So. I just got in from spending the night with my boyfriend,
Clayton, and I feel quite refreshed. We spent Sunday watching movies,
eating Taco Bell, and laughing quite a bit (my impersonation of Davy
Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean is quite funny!) It was a good and
relaxing day and I was glad for it.
However, I do want to mention
one event that floored me, even while driving home several minutes ago.
This event is why people still amaze me.
Due to me giving too
much trust to someone, I lost $50 in my checking account several days
ago. I will not go into the details but know that I will NEVER do what
I did again unless if I am married to that person. Anyway, I regretted
the decision and knew that I would never get it back but that was OK;
money does not really matter too much to me (perhaps that is why I am
so bad with it ~ grin). Anyway, I mentioned this event to a new friend
of mine, someone that I have enjoyed talking to recently, and he shared
my opinions and thoughts on the matter. After our conversation, I
quickly forgot the matter and went back to being stupid and funny.
Suddenly, he walked up to me and handed me $40 in cash, giving it to me
as a loan to cover my recent loss with a smile. I stammered for a
moment but found my tongue and said, "Thank you," as he walked away.
We
expect people to be selfish, cruel, and greedy in today's world, sadly
enough, but we are amazed when someone does something nice and
thoughtless, expecting no fawning gratitude. It hits us with a side
blow, knocking our senses unaware and for a moment, we are amazed.
When
you throw out good to the world, it does come back to you. Many years
ago, I used to be a cynical and bitter woman, full of "who cares?" and
"I don't"s. However, since I turned 30 and every year after that, I am
now simply amazed and happier for it. I smile as much as possible,
laugh even when I am laughing at myself, and enjoy life to its fullest,
looking at every wonder that I used to ignore. People still do amaze me.
I just got in from my church for our Ash Wednesday service, where I
received my ashes and oil on my forehead, signifying the start of 40
days in preparing for Easter. When I walked out of the building, I
stumbled, missing a step, then smiled because that stumble jarred my
head for a moment. My church, for those of you who do not know, is a
very progressive Christian church (we have the nickname of the Hippie
Gay Church here in Memphis!) and we do not dwell in fire and brimstone
teachings so this service touched me deeper than our usual Sunday
services.
I know I am not a perfect person. I know I have many shortcomings, some
I wish I never had. However, I want to be a better person, one who will
stare at my own faults in the face and defeat them with hope that they
will never bother me again. Lent is a good starting point for me, a
chance to wipe the slate clean and reel myself in to really take a look
at what is laid before me, a woman who wants to be a writer and yet is
self sabotaging her dreams because she is afraid of failure, defeat,
and rejection.
Lent is a time of reflection, to stop pointing fingers at people,
blaming them for constant problems, or to stop whining and moaning
about why you are still single and why you can't find someone to love,
or to even stop turning against people who love you only because you
are afraid to love them back. This is a time when me must put aside
what others think of us and instead pay attention to what is inside of
us, hidden under false hopes, addictions, and lies.
During this time, I refuse to cast stones on anyone because I, too,
have stones waiting to be thrown at me. In fact, after I left church
tonight, I went to my friends' video store (Black Lodge Video) to
apologize to a man who was one of my closest friends, letting him know
I was sorry for my past behaviour towards him. I no longer want to do
things just for the sake of doing them; I want to do things because it
is the right thing to do. Our innermost fears keep us from being the
people we were meant to be, blocking our own paths from ourselves.
So, even if you are not Christian, at least take some time in your life
to pause and reflect from time to time. Sometimes, what we refuse to
face is what we need to face to get us going on own path. No matter
what religion you practice, take the time to pause and reflect.
Greetings! How is
everyone on this fine Saturday? Memphis was hit with some cold weather
but all is well in the Land of Elvis, thanks to many cups of coffee
provided by my boyfriend, Clayton. Ah yes, coffee and the wickedly
cool movie Paycheck makes a great Saturday.
So, what's going on in the world of Viridian?
Last month, I received one of the nicest letters from an author whom I enjoyed reading. Min Jin Lee, author of the book Free Food For Millionaires, sent this e-mail to me as a response to my own:
Hello, Kimberly.
Lovely to hear from you, and I send you greetings from Tokyo.
The paperback will be released in April '08, and there will be a book tour, however, I do not decide the locations.
I will ask the folks in charge if I will be in TN in April/May, and if
it can occur, I would love to meet you. Also, if you would like to
contact them as well, this is the email address:
elly.weisenberg@hbgusa.com. I believe it is up on the website as well.
Your
bookstore sounds terrific. I noticed in your catalogue that you are
selling Baudelaire and Brecht--writers, a poet and a playwright, I
love.
I wish you a beautiful new year.
All my best,
Min Jin
Last night, it was confirmed: yours truly will be a writer panel guest at Memphis' own MidSouth Con!!!!
Details were worked out and there are still some hurdles to cross but
it is a done deal! Thank you to Alexis and Kat for their help and also
for being two of my dearest friends. I appreciate you giving me and
Viridian this chance. More details will come as soon as I receive them.
WOW! Has anyone seen the movie Cloverfield?!
I have seen it twice thus far and had almost decided to see it for a
third time today!! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking
about, Cloverfield is THE movie of the year and it's only January!!!!
Do yourself a favour and check out this movie NOW!
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had the pleasure of meeting bestselling author Douglas Preston,
part of the dynamic writing duo of Preston/Child! For those of you who
are not familiar with these names, they were the ones who gave the
world the book The Relic (later turned into a movie) as well as many
other books that portrayed one of the most enigmatic literary
characters ever created: Special FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast. Douglas
Preston was in town to promote his latest solo project entitled Blasphemy.
We all know the concept of the Big Bang Theory, correct? Well, what
would happen if a team of scientists decided to recreate that same
"explosion" using a computer by the name of Isabella? That is all I am
going to say about the book; I started reading it a couple of days ago
and so far, Douglas is in his prime! I'll have a full review of it on
my blog, Passions of a Viridian Girl, as well as my blog on the Myspace account, Gothlibrarian74.
The
February catalogue will be posted on my birthday, February 1st!!! All
new books, all new delights, ready to be purchased and enjoyed by all
who love to read. January's catalogue is still up and running, full of
good books to enjoy! We do accept Paypal and our corresponding e-mail address for the account is artgirl74@gmail.com. Priority shipping and handling is $6.00, regardless of the book's size or version.
NOTE: if you are looking for a particular book that I do not carry, send an e-mail to info@viridianbooks.com with all information about the book and I will conduct a search for it!
Fantasy lovers: I just finished reading the last book in the Forgotten Realms'
Erevis Cale Trilogy! Forgotten Realms, one of the "side" worlds of the
Dungeons and Dragons pantheon, is high fantasy at its best. Erevis Cale
is a man with two sides: one is a loyal servant to a powerful merchant
family in an area called Sembia, while the other is a dark and
dangerous man, full of secrets that only the god of secrets and
shadows, Mask, knows. The trilogy reflects on his choice to leave his
merchant family to pursue a dangerous foe that is persistent in
reaching an unknown goal. Even Cale has no idea as to the entirety of
the foe's plot until the very end, when all is revealed like a finished
game of chess and one heck of a twist. The titles of the books are:
Twilight Falling, Dawn of Night, and Midnight's Mask. Are three books
can be yours for the low, low price of $10.00 plus $5.00 shipping and
handling. All three books are in paperback form; if you are interested,
send an e-mail with your name, address, and phone number with the
subject EREVIS CALE to info@viridianbooks.com. We will accept Paypal and money orders for this purchase. I only have one set so the first person to e-mail me gets the books!
A big HUZZAH to my friend, Paco Ahlgren, author of the intellectually stimulating book Discipline,
for the birth of his daughter Lizzie! Take a look at her pictures on
Paco's Myspace profile and soon you'll be saying goo goo and gah gah
just like me. She is beautiful, Paco!
Well, that is all for now. Take care, each and every one of you!
And now, I leave you with a poem from one of my favourite poets: Weldon Kees -
Girl at Midnight
by Weldon Kees
Then walk the floor, or twist upon your bed
While bullets, cold and blind, rush backward from the target's eye,
And say, "I will not dream that dream again. I will not dream
Of long-spent whispers vanishing down corridors
That turn through buildings I have never known;
The snap of rubber gloves; the tall child, blind,
Who calls my name; the stained sheets
Of another girl. And then a low bell,
Sounding through shadows in the cold,
Disturbs the screen that is my mind in sleep.
"—Your face is never clear. You always stand
In charcoal doorways in the dark. Part of your face
is gone. You say, 'Just to be through with this damned world.
Contagious fogs blow in. Christ, we could die
The way deer sometimes do, their antlers locked,
Rotting in snow.'
"And I can never speak.
But have I ever told the truth to you?
I did not ask for this; a new disease threads in.
I want your lips upon my lips, your mouth
Upon my breasts, again, again, again, again;
I want the morning filled with sun.
"But I must dream once more of cities burned away,
Corrupted wood, and silence on the piers.
Love is a sickroom with the roof half gone
Where nights go down in a continual rain.
Heart, heart. I do not live. The lie of peace
Echoes to no end; the clocks are dead.
What we have had we will not have again."
Source: The Collected Poems of Weldon Kees (1960).
A bookseller is a good friend to have, especially when that bookseller will be turning 34 next Friday!!!
Greetings to you
all! How is everyone on this wonderfully cold Friday morning? I am
enjoying the first day of my four day vacation. Ah yes, peace and quiet
with many books to read.
So, what's new in the world of Viridian? Take a look . . .
Mark your calendars for February 14th: The Spiderwick Chronicles movie
comes out! Based on the delightful books by Holly Black and Tony
DiTerlizzi, their vision of a faerie world finally comes to the big
screen. If you have not seen the trailer yet, make it a point to do so
very soon. My boyfriend Clayton and I will be seeing it for Valentine's
Day (nice gift, huh?)
On January 9th, I had the pleasure of meeting NY Times
Bestselling author Steve Berry, author of such action/thriller books as
The Third Secret and The Amber Room. Being a bibliophile and
bookseller, I try to read new authors and genres, discovering new ways
to make me poor! On this night, however, I was introduced to his newest
book called The Venetian Betrayal,
the third book in the Cotton Malone "series". Cotton, formerly a member
of the U.S. Justice Department, is now an antique book dealer who
travels around the world in order to solve and discover new answers to
questions surrounding ancient mysteries and legends. The Venetian
Betrayal looks to be his biggest challenge yet: Cotton searches for the
lost tomb of Alexander the Great!
UTNE Reader, one of my favourite magazines, posted a blog several years ago about the shocking decline of libraries in our country, posing the question - should knowledge be for sale? Read the article and decide for yourself.
The January catalogue is up and running! Viridian has sold
quite a number of books thus far and the catalogue will be modified to
reflect those sales, but we still have many delicious books up for
grabs! If you are interested in purchasing a book from the catalogue,
we charge $6.00 for shipping (that is Priority Mail plus handling
charges) and we do accept Paypal under the e-mail address of artgirl74@gmail.com. Thanks!
A big HUZZAH to my friend Raven Digitalis, author of the wickedly insightful book The Goth Craft, for being the main focus of the latest issue of
New Witch magazine!!! Way to go, Raven! Congratulations!
The
City of Memphis will soon be host to a monthly Steampunk/Dark
Victorian/Dark Cabaret night! Details are still being worked out but it
looks to be a done deal. If you have a Myspace account, the profile for
this event will be posted this weekend!
Another date to mark on your calendars: January 22. Stephen
King, creator of The Dark Tower Series (just finished reading Book Six:
Song of Susannah) and Lisey's Story, will present to the world a new
book -
Duma Key!
If
you are going to be in the Memphis area or if you live in Memphis, mark
January 21 on your calendars as well. Douglas Preston, one half of the
famous writing duo
Preston/Child, will be at Davis Kidd Booksellers
at 6pm discussing and signing his new book Blasphemy! If you, like me,
are a fan of the Pendergast books, then you'll want to come out and
support Preston's new solo work!
And yet another date (whew!) April 4th - 6th is the Arkansas Literary Festival in Little Rock. Books, books, and more books; what more can any of you ask for???
Local News: I am currently trying to start a monthly book
review column in the newspaper The Lamplighter, one of Midtown's free
publications. My deadline is February 15 and if they like my review,
then I will push like mad to keep it going. Memphis deserves to be a
literary city and I want to help as much as I can!! More details to
come when I find out myself.
A big HUZZAH to Atonement for winning the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture: Drama and Sweeney Todd
for winning Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical!!
Last
Thursday, I watched a movie so scary and chilling that I had nightmares
for about a week! Normally, I can watch any horror movie with no
flinches. However, The Orphanage
had me and everyone else in the theatre not only flinching but
screaming, gasping, and even hiding of the face to avoid the next
scene. If you have not watched this movie yet . . . WHAT ARE YOU
WAITING FOR? Directed by the talented Guillermo del Toro (Pan's
Labyrinth) this is a movie that should not be missed. I was so scared
at one point that I pulled my jacket over my face. Yes, I just admitted
that . .
Well, it is time for me to say goodbye for now. Take care, each and every one of you and remember:
A bookseller is a good friend to have, especially when that bookseller is still scared of the movie The Orphanage!
Greetings all! The new catalogue is up and running on
our website but I will also list the current catalogue right here,
right now!
We do accept Paypal and the e-mail address for it is artgirl74@gmail.com
We
ship all of our books via Priority Mail unless otherwise stated and the
charge for shipping and handling is $6.00. However, if you buy more
than one book from Viridian, you WILL receive a discount.
Absinthe Dreams to you all,
Kimberly Owner/Resident Muse, Viridian Books Bookstore for the Strange and Unusual Reader www.viridianbooks.com
Catalogue for January 2008:
[3282]
Bret Easton Ellis. Lunar Park . New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Hard
Cover. Ex-Library. Fair + / Good. ISBN: 0375412913. Ex Library hardback
with dust jacket with mylar plastic cover. Book has library stamps and
stickers inside and around the book. Book has signs of shelf wear but
overall condition of the book is fair to good. $3.50
[3283]
Caleb Carr. The Angel of Darkness. New York: Random House, 1997.
Hardcover. Good / Good. ISBN: 0679435328. Hardback with dust jacket has
signs of shelf wear. Dust jacket has remnants of a sticker on the
front. Overall condition of the book is good. $5.00
[3302] Craig
Ferguson. Between the Bridge and the River. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 2006. Trade Paperback. Good ISBN: 0811858197. Trade paperback
has signs of shelf wear and a sticker on the front cover of the book.
Overall condition of the book is good. $4.00
[3298] Cynthia
Leitch Smith. Tantalize. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2007. Hard
Cover. Good + / Good. ISBN: 9780769627911. Hardback with dust jacket
has signs of shelf wear but overall condition of the book is good to
very good. $5.00
[3296] D. H. Lawrence. The Rainbow. New York:
The Modern Library, 2002. Trade Paperback. Fair + / Fair. ISBN:
0375759654. Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear and a bookstore
stamp on the first page. Cover has signs of wear. Overall condition of
the book is fair to good. $3.00
[3289] Diana Wynne Jones. The
Crestomanci Quartet: Wtich Week. New York: Beech Tree Books, 1982.
Trade Paperback. Fair + ISBN: 0688155456. Trade paperback has signs of
shelf wear but overall condition of the book is fair to good. $3.00
[3285]
Ernst Pawel. The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Girroux, 1984. Trade Paperback. Fair + ISBN:
0374523355. Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear; overall condition
of the book is fair to good. There is a bookstore stamp on the first
page of the book. $3.50
[3284] Glyn Hughes. Bronte. New York:
St. Martin's Press, 1996. Hardcover. Fair + / Fair. ISBN: 031214816x.
Hardback with dust jacket has signs of shelf wear but overall condition
of the book is fair to good. $2.50
[3292] Grace Paley. Grace
Paley: The Collected Stories. New York: The Noonday Press, 1994. Trade
Paperback. Fair + ISBN: 0374524319. Trade paperback has signs of shelf
wear but overall condition of the book is fair to good. $3.00
[3300]
Graham Robb. Victor Hugo: A Biography. New York: WW Norton, 1997. Trade
Paperback. Fair ISBN: 0393318990. Trade paperback has signs of shelf
wear but overall condition of the book is fair. $6.95
[3303]
Gregory Maguire. Mirror, Mirror. New York: Harper Collins Publishers,
2003. Hardcover. Good / Good. ISBN: 006039384x. Hardback with dust
jacket has signs of shelf wear and there is a sticker on the front
cover of the book. Overall condition of the book is good. $4.98
[3287]
Jennifer Dunne. World Gates: Not Quite Camelot. Akron, OH: Cerridwen
Press, 2005. Trade Paperback. Fair + ISBN: 1419954814. Trade paperback
has a sticker on the front cover and a bookstore stamp on the first
page. Book has signs of shelf wear. Overall condition of the book is
fair to good. $3.00
[3293] Jerrold M. Packard. Victoria's
Daughters. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998. Trade Paperback. Fair
/ Fair. ISBN: 0312244967. Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear and
the cover is curled slightly at the bottom. There is also a bookstore
stamp on the first page of the book. Overall condition of the book is
fair. $3.00
[3306] John Colapinto. As Nature Made Him: The Boy
Who Was Raised as a Girl1. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.
Hardcover. Fair / Fair. ISBN: 0060192119. Hardback with dust jacket has
a sticker on the front part of the jacket. The book has signs of shelf
wear. Overall condition of the book is fair. $3.50
[3290] John
Matthews. The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas.
Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 1998. Trade Paperback. Good ISBN:
0835607690. Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear but overall
condition of the book is good. $6.00
[3288] Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfullness Meditation in Everyday
Life. New York: Hyperion, 1994. Trade Paperback. Fair ISBN: 0786880708.
Trade paperback has stains on the front cover and a handwritten letter
written on the first page. The book has signs of shelf wear. Overall
condition of the book is fair. $4.00
[3301] Ken Follett. World
Without End. New York: Penguin Group USA, 2007. Hardcover. Good / Fair.
ISBN: 9780525950073. Hardback with dust jacket has shelf wear but
overall condition of the book is good. $10.00
[3291] Laurell K.
Hamilton. The Harlequin: An Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel. New York:
Berkley Books, 2007. Hard Cover. Ex-Library. Fair / Fair. ISBN:
9780425217245. Ex library hardback with dust jacket has mylar plastic
cover. Book has signs of shelf wear but overall condition of the book
is fair. Spine is bent. $3.00
[3297] Lynne Ewing. Daughters of
the Moon 1: Goddess of the Night. New York: Volo/Hyperion , 2000. Hard
Cover. Fair + ISBN: 0786806532. Hardback has signs of shelf wear and
there is some writing on the first page of the book. Overall condition
of the book is fair to good. $4.95
[3299] Norma Lorre Goodrich.
MERLIN. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988. Trade Paperback.
Fair ISBN: 0060971835. Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear and
there is a black line across the bottom of the pages. Overall condition
of the book is fair. $4.95
[3304] Norman Rush. Whites. New York:
Vintage International, 1992. Trade Paperback. Fair + ISBN: 0679738169.
Trade paperback has signs of shelf wear but overall condition of the
book is fair to good. $3.00
[3305] Patricia C. Wrede and
Caroline Stevermer. The Grand Tour. New York: Harcourt Brace, 2004.
Hard Cover. Good + / Good. ISBN: 015204616x. Hardback with dust jacket
has a sticker on the front cover of the jacket. Book has signs of shelf
wear. Overall condition of the obok is good to very good. $4.00
[3295]
Terry Brooks. The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Morgawr. New York: Del
Rey, 2002. Hardcover. Good / Good. ISBN: 0345435729. Hardback with dust
jacket has signs of shelf wear but overall condition of the book is
good. $3.00
[3294] Terry Brooks. High Druid of Shannara: Jarka
Ruus. New York: Del Rey, 2003. Hardcover. Ex-Library. Fair / Fair.
ISBN: 0345435737. Ex Library hardback has dust jacket and library
stamps inside and outside of the book. Book has signs of shelf wear;
overall condition of the book is fair. $3.00
[3286] Virgina
Ramey Mollenkott. The Divine Feminine: The Biblical Imagery of God as
Female. New York: Crossroad, 1984. Trade Paperback. Fair ISBN:
0824506693. Trade paperback has a sticker on the front cover and the
book has signs of shelf wear. Overall condition of the book is fair.
$4.00
