First Friday - Quotes!

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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...

...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

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!

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!

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.