Location, Location, Location

I've become sort of obsessed with Granada Court, the condos currently under construction at the north end of Vroman's block. Actually, "condominium" sounds rather bland and antiseptic when I look at this nearly-completed development. I walk by the construction site a couple of times a day, and it has been fascinating watching the building grow and change. Unlike some of the housing developments going up in the neighborhood, Granada Court looks like much more than just a big box full of apartments -- it has character and will surely be an interesting place to live. There's something both Spanish Revival and Mediterranean about its look: the thick white walls seem to be at once rugged and clean, and I admire the asymmetry of the complex, with different sizes and shapes of windows, balconies and doors that nonetheless harmonize with one another. The property boasts not only three different courtyards for its residents, but also its own library! How cool is that? I love the fact that the developers saved a number of mature trees growing at the west end of the property and replanted them. I've heard the units are selling for between a half million and $1.2 million apiece, depending on size and location. Now I'm sort of obsessed with going to an open house, because frankly? I want to know what a $1.2 million townhome looks like. I have to admit, if I were in the market for a deluxe condominium, the fact that Vroman's and the Laemmle Theatres are just across the parking lot would make the deal very attractive.

Recommended Reading for Literature Lovers

A few days ago I spotted Sherri Gallentine, our book buyer, holding a book I just love: The End of Vandalism by Tom Drury. I read this book years ago and thought it was wonderful, so it made me happy to know Sherri was about to embark on a great read; what made me even happier was that this book has been out of print for years and it's delightful to know that people once again have access to this fine novel. Sherri loved the book, too, and agreed to share some of her thoughts on it with you:

What a unique novel The End of Vandalism is! Small-town Iowa is the setting for an interesting group of average people going about their daily lives. What makes this book so great is the talent of the author, Tom Drury. The dialogue is so expertly written that it doesn’t seem fabricated, as though the author was recording actual conversation. The situations are recognizable from experiences you may have had in your own life. The opening paragraph in chapter two seemed especially real to me:

“Louise divorced Tiny that spring and found herself unable to watch television in a satisfying way. She could not settle into a show but had to keep drifting from station to station. On Jeopardy, as soon as there was a question that she could not answer, she would guess blindly – “Fiji? What is the island of Fiji?” – and change the channel to one of those phony crime shows, which she wouldn’t watch for long either.”

Although I wouldn’t say The End of Vandalism is an action-driven novel -- it’s more of a character-driven story -- I found it to be one of the best books I’ve read in a really long time. Drury’s strength is in character and narrative, and there are several sections of the book I thought were genius. Here's one passage which both fellow Vroman’s employee Anne Edkins and I thought was great:

“When Albert was five or six years old, he got mad at Claude and Marietta and decided to move out to the woods behind the Robeshaw farm. He took a can of beans, a can opener, a fork, and The Five Chinese Brothers. Well, he sat down under an evergreen to read, and he wondered if he hadn’t brought the wrong book, because it always gave him a chill to see the picture of the first brother’s huge face as he held in the sea. But he read the whole thing and then he was hungry, and he managed to open the can and begin eating the beans. But when he came upon the little cube of pork in the beans, he didn’t know what it was, and it scared him, and he went crying for home.”

An abandoned baby, vandalism, and farm equipment theft are a few of the sub-plots of the book, but are best as vehicles for Drury to interweave the lives of his subjects.

Drury has a new book coming out in August called Driftless Area which I can’t wait to read; in the meantime, I hope to get as many people I can to read The End of Vandalism.

Crafty Like a Fox

I have just spent the most entertaining half hour or so perusing the Craftster.org website. If you are at all interested in "alternative crafting," you owe yourself a visit to this terrific online community. It's a "forum for people who love to make things but who are not inspired by cross-stitched home sweet home plaques and wooden boxes with ducks in bonnets painted on," in the words of Craftster founder Leah Kramer. Instead, you'll find amazing things like this knitted afghan:


Or funky things like the "chicken chapel," a genuine chicken coop:

Not all of the projects are so ambitious; Craftster features lots of jewelry, yard decorations, soft toys, handbags, and other small objects designed by enthusiastic amateur crafters. It's a wonderful spot on the 'net to settle in and get inspired.

All of which leads me to a very cool event Vroman's is hosting this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. Leah Kramer, founder of Craftster.org and owner of the ultra-cool shop Magpie ("Hip Crafts, Local Art, Vintage Collectibles") in Somerville, MA, will be here to discuss and sign her new book The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, & Kitschy Crafts: Fifty Fabulous Projects from the 50s & 60s. Among the projects in the book are a cigar-box makeup kit, a macaroni glamour tissue box, and lightbulb Christmas ornaments -- silly, kitschy, funny! We've known since we booked the event that Leah had some kind of group craft project planned for those who show up on Sunday. A few days ago a box arrived at the store with her return address and we couldn't resist taking a peek -- I don't think I'll ruin any surprises (and I hope I pique a few interests) by telling you the box contains some as-yet unadorned canvas tote bags and the blanks for making your own buttons/badges. What a great way to spend a summer afternoon! I'll be here myself, carefully concealing the fact that I'm one of those people who has cross-stitched a home sweet home sampler. Don't tell anyone.

Quotes of the Day

"Why don't you write books people can read?"
- Nora Joyce, to her husband James

"After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations."
- H.L. Mencken, on Shakespeare

Recommended Reading for Suburban Homesteaders

Any of you remember The Suburban Homestead? It was Vroman's late (and I hope lamented) email newsletter devoted to cooking, gardening, home improvement, "lifestyle," etc. It ceased publication last fall, and since then I've been looking for an outlet to review books of that nature. The blog seems like a good spot to highlight them, so without further ado, two new books for all you Homesteaders out there:

Sheetrock & Shellac: A Thinking Person's Guide to the Art & Science of Home Improvement by David Owen will please any home improvement-minded individual. Owen, who has written a couple of other enjoyable books about the joys of home ownership and remodeling, is a sort of Bill Bryson for the DIY crowd: this book --part memoir, part how-to, and part cultural history -- is both smart and funny. As he and his family not only improve their own Connecticut home but also begin construction on a new cabin a mere six miles away (and he has good reasons for building a second home so close to the first), Owen details the processes involved in caring for a very old building and erecting a brand new one. He goes into the history and science of Sheetrock, concrete, glass, insulation, and toilets; his writing is at all times enthusiastic and amusing. He writes self-deprecatingly yet with great satisfaction about his DIY projects and those he has left (or should have left) to the professionals: "The knowledge one gains in undertaking a major home-improvement project is inevitably the knowledge one ought to have had before attempting it in the first place." I finished this entertaining book with a happy sigh and momentarily thought of passing it on to a friend who would enjoy a good read -- then decided not to, because Owen's home improvement tips are so useful that I know I'll want to refer to this book when I start my next DIY project.

I just read the last page of Catherine Goldhammer's Still Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea this morning. This slim, charming book is Goldhammer's memoir of divorce, relocation, and reinvention. After her marriage ends, she finds herself "about three tax brackets poorer" and is forced to sell her much-loved house in a tony New England town (which she refers to as "Hearts-Are-Cold"). She falls in love with a run-down cottage in a nearby, far-less affluent village and there creates Dragonfly Farm with her twelve-year-old daughter. This "farm" consists of a dog, a cat, six chickens, and a few vegetables and flowers; the flora prove tougher to keep alive than the fauna. Goldhammer's writing is witty and precise; a poet, she has a fine eye for detail and a memorable way with description. Still Life with Chickens is a delightful, quick read with a bit of everything your average suburban homesteader finds enjoyable: home improvement, raising livestock, gardening, and lots of mini-disasters.

Post-Pirate Reflections

Saturday's pirate extravaganza proved to be a rousing success. First there was a special pirate storytime with Cap'n Steve.

Cap'n Steve couldn't find quite enough pirate tales to fill all of storytime, so he padded his repertoire with a selection of stories about, as he put it, "water or anti-social behavior." Kids were treated to pirate snacks such as Silver & Gold Nuggets (Hershey's Kisses), Sea Biscuits (cookies), Fish (goldfish crackers), and Grog (a tasty combination of grape juice, orange juice, and lemonade).

The Pirate Scavenger Hunt was a big hit, too. Thirty teams signed up to participate, and most of them really got into the whole pirate theme.

Everyone was given 2 1/2 hours to find and photograph 32 items. Folks took off on foot, on bicycle, and in car to track everything down, with all but two teams returning to claim the prize. The winning team, pictured above in the center photo, won with 76 out of a possible 78 points! They got pretty creative with their photos: For the picture of a cannonball, they got a shot of a friend doing a cannonball off a diving board; their photo of a boat captured Clearman's Galley Restaurant (better known as The Boat). Each team member won movie passes and a Vroman's gift card.

Congratulations to everyone who participated! We're planning another scavenger hunt for this fall, so stay tuned for details.

Recommended Reading for Thrill Seekers

Summer has barely begun, and I've already discovered and read my fun summer thriller: The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont. This well-written and stunningly researched homage to the pulp era is for anyone casting about for something in the vein of Carter Beats the Devil or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Malmont, blandly described on the dust jacket as someone who "works in advertising," has produced a novel that's full of action, atmosphere, and mystery; it's the perfect read for a warm summer evening. The only thing that could top it would be to listen to a live radio performance of the plot, preferably with the lights out.

It is 1937. Walter Gibson (who, in real life, wrote The Shadow thrillers) and Lester Dent (creator of Doc Savage) are our protagonists. They are the number one and number two writers of pulp fiction in the world, respectively, and serious rivals. Gibson is drawn into the mysterious death of an acquaintance of his, an obscure writer named H.P. Lovecraft who penned stories for the lowly "shudder and menace mags." Did Lovecraft truly die suddenly of cancer, or was he murdered? Dent, meanwhile, begins investigating an old Chinatown legend and is drawn into the deadly world of the tongs and Chinese revolution. These two men don't realize it at first, but their adventures are closely tied to one another's and will soon become lethal. They are aided and abetted by a number of other pulp writers of the time, including L. Ron Hubbard (in a not terribly flattering but intriguing portrait), Chester Himes, and others whose identities I dare not give away. Reading this book is kind of like watching a movie with a lot of unbilled cameos: you never know who is going to turn up in the next scene, but you can be sure it will be a pleasant surprise. New York City, where most of the action is centered, is described in affectionate detail, particularly mysterious and exotic Chinatown. My only complaint is that the summer now stretches out before me, and I doubt I'll be able to find another thriller I will enjoy anywhere near as much.

Paul Malmont will be at Vroman's to talk about and sign The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril on Wednesday, July 19, at 7 p.m. Treat yourself to both a great read and what is bound to be a fascinating discussion.

A Pirate's Life for Me

Funny how you learn the most interesting things about your co-workers the longer you work together. For instance, I never knew how many pirate fanatics are employed by Vroman's until I started setting up a big display in anticipation of Disney's most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Suddenly, everywhere I turned, I was confronted by familiar faces using their break time to peruse the new merchandise and pepper me with piratical questions. (For the record, though I'm no expert, I'm a bit of a pirate fiend myself.) A couple of my co-workers informed me that they could easily blow their entire paychecks on pirate books, clocks, tissues, pencil toppers, and flags if they weren't careful. Yo ho, indeed.

Vroman's is so excited about the new Pirates flick, in fact, that we are hosting a pirate-themed photo scavenger hunt on Saturday, July 8, from 2 - 5 p.m. You can find all the details here, and you can call (626) 449-5320 to register your team, though you need to do it by the end of business today. I'd like to join in the fun myself -- we employees have been informed that we can try to track down all the clues, we just can't win anything -- but the fact that my digital camera is currently vacationing with a friend in Philadelphia may prove problematic. (The additional fact that I helped create the list of clues also gives me an unfair advantage. You should thank me for bowing out.) In preparation for Saturday, you might want to figure out your pirate name so that all your mateys will address you properly. Just so's you know, sea dogs, me moniker's Dirty Anne Cash. Yaarrrr.

And if you're looking for a great book on pirates, particularly the buccaneers who plied the waters of the Caribbean, I highly recommend Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly.

WiFi Liberty for All

Vroman's WiFi is up and running! You can pick it up throughout the store, but our primary hotspot is upstairs in our events space. You'll currently find plenty of chairs and a few benches in this area -- in the coming months, we're planning to add some cozier seating and tables to create more of a "living room" feel. We encourage you to bring your laptop, grab an iced coffee at Zeli, and hang out. Our brand spankin' new air conditioning unit will ensure comfort on those hot summer afternoons.

More on the store improvement front: We're nearly done with our recarpeting project, with just the main staircase and a few tiny areas to finish. Those of you who have shopped here over the decades have probably become used to the gentle dips and slopes of our upstairs salesfloor; we've had the floor evened and everything now feels smooth and solid. We appreciate your patience with the noise and untidiness during the carpeting process; everything is now tidy and back in place... though the faint aroma of new carpet lingers.