Thursday, August 24, 2023

New John Connolly & a booksigning event!!!

Hi everyone!  Here is life going on in spite of nonsense -- on Sept 19, John Connolly's new book, The Land of Lost Things, is being released in the US.  Having already gobbled up my advance copy, I can tell you it is wonderful, dark and magical, whether or not you've read its predecessor in that universe, The Book of Lost Things.

While that date is exciting enough, please sit down, because next comes a book signing!  We are lucky enough that John reached out to us for this, and we are still a little speechless that we can make it happen.  We will be partnering with the soon-to-be-open Novel Book Bar down at the end of our block for this event.  It is going to be a tremendously convivial and magical evening.  

Novel will not yet be full-service, but you will get a sneak peek at their beautiful interior, and you can take advantage of this event to get a taste of things to come on our block.

WHAT: The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly - author talk and book signing

WHERE: Novel Book Bar, 643 Congress St, Portland ME 04101

WHEN: Friday Oct 6, 2023 at 6:00pm

EVENT PAGE: https://fb.me/e/104eQfQK6   Registration for the event via showing interest on Facebook is not required, but will help us get a headcount, and you will see any event updates.  :)

John will give a short talk (20-25 minutes), and if you haven't seen him speak in person you are in for a treat!  Afterwards he will take any audience questions, then sign your books.  It is going to be a delightful evening!

More on the new book:

The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly
ON SALE: SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 - you can preorder your copy here:

https://greenhandbookshop.com/products/the-land-of-lost-things-by-john-connolly-hardcvr 

After 17 years, #1 internationally bestselling author John Connolly finally returns to the upside-down fairy tale world of his critically acclaimed novel The Book of Lost Things for a wonderfully dark yet moving book about loss, parenthood, and the place of books and stories in our lives.

“Twice upon a time—for that is how some stories should continue…”

Thus John Connolly begins his astonishingly original adventure set in a strange and magical universe. In The Land of Lost Things, the prolific, award-winning author again brilliantly blurs the boundaries of fantasy and reality while celebrating the redemptive power of the written word.

Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies in a coma following a car accident. She is a body without a spirit, a stolen child. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud to her the fairy stories she adores in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But it is so very hard to be patient, to
keep faith, to believe.

Now an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres, inviting her to open its door and enter a land colored by the memories of her childhood and the folklore she has shared with her precious daughter. In this familiar yet frightening place, Ceres will encounter friends and foes, witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes. But as she struggles to make sense of this landscape and decipher its hidden messages, old enemies are watching, and waiting.

Is this just a terrifying dream, or a way for Ceres to recover her daughter? And what sacrifices will a mother make in order to be reunited with her child? The only way to find out is by getting lost in another triumphantly fantastical novel from John Connolly.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS

“A moving fable, brilliantly imagined, about the agony of loss and the pain of young adulthood.”
–The Times (London)

“Enchanting, engrossing, and enlightening.” –The Sun-Sentinel, Florida

“Peculiar and perverse and humane.” –The Irish Times 

About the Author: 

If you haven't already had me yammer on about how awesome he is, read on.  

John Connolly is the internationally bestselling author of 30+ books, including The Book of Lost Things, the Charlie Parker series of mystery novels, the supernatural collections Nocturnes and Night Music, and the Samuel Johnson trilogy for young readers. His books have won literary honors such as the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony awards, and a CWA Dagger. 

Formerly a journalist with The Irish Times, he studied English at Trinity College, Dublin, journalism at Dublin City University, and is currently pursuing his PhD at University College Cork. 

He divides his time between his birthplace of Dublin, Ireland, and his home in Portland, Maine, the setting for many of his books. He is also the host of the long-running radio show ABC to XTC on RTE Gold, in which he returns to the music of his youth. For more information, visit JohnConnollyBooks.com.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

IMPORTANT notice re: special orders, website & bookbuying

Okay, 2nd try after the post draft dumped.  :P

First of all, thank you all for your help in getting the cooling system installed here in the shop.  It took months, and much hoop-jumping, and back-and-forth between myself, the contractor, the landlord, and the City of Portland, but it finally happened!  Thank you all for helping that become a reality.  What a relief!  Please stop in when you can, and enjoy the cool comfort of a non-humid, refreshing shop.

But of course nothing stands still, and unexpected things happen.  I have to go in for some major surgery before the end of August, so that is going to mean a few things will temporarily change.  After my initial recovery period, there will be another month or so when I cannot lift anything substantial.  Irony of ironies, for someone who spends all day, every day, lifting boxes and stacks of books.  :(  So that will be going on until mid-October.  With that in mind:

1)  Bookbuying/trading (which is currently limited and only done by appointment) will be put on hold until at least late October.

2)  The website will remain open so you can see what we carry for new items before coming in, but there will be a hiatus in processing orders, so we recommend you simply call or come into the shop if you would normally do a pickup order.  We will not be pulling/shipping orders on a normal timeframe until after Sept 15.  This means any mail orders placed on the website after Aug 19th will be shipped after that date.

3)  Special orders are on hold effective immediately.  We will resume taking special orders after mid-September.  We recommend buying through our Bookshop.org link at https://bookshop.org/shop/greenhandbooks if you'd like to help out while avoiding giving money to Amazon!

Please do continue to come into the shop to support us - there is no shortage of amazing and wonderful books to peruse.  Our hours remain the same (closed Mon, open Tues-Sat 11:00-5:00, and Sun 12:00-4:00).  

All your support will be hugely helpful.  It's been an expensive and painful summer.  I haven't had a vacation since 2019, and I'm certainly not getting one this year.

Thank you in advance for your understanding as we hit the pause button on a few things!