Philip K. Dick book release!

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

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

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

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

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.