set in a fantasy-historical island off the coast of Maine. The imagery derives in part from Tom’s love of gothic literature and the trappings of weird tales. He is influenced by the Lovecraft tradition, but is also a keen observer of natural phenomena. Fantastical elements mingle with striking land and seascapes. Imagined flora and fauna nestles amongst more familiar forms. This is a re-imagined past, heavily influenced by Victoriana and Steampunk, but evolving its own aesthetic.

The manga influence primarily informs the character design and story telling. Figures have a stylized quality with emphasized facial features and expressions. Conventions of story telling inform the page layout. However, Tom also draws on western traditions, and does not adhere dogmatically to manga forms, resulting in a distinctive and hybrid style.

Tom works on Vellum Bristol comics boards using graphite. Images are created through shading and blending. The process gives finished images an unusual softness and a great deal of texture. Work is later adapted and colored digitally for use in the webcomic, but this show offers the hand-drawn pieces in their original state.

Tom can also be found online at www.mothfestival.wordpress.com and www.copperage.deviantart.com and is open to commissions. "Hopeless" is a collaboration between Tom and the UK author Brynneth N. Colvin http://www.brynneth.org.uk/

New Arrivals - 3/3/10

2010-03-03T17:27:00.000-05:00

An ode to the delights of steampunk and sci-fi/fantasy, with a dash of Holmesian horrors and a liberal smattering of books from the Night Shade Books catalog. Plus a couple of good Maine travel guides for the outdoorsy and a few other treasures!

The Court Of The Air by Stephen Hunt (both hardcover & UK softcover editions)
The Headless Bust: A Melancholy Meditation For The False Millennium by Edward Gorey

The Strange Case Of Hellish Nell: The Story Of Helen Duncan And The Witch Trial Of World War II
Spook Country by William Gibson
The Knights Of The Cornerstone by James P. Blaylock
Theodosia And The Serpents Of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers (recommended juvenile fic)
Waifs And Strays by Charles De Lint

Blair Witch: The Secret Confession Of Rustin Parr by D. A. Stern
Insiders' Guide To The Maine Coast
The Haunting Of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
The Whitechapel Horrors: A Sherlock Holmes novel by Edward Hanna
Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

Night Vision: The Art Of Urban Exploration by Troy Paiva and Geoff Manaugh
Twilight Of The Clockwork God: Conversations On Science And Spirituality At The End Of An Age
A Witch's Box Of Magickal Protection
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Grey by Jon Armstrong
Majestrum: A Tale Of Henghis Hapthorn by Matthew Hughes
A Collector's Journey: Charles Lang Freer & Egypt
Discover Maine: AMC's Outdoor Traveler's Guide To The Pine Tree State
Egypt Style (Taschen Icon series)

New Arrivals: 2/24/10

2010-02-24T13:32:00.024-05:00

Quick Loaves : 150 Breads And Cakes, Meat And Meatless Loaves by Jean Anderson
The Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror Fun-Filled Frightfest (graphic novel)
Frankenstein Takes The Cake by Adam Rex
Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link (highly recommended!)
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
Roland Mesnier's Basic To Beautiful Cakes (tempting!)
Green Jasper by K.M. Grant (the De Granville Trilogy, young adult)

Sidetripping by Charles Gatewood and William S. Burroughs
Let Me Eat Cake: A Celebration Of Flour, Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Vanilla, Baking Powder, And A Pinch Of Salt by Leslie F. Miller (delicious! love this book!)
Cloud Boy by Rhode Montijo (children's)
TMNT: Underground Art Studio (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles art kit)
In The Land Of Temple Caves: From St. Emilion To Paris'S St. Sulpice : Notes On Art And The Human Spirit by Frederick W. Turner

Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons by Walter R. Brooks
Fantastic Party Cakes: 20 Fun Cakes To Make And Decorate
Sweeney Todd: The Real Story Of The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street by Peter Haining
Cakes And Ale: The Golden Age Of British Feasting by Judy Spours (delectable!)
Vienna 1900 by Francois Baudot (art and memoirs)

Vintage kitchen fun

2010-02-20T08:39:00.024-05:00

Some of you may know the secret delight I get from weird vintage food ephemera, like those hideous recipe cards that McCall's and other women's magazines used to sell, and images of cakes, etc etc. Well, right now some of my table display space is dedicated to that branch of bookery -- COOKERY!

Please welcome with me such gems as "SPAM: A Biography," a disturbing array of McCall's cookbook issues ("Marvelous Book of Meats" anyone?), and a smattering of nifty old recipe booklets, such as the "Exciting World of Rice Dishes" and "True Grits."

Also included is the Go-Tan pamphlet about the Indonesian Rice Table, in which are detailed a wonderful assortment of Indian recipes made surreal by their combination of Dutch and Indonesian languages (although the recipes themselves are in English). Most tell you a good deal of information, but one of them was so succinct it hardly seemed worth it to put in the booklet, except for its title: Sharkfin-Soup!

Please don't neglect the cake covered in blue flames. Really, what hostess couldn't wow her over-stuffed dinner guests with one of these served up for dessert??? Oh, right, that would be the hostess whose guests were already reeling from having several hideous gelatin-mold salads inflicted upon them. Riiiiiiiight.

A guide to the personal robot

2010-02-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

How can you not have this book yet?! We are living in the future, after all.

One of many recent arrivals to the shop:
If I Had a Robot... What to Expect from the Personal Robot, by Nelson B. Winkless III (I can't make this stuff up), printed by Dilithium Press.

Yep.

Also in stock-- lots of sailing, shipbuilding, and other nautical sensibilities in book form. A great selection of cookbooks, with more on the way. Stephen King galore. Bunches of art books. A couple of signed John Connolly mystery novels (highly recommended).

...and more!!!

Voting is on!

2010-02-17T13:45:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, the Portland Phoenix is at it again, with their Best of Portland 2010 contest running strong. You can vote once a day if you like. The Green Hand Bookshop is proud to be one of the nominees for the Used Books category (under Shopping). Yippeee! Wish us luck, and drop us a vote or two if you like. :)

An important note: To actually register your vote, after you've made your selections, you must click on the "SKIP TO FINISH" or "FINISHED" button to enter your name, etc. The vote is not logged in until this part of the process is completed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-12T12:26:00.000-05:00

Here's a heartfelt thank you to everyone out there that has been supporting the shop, whether through simple curiosity and friendliness, or as a patron of the many books I carry. Happy Valentine's Day to each and every one of you!

We had an early arrival today of some new critters from Sara at Tenderfoot Creations, two very charming Valentine Yetis. They sold within five minutes of walking through the door! I still wanted you to see how cute they are, anyhow, so you can share in their Valentine cheer. :) Meanwhile, we still have other new arrivals -- Kim Convery's "Get Your Heart On" hand printed valentines, and Sara's other creations, Lucky Yeti Feet and the Yeti Foot Throw Pillow.

New Arrivals - 2/5/10

2010-02-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

100 POSTERS OF PAUL COLIN (art)
AMALGAMATION POLKA by Stephen Wright
AMERICAN FOOD by Evan Jones (recipes and history)
ANDRE KERTESZ (photography)
The ANIMAL DIALOGUES: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild by Craig Childs
The ATLANTIS SYNDROME by Paul Jordan
COMPLETE COMFORT FOOD by Bridget Jones
DOG DAYS DELUXE JOURNAL (super cute!)
EASY INDIAN IN MINUTES by Martin Knowlden (delicious!)
ELIZABITE: Adventures of a Carnivorous Plant by H.A. Rey (author of Curious George)

FIRST LADIES OF THE POSTER by Laura Gold (art)
GREYSTON BAKERY COOKBOOK by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan
HISTORIC MARITIME MAPS: 1290-1699 by Donald Wigal
IN THE KITCHENS OF CASTILE by Gijs van Hensbergen
INDIAN MENU PLANNER
JOYCE TENNYSON (photography)
JUGENDSTIL by Pepin Van Roojen (art/design)
LADY LAZARUS by Andrew Foster Altschul
The LAST ENEMY: A Commissario Cenni Investigation by Grace Brophy
The LEVER HOUSE COOKBOOK by Dan Silverman and Joann Cianciulli
LIZETTE'S GREEN SOCK by Catharina Valckx (picture book)

The LONG HOME by William Gay
The LOST
ME & ORSON WELLES: a novel by Robert Kaplow
MERDE!: The Real French You Were Never Taught at School by Genevieve & Michael Heath
MIDNIGHT BAND OF MERCY by Michael Blaine
MISTRESS BRADSTREET: The Untold Life of America's First Poet by Charlotte Gordon
MY ATTAINMENT OF THE POLE by Frederick Albert Cook
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER: Why French Home Cooking Is Still the Best in the World by Trish Deseine

ONE & ONLY SHREK! by William Steig
POSTERS OF ACHILLE MAUZAN, 1883-1952 by Mirande Carnevale-Mauzan
RED LAND, BLACK LAND by Barbara Mertz (a.k.a. Elizabeth Peters)
RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR by Gary Newman
SIGNED, MATA HARI by Yannick Murphy
STAR-CROSSED by Linda Collison
STRIPER WARS: An American Fish Story by Dick Russell
SUN KING'S GARDEN: Louis XIV, Andre le Notre and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles

TAGGERUNG by Brian Jacques (Redwall, book 14)
TEMPLES, TOMBS, & HIEROGLYPHS by Barbara Mertz (a.k.a. Elizabeth Peters)
TERRESTRIAL PARADISE by Ovidio Guaita (world gardens)
TITIAN (oversize, art)
TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson

VAMPIRE ARMAND by Anne Rice (hardcover)
VENICE: A DAY IN CARNIVAL (photography)
VERTAMAE COOKS AGAIN: More Recipes from the Americas' Family Kitchen
VOICES: A Reykjavik Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason
WALKER EVANS: HUNGRY EYE (photography)
WHAT-THE-DICKENS by Gregory Maguire

First Friday - Quotes!

2010-01-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

Quotes
new small works by Carlotta Valdez

showing at The Green Hand Bookshop
661 Congress Street

First Friday Artwalk Opening, Feb 5
5:00-8:00pm

Come see!

New Arrivals - 1/16/10

2010-01-17T10:35:00.053-05:00

More tasty treats! Lots of stuff from Night Shade Books, sci-fi/fantasy, some horror, art, and curious non-fiction.

3. Rim: A Novel Of Virtual Reality by Alexander Besher
4. Frankenstein Takes The Cake by Alex Rex
5. Amphigorey Again by Edward Gorey

6. Vurt by Jeff Noon
8. The Love Curse Of The Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos
11. Spook Country by William Gibson
12. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite
13. Humpty Dumpty In Oakland by Philip K. Dick
15. In Milton Lumky Territory by Philip K. Dick
16. The Thrill Of Fear: 250 Years Of Scary Entertainment
18. The Neil Gaiman Reader

19. The Sandman: King of Dreams
20. Ling Ch'I Ching: A Classic Chinese Oracle
21. Fantasy Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 15 (Lovecraft et al)
22. Beast Of The Heartland by Lucius Shepard
23. The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard
24. Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers
25. Trujillo by Lucius Shepard
26. Softspoken by Lucius Shepard

27. London Revenant by Conrad Williams
28. 9tail Fox by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
29. Ice, Iron And Gold by S. M. Stirling
1. Agyar by Steven Brust
2. The Gypsy by Steven Brust
3. Fairies by Yoshitaka Amano
4. Madder Music, Stronger Wine: The Life Of Ernest Dowson, Poet And Decadent
5. Wild Heart: A Life : Natalie Clifford Barney And The Decadence Of Literary Paris

7. Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide To Hoaxes And Other B.S. by Alex Boese
8. Territory by Emma Bull
9. The Museum Of Hoaxes by Alex Boese
10. The Flight Of The Romanovs: A Family Saga
11. The Amazing Paper Cuttings of Hans Christian Andersen
12. Rumor Has It: A Curio Of Lies, Hoaxes, And Hearsay
14. The Brian Lumley Companion

Review: Love Curse of the Rumbaughs

2010-01-16T15:57:00.000-05:00

This book is a new arrival to the shop, but I know it well. If it sounds up your alley, stop in to check it out! A real one of a kind story.

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs is a quick and weird read by Jack Gantos, better known for his Rotten Ralph books for kids. This book is an uncommon concoction about a family obsessed with its mothers. In a related matter, they also go in for taxidermy, especially the twin pharmacists, Abner and Adolph.

Young Ivy, brought up surrounded by strange and delightful dioramas wherein tiny stuffed dead animals go about their fairy tale business, decides to make it her business too. There’s no getting away from this tale. Truly bizarre and truly captivating. And yes, inventive, too.

Review: Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

2010-01-15T15:23:00.013-05:00

Just got a copy of this fun book into the shop...

* * *

Jane Charlotte is in jail on murder charges, confined to the psychiatric ward. Why? Well, her claim to be a member of the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, a.k.a. "Bad Monkeys," is a start.

Jail psychologist Dr. Vale listens to her personal history, starting with her recruitment into the secret organization at the age of 14, after Jane discovered that the janitor at her school was the Angel of Death. It turned out the Bad Monkeys were already on this case, but Jane didn't find that out until it was almost too late.

American anthropologist and poet Loren Eiseley once said, "I am not nearly so interested in what monkey man was derived from as I am in what kind of monkey he is to become." So too the reader swings back and forth as they hear Jane's tale: is she a good monkey or a Bad Monkey?

Her story unfolds in a way that will seem eerily familiar to fans of the underground classic The Illuminatus! Trilogy. It's a quick read, because you won't want to put it down.

Previously published in The Bollard's Overdue Finds column.

Fire Report!

2010-01-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

Last night at about 9:45, we got a call (thanks McNallica!) that the old Zinnia's building, across the street from the bookshop, and next to my husband's shop, The Fun Box Monster Emporium, was on fire. There was smoke blowing through the block onto Deering Street as we arrived just before 10:00.

Firemen were breaking out the top story windows as we arrived on the scene. An early eyewitness report mentioned an overheard conversation between a few people talking on the stoop of the building shortly before the fire, the topic of their conversation being about breaking into various buildings. More news as warranted.

So far it looks like the firemen did a great job containing and quelling the fire. Adjoining apartments and shops all seem to be fine, if smelling a bit like Hickory Farms, to quote shopowner Tristan Gallagher. Project manager Claire Betze admitted a certain feeling of discouragement at the setback, but was quick to rejoin that sentiment with the affirmation that it could have been much worse, and seemed very positive about getting the work back on track quickly when I ran into her this morning.

The bookshop was not affected, thankfully, and this morning the only signs of what happened are a few small shards of broken window on the sidewalk across the street, the broken-open windows on the upper floors of Zinnia's. Workcrews are proceeding at full speed ahead this morning at the site, cutting plywood and likely trying to beat the storm system heading this way to avoid any more exposure damage.

Photos are online here, on my Flickr site. A few included below. Video is available online at the WCSH-6 website here:
Congress Street fire coverage

New Arrivals - UNPACKED!

2010-01-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

Horror and ghosts! The Seance by John Harwood is a favorite of mine, and Ramsey Campbell knows how to really creep a soul out.

Beautiful art books, for those who are fans of illuminated manuscripts and turn of the century decorative art. Add to that the fabulous Douglas Adams and some Edward Gorey picture books, and we've got it made!!

Horror anthologies, full of all those delightful things that make you jump. And new werewolf fiction!

Two great Maine authors, Stephen King and Alexander Irvine. I highly recommend both King's Dark Tower series and Irvine's books, especially his short story collection shown here, Pictures from an Expedition, which is terrific -- I'm really enjoying it.

Mysteries! John Connolly is great, and bases his writing practice here in Maine as well as the UK. The latest Gilda Joyce is another fun romp, and here's a Mark Helprin collection I've never seen before (not mystery, just good fiction!).

Strange non-fiction, my favorite! A couple of Stephen King explorations, another great bang-up job of telling Yankee folklore and legends by Joseph Citro, and more paranormal stuff than you can shake a stick at.

New Arrivals - 1/13/10

2010-01-13T13:37:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try something new that hopefully with help all you readers out there -- when I get a new order in from one of my remainder wholesalers, I'm going to post a list of my new arrivals here. Remainder orders allow me to pick up new books at a cost that lets me sell them at a used-book price, which is just plain keen!

So here we go -- ten cases of books were dropped off this morning, to whit:

1. The Creature In The Case
2. Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land
3. A Fish Caught In Time : The Search For The Coelacanth
4. A Jealous Ghost
5. The Illustrated Dracula
6. The House With A Clock In Its Walls (lewis Barnavelt)
7. The Varieties Of Scientific Experience: A Personal View Of The Search For God
8. The Seance
9. Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge: A Ghost Story
10. A Dove Of The East: And Other Stories
11. Refiner's Fire
12. A Soldier Of The Great War
13. Memoir From Antproof Case
14. Longfellow's Tattoos: Tourism, Collecting, And Japan
15. Dream States: Puvis De Chavannes, Modernism, And The Fantasy Of France
16. Hollywood's Stephen King
18. Ghost Eats It All!: Little Boo! Books
19. Ghost Gets Dressed! (little Boo! Books)
20. Novelties & Souvenirs : Collected Short Fiction
22. Postcards From The Brain Museum: The Improbable Search For Meaning In The Matter Of Famous Minds
23. The Science Of Stephen King: From Carrie To Cell, The Terrifying Truth Behind The Horror Masters Fiction
24. Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata
25. The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf: A Novel
26. Walking The Twilight Path: A Gothic Book Of The Dead
27. Ghosts, Apparitions And Poltergeists: An Exploration Of The Supernatural Through History
28. In The Ghost Country : A Lifetime Spent On The Edge
29. Song Of Susannah (the Dark Tower, Book 6)
30. The Dark Tower, Book 7
31. The Unquiet: A Thriller
33. Horror Films (virgin Film Series)
34. Cursed In New England: Stories Of Damned Yankees
35. A Scattering Of Jades
36. The Butlerian Jihad (Legends Of Dune, Book 1)
38. Dreamer Of Dune: The Biography Of Frank Herbert
39. The House Of Cthulhu: Tales Of The Primal Land Vol. 1
40. The Ghost Quartet
41. Secret Story
42. The Wolfman
44. Tales To Freeze The Blood: More Great Ghost Stories
45. The Mammoth Book Of Monsters
46. Mazes Of The Serpent: An Anatomy Of Horror Narrative
47. Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale Of How The World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator
48. Occult Investigator: Real Cases From The Files Of X-Investigations
49. Horror: The Best Of The Year, 2006
50. Donald Has A Difficulty
51. Donald And The...
52. Ascending Chaos: The Art Of Masami Teraoka 1966-2006
53. The Art Of Alex Gross: Paintings And Other Works
55. Ghost Sea: A Novel
57. The Reapers: A Thriller
58. Ghost Signs Of Arkansas
59. Longstreet Highroad Guide To The Maine Coast
60. Children Of The Night: Stories Of Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, And "lost Children"
61. Love & Sleep (aegypt)
62. The Pacific And Other Stories
63. Pictures From An Expedition
64. Ghost Pirates: And Other Tales Of The High Seas
65. Don'T Panic: Douglas Adams And The Hitchhiker'S Guide To The Galaxy
66. Glass Painters And Silk Painters Pattern Book
67. Scenting Evil: Crime Fiction From The Case Files Of A Crime-Solving Clairvoyant
68. Psychic Quest: Episodes From The Life Of A Ghost Hunter
69. Hitchhiker: A Biography Of Douglas Adams
70. Vienna 1900 (memoires)
71. Theatre D'amour

In short, lots of delicious stuff, including a plethora of favorites like Mark Helprin, John Crowley, Alexander Irvine, and John Crowley; books about Douglas Adams, Stephen King; horror and ghost story anthologies, delicious art books, werewolf fiction, and more! I'll be posting pics to The Green Hand's Facebook page as I unload and dig through it all!

Some things...

2010-01-13T09:58:00.004-05:00

...one is better off NOT knowing.

Do I really want to know about "tooth amoebas"???

...even if the back cover claims that the book is "Completely factual, enormously witty, and oddly reassuring..."?

Some fun SF items

2010-01-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share these little oddities from my New Arrivals with you folks... Enjoy!

I do want to make sure you notice this lovely lady's crazy outfit, hair, and WEBBED FINGERS. Pretty hot, no?

We follow the lady with this awkward gentleman and the horrible pun that makes up his title. Eeesh! Poor guy.

A closer view of the awkwardness, in case you wanted to examine it further.

The synopsis? Well, okay: "Call for Mr. Fixit! The Company had a big problem -- it was illegally exploiting a fabulously rich planet named Prism, a world where even the tiniest creatures were living jewels.

But, somehow, all contact had been lost with the scientists of the survey team. The Company didn't want to draw attention to itself by sending in a rescue mission, so they assigned Evan Orgell, a self-confident problem-solver, to investigate.

Evan was good, but he didn't understand Prism. Worse, he couldn't solve the real mystery of the mission... until it was too late."

A big fat pile of dungeon!

2010-01-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

All sorts of Forgotten Realms and assorted other Dungeons and Dragons style books arrived this morning, for those of you wishing for more dungeon-y magic in your life.

New Winter Hours!

2010-01-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

Starting next week, on January 6th, we are changing our hours to close an hour earlier. Thus, starting on January 6th, our hours will be as follows:

MONDAY CLOSED
TUES - SAT 11:00am - 6:00pm
SUNDAY 12:00 - 5:00pm

Thanks everyone! We'll switch back to the later hours once it starts to warm up in the spring.

Become a fan?

2009-12-04T13:50:00.002-05:00

Bowing to multiple suggestions to do so, I have made a Facebook page for the shop! Here it is:
The Green Hand on Facebook

Thanks everyone! :)
Michelle

P.S. We're open late tonight, 'til 8:00, for First Friday Artwalk!

Giant veggies on my mind

2009-11-25T16:50:00.001-05:00

One of the many reasons I love book hunting? Just take a look. You NEVER know what you're going to find. Who knew that my secret obsession with the weird world of giant vegetables would come out this way?

Wow. Was it B. Kliban who so clearly stated the obvious?... "Never eat anything bigger than your head."

Oddly enough, I ran into a friend at the grocery store the other night who had two amazing giant leeks in her shopping cart. Needless to say, they weren't quite this enormous, but the synchronicity is giggle-fit inducing.

Wow! We're really open!!!

2009-11-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the first real week of store hours here at The Green Hand. It will be interesting to settle into a regular rhythm.

The First Friday opening was a huge success. Thanks for coming!!! It was a narrow squeak -- I only got my hands on the permits from the City at 2:00 that afternoon! Phew. But it happened, all was well, and it was a blast.

You can see some photos and a quick write-up of the event over at Loren's website by clicking here:
Artwalk Crowds Stampede Sasquatch

There are still a few loose ends to tie up, and tons of books to process yet. I'm finishing up my newly acquired paperback bookcases (thanks to Nancy over at Cunningham Books). They are now bright shiny red! Only one left out of the three to put a final coat on. Good thing too, 'cause I have boxes and boxes of paperbacks to break out for you all to rummage through.

Of sincerity and sleeplessness

2009-11-02T04:30:00.000-05:00

If you find yourself unable to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, one reprieve is having a good book to distract you until you are able to lure yourself back into the dreamy depths once more.

With that in mind, I would like to recommend Louis Bayard's The Black Tower. I read his earlier book, The Pale Blue Eye, only to be disappointed. Heaven knows why, but I read the whole thing, hoping for last minute redemption, I suppose. Ha! So it was with trepidation that I took home The Black Tower from the library. I couldn't resist it. It sounded too tasty!

I was not disappointed this time. On starting into the first few chapters, I was hooked. Now, most of the way through the book, I am still unable to tear myself away.

It has finally occurred to me what the difference between The Black Tower and The Pale Blue Eye is. The difference is sincerity. The characters in this book, each and every one of them, are living and breathing within its pages -- and are now alive in my own mind.

The author has wrought his magic!

This time his canvas is painted using the legendary Parisian police detective Vidocq. Narrated by medical student Hector Carpentier, the tale weaves through the layers of deception, treachery, and redemption found surrounding the French Revolution, and the son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI.

Officially, the Dauphin died a brutal death in Paris's dreaded Temple -- a menacing black tower from which there could have been no escape -- but speculation has long persisted that the ten-year-old heir may have been smuggled out of his prison cell.

Well, it's a darn good story, so I'll let you find out the rest by reading it for yourself.

Sunday: No opening of The Green Hand

2009-10-31T11:14:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone --
Due to bureaucratic delays, we are unable to open The Green Hand Bookshop as planned on Sunday. Please bear with us, those of you who hoped to come along, and we will open as soon as possible.

I'll be at the shop working regardless, so if any of you do show up, you are certainly welcome to pop in and get a sneak preview of the grounds! :)

Many thanks again for all your support, and we'll see you soon. We are still planning to have our gala ribbon-cutting next Friday at 6:00!

Regards,
Michelle

Update on a rainy evening

2009-10-25T00:42:00.000-04:00

Well, the big bookshelves are done -- all stained, and varnished, and sanded, and installed. Now onto the shorter cases that will be on the floor. A much easier prospect, now that I've decided to paint them. I started the process of sorting and pricing books this weekend with help from Loren L. and Amie, and the process of painting the floor bookshelves with help from Loren, Salli, and Summer. Good times!

I have a huge bruise on my left elbow from whacking my funnybone repeatedly while sanding the bookcases, etc. Just call me Grace. I have been contemplating taking a photo of it and sharing, because it really is quite majestic in its circumference, but restraint holds me back. Ewwww, who wants to look at a gross bruise?! Certainly not you.

Our latest adventure comes in my discovery this afternoon of a lovely line of dripping water descending through a seam in the ceiling of my front display window (don't worry, LC, your window area is dry as a bone). Of course, there is no handy emergency maintenance number for me to call, so I'll have to wait 'til Monday to address that fine event with the powers that be. However, the sign on the window, newly applied on Saturday by Brendan of Mobile Imaging, looks pretty swanky. You see below a Photoshop-doctored draft of what it will look like when its finished.

Please also note that you can now sign up for e-mail updates through the blog, so that you never miss a thing!

For those of you who don't get pestered by me via e-mail, here is some info about the shop opening...

The Green Hand Bookshop is officially opening (barring complications on the city business license front) on November 1st. We are located at 661 Congress Street, right next to Joe's Smoke Shop in the big old Trelawny Building, conveniently across the street from Tristan's shop, The Fun Box Monster Emporium (which is at 656B Congress Street).

November 1st is a Sunday, so it will be a fairly quiet affair, from 12:00-5:00, but the big brouhaha will be on First Friday, November 6th, when we will hold a ribbon cutting and open house from 5:00 to 9:00. The ribbon cutting will happen at 6:00, with Representative Herb Adams presiding.

The Green Hand is the culmination of a lot of dreams and hard work, and a lot of help from so many people I can't list you all here, but please know that you stand out like stars in the firmament of my mind, even through the fog and haze of sawdust, woodstain fumes, and all the rest that has been going on for the last month or so! Countless thanks to you all, you know who you are.

... in closing, I hope I see some of you on or after the opening day. Whether you make it to the festivities or not, please come check us out! :)

Cheers,
Michelle

...Of stains and famous authors

2009-10-12T20:44:00.000-04:00

The walls are all painted now, leaving just the display window areas and a few other trim pieces to do. My dad was kind enough to come in today and help me stain bookcases -- three are done, ten more to go. The irony is that while I was removing stains by painting over them (the walls were filthy!), my dad was staining perfectly clean wood on the other side of the shop. Ha!

The bookcases are going to need two coats of stain each, and then they need to be sealed. I think I'm going to switch to paint for the half-stacks that are going down the center of the room, because this is nuts! However, the wall cases really need to be stained for the right look, so... onward.

... come to think of it, switching to a water-based stain for the last 10 tall cases would make sense, too. Phew!

While we were working, a gentleman came in to see what was happening, and to comment on the bookshop idea by remarking that Erskine Caldwell had run a bookshop across the street. Sure enough, when I went home to research it, there was the info. According to Conversations with Erskine Caldwell by Edwin T. Arnold, in 1928, Erskine Caldwell and his wife, photographer Margaret Bourke-White, opened the Longfellow Square Bookshop at 666A Congress Street which he ran through the 1930s (pg 89). Erskine was inspired by Maine when he wrote God's Little Acre (he also wrote Tobacco Road). Today, an architect's offices reside at 666 Congress Street.

More on Erskine Caldwell on Wikipedia (photo source).

Progress as it stands

2009-10-09T22:27:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm working along at making the shop the kind of space I want it to be. So far, I did a bunch of patching and sanding and taping-off (which Loren L. came along to help me with the second leg of, yesterday, thanks for that you marvelous Loren you!).

This process has also involved a very trying series of episodes with the ridiculous wooden spars that were attached in a heinous manner at the bottom of the mirrors that cover the walls of the shop space. "Heinous?" you say. "Ridiculous?" you wonder. Yes, heinous, because the prior tenants used Liquid Nails to attached the mirrors AND the spars to the walls, and then for good measure (enter "Ridiculous"!) used very long, very obscure nails (square and star ended screws, as opposed to the friendlier phillips-head or straight-head screws) which were put in at all sorts of weird angles -- and for extra fun some were even stripped in the process.

All this made it impossible to get the spars off the wall without at the very last resorting to hauling out my large hammer and prying them off after spending what time I could undoing screws with my drill. I'll share some photos of the typical damage done to the walls by the prior tenants' creative problem solving efforts. (Those poor walls!) After pulling the offending spars off the wall, I replaced them with low-profile heavy-duty mirror clips, and patched and sanded the terrible holes and gashes that resulted from the amputation.

Finally, after getting covered in blobs of spackle and a coating of plaster dust for the third day, I managed to actually get around to doing some painting this afternoon and evening. The excitement is palpable. And probably covered in paint, like me and everything else. I figure I finished about 1/3 of the walls and trim. The areas that were rehabbed around the mirrors and elsewhere look great -- you will never imagine the carnage that preceded, if you look at them now!

What's next (besides the other 2/3 of the painting)? Well, due to the fact that my carpenter has been hard at work building wonderfully towering shelves that will be installed along the walls, I will be staining and sealing bookshelves all next week. Then maybe I can actually get to working with the actual books, which have been accumulating in piles and boxes and bags, which are usually piled in an area inconvenient to the renovations going on (resulting in a large amount of lugging, pushing, and puffing about getting them into slightly less inconvenient spots).

We won't get into the nonsense about city permits and all that. That's another ball of wax entirely. We'll just cross our fingers and hope that everything gets approved in time for the opening!!!

Of hedgehogs and puzzles

2009-10-02T11:31:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of quick book recommendations!

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery.

I picked this up at the library after reading a really interesting article by Kim Allen-Niesen about the sad lack of European books being translated into English, which pointed out the French-to-English translated Hedgehog as a particularly wonderful sample of the possibilities we're missing out on.

I was so enchanted by this book that I broke my cardinal rule of Good Librarianship, and I took a library book on vacation with me. Camping. In the woods of Acadia. Of course, this makes for a bittersweet ending -- the one night I left the book out on the picnic table, it rained. (It gets dark quickly, and if you assume that you've put away all perishables earlier in the evening, well, let's just say there's no last look around by the light of the living room lamp to ensure you're right...)

The characters are eminently human, the humor is tart, the elegance is natural enough to bowl you over. Try it. You just might like it -- I did.

The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws, by Margaret Drabble

This one drew me in with its simple but tantalizing cover, I admit it. What made me take it home, however, was its premise. Drabble takes us through an intriguing account of English games and their history. This information is peppered throughout her own recollections of games and family interactions and what it all means.

I'm still in the process of reading this one, but I'm definitely enjoying it. It's interesting to get to know the author in this oblique way, with all her foibles and fascinations examined piece by piece and then gradually reassembled in a whole pattern ... not unlike a jigsaw puzzle. A very pleasant way to pass the time.

The Green Hand interview

2009-10-01T08:28:00.000-04:00

As posted in the Strange Maine blog...

Here's an interview I did with David Carkhuff of the Portland Daily Sun last week that should serve to fill you in on the latest and greatest.

The Green Hand reaches toward mystery
New book shop promises eerie, atmospheric reads from Strange Maine blog founder
Story and Photo by David Carkhuff, Staff writer

On her path from award-winning blogger to fledgling book shop owner, Michelle Souliere is about a month away from unveiling The Green Hand on Congress Street.

The bookstore promises to be a nod to classic horror, mystery and other subjects that have formed the grist for her award-winning Strange Maine blog. At the same time, the shop, slated to open at 661 Congress Street near Longfellow Square, won't confine itself to strictly strange and eerie topics.

"The selection is definitely going to be slanted by my taste, but I'm going to have a wide selection. My hope is anyone who walks in will find something they're interested in," Souliere said in an interview Tuesday.

The Green Hand, however, is bound to appeal to customers of the International Cryptozoology Museum, mystery-animal researcher Loren Coleman's new feature attraction which is scheduled to open, also on Nov. 1, in the rear portion of the 661 Congress Street site.

For almost four years, Souliere said, she has generated the Strange Maine blog, and subsequently the Strange Maine Gazette, a print version of her intriguing look at mysterious and offbeat subjects.

Her husband, Tristan Gallagher, owns We Hate T-Shirts screen printing and The Fun Box Monster Emporium, which is located across the street from the new book shop at 656B Congress Street. He has run his store almost a year and at the current address since last spring. A loss of employment at University of Southern Maine for Souliere was a catalyst for pursuing her dream.

"For years I've wanted to open a book shop," Souliere said. "I've always had this little stash of books that would become part of my eventual stock. It was only this summer that I started seriously considering it. I was working at USM, and was in the process of being laid off because of different cutbacks and rearrangements, and I started interviewing for jobs, and I realized that these weren't jobs that I wanted particularly, they didn't necessarily get me any further with what I wanted to do with my life. Tristan said, 'Well, why are you waiting to open a book shop? Why don't you do it now?'"

It turned out to be a fateful conversation. Souliere knew Coleman — "We've been off and on corresponding for a few years now" — and figured a pairing of an atmospheric bookstore and a museum of exhibits featuring Bigfoot and other mysterious creatures would make a great fit in the Arts District.

An artist and illustrator, Souliere expected to "concoct a wonderful space that people are excited to visit."

"It's going to be kind of a hybrid, I want to create an atmosphere in here that's different than the other book shops in town. I would like to complement them," she said. "There's no way I can compete with their selections, especially Yes Books and Cunningham Books, they have been at this for years and have walls and walls of wonderful materials. So I thought I would try to bring something else into it, I've always been a fan of hybrid turn of the century Victorian gas lamps and a certain amount of art deco and a little bit of Asia motif. It's going to get a little more colorful in here."

The Green Hand captures a variety of images and motifs — organic growth, based on the concept of the green thumb; and also the traditional "old pulp magazine cover art of the green hand reaching out for the victim" and the science fiction idea of an alien hand.

"It's just an image that has come to me over and over again, it seems to evoke a lot of things for people. It's a wonderful, universal and mysterious symbol of what I'm trying to do here," she said.

Souliere anticipates offering a mix of used and new books in about 2,500 square feet of space, with additional space in back for the museum.

Her favorites are "weird fiction," horror and mystery stories by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James. Souliere said the blog and gazette will continue, possibly with more opportunity for research as she tends the book shop.

Souliere said the Arts District appears to be on the cusp of a revival, with several developments promising a rejuvenation of the Congress Street corridor.

Across the street at 660 Congress St., near her husband's store, Souliere is keping an eye on the old Zinnia's antique shop, where a developer is unveiling plans to create gallery space and four to six studios in a three-story building. Down the block from Souliere's shop is an ongoing renovation and reconstruction of the old USM dormitories, creating what promises to be residential and retail space.

"It seems like this area could really start to jump up and take the city by surprise," Souliere said.

[Source]

Please also check out Carkhuff's companion article about the public opening of Loren Coleman's International Cryptozoology Museum!

The Green Hand: It's Official!

2009-09-19T18:36:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! It's official -- The Green Hand bookshop has secured its new shopfront space at 661 Congress Street, across Longfellow Square from our friend Nancy at Cunningham Books, and across the street from our compatriots in cultural intrigue, The Fun Box Monster Emporium and Coast City Comics.

Not only will we strive to provide a pleasant atmosphere and an ever-intriguing book selection, but also we are bringing into the fold the inimitable Loren Coleman's own International Cryptozoology Museum.

It's a fact!!!

Stay tuned for more announcements as events unfold...

The Green Hand Knows

2009-08-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

...what will happen next?

Only one thing is for sure. It's bound to have something to do with books.

Stay tuned.