Nantucket Blogworks » By Jeanne

Poets and their Beards

Bookworkers — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:59:00 +0000

An interesting article from an interesting blog….

and in case you can’t grow a beard yourself, you can get one HERE

-by Jeanne

What we eat when we eat alone

Bookworkers — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:11:00 +0000

We are getting GOBS of advanced readers at Bookworks…One caught my eye by Deborah Madison, of “Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone” fame. This one is written with and illustrated by her Husband, Patrick Mc Farlin.

I can’t put it down! (Except to blog and fill my wine glass) I can see my 75 year old Mother reading it as well as my 24 year old Son….filled with 100 recipes and quips about what people eat when they are eating solo…( or with the cat….sardines are always good with the cat!) A book about cooking and human nature, interestingly researched and written.Surely a staff recommendation….Shall we get them here this summer for a book signing? The book comes out in May of this year, and you can get it HERE!

Love was in the air….

Bookworkers — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Did you know this 16th fact about Nantucket Bookworks?????? ( image from Here)

Suzanne, who hates having her picture taken……

and Andy who can read and work at the same time……

AND Jeffrey in his garden…….

And Jeanne, chair hugger,….. are couples who met right here at Nantucket Bookworks, and the rest is history….Maybe you’ll meet your special someone here too!Come on down….we’re open 7 days a week. Happy Valentine’s Day ! xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxxo

Book cover design

Bookworkers — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Being an Artist, I am always intrigued by the interesting book covers that pass my way at Nantucket Bookworks. It’s been said,”you can’t judge a book by it’s cover”….not so these days!
William Trevor’s “Dressmaker’s Child”…Cover art by Claire Coles

“Chigago” by Alaa Al Aswany…Cover art by Jarrod Taylor

Jamie Oliver’s “Something for the weekend”…Cover art by Marianne Deuchars

“The Snobs” by Muriel Spark….Cover art by Sara Fanneli

And here is a book on design….You can get it HERE

And here is a great link….Book Cover Archive

Posted by JEANNE!

How about a little fun?

Bookworkers — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:50:00 +0000

Here are some great links for your viewing pleasure…http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/

and there’s this one and one more, here and one more…for Evan B Harris, Illustrator extraordinaire, Now go have some real fun……

Mermaid Visit

Bookworkers — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:46:00 +0000

We are excited to have a mermaid come to town for a booksigning and visit. Her name is Margot Datz from over yonder way, Martha’s Vineyard, and her book is A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids. We will be having a Mermaid party on July 25…stay tuned for details! You can read about the book here http://www.nantucketbookworks.com/NASApp/store/Search?s=results&initiate=yes&ks=q&qsselect=KQ&title=&author=&qstext=a+survival+guide+for+landlocked+mermaids and visit Margot here http://margotdatz.com/ Isn’t her artwork incredible? We hope you’ll be here to meet her!

Jane Austen

Bookworkers — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:04:00 +0000

These beautiful Jane Austen classics came today, just in time for Valentine’s Day! They all have new covers from N. Heideloff’s 1801 “Gallery of Fashion”. http://search.abaa.org/dbp2/book336939546.html These would be great for your Loved One or a special young lady, a collection she would treasure. Come and see them in our Blogged books section, or you can always order them from our web site http://www.nantucketbookworks.com/

Elizabeth Gilbert

Bookworkers — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Our best selling book in 2007 was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The book is about her search through Italy, India and Indonesia , a soul search for everything. In her thirties, she goes into a deep depression, divorces her husband, and decides to use the advance from her publisher to finance her trip.” I wanted to explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country in a place that has traditionally done that thing well.I wanted to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two.” Looks like the advance paid off for both writer and publisher, as there are over one million copies of her paperback in print. It is a pleasurable read by a talented writer.
We are going backwards now to her book before super duper fame and fortune, although her book The Last American Man was a finalist for the National Book Award http://nationalbook.org and the National Book Critics Circle Award http://bookcritics.org/?go=award Eustace Conway is a real guy who , at 17, heads for the mountains and lives in the woods. He is described as a cross between Davy Crockett and Henry David Thoreau. Basically the book is about how he lives as an ” eclectic modern day woodsman.”

This novel from 2000, has just been reprinted. It’s a coming of age story of young Ruth who has decided to throw her education aside and work alongside the local lobster fishermen. There is a territorial war going on with in the lobster fishing community, and when Ruth falls in love with a young fisherman,it brings an end to the age old fishing feud. This will be a great summer read for all of you who haven’t read it yet!

Finally, there is Elizabeth Gilbert’s first book of short stories, Pilgrims, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award.”With humor and dignity, Gilbert explores the revelations of diverse and memorable characters, each pursuing a singular American pilgrimage. You can read more about Elizabeth and her books at http://elizabethgilbert.com

We have all of these books in stock ready for your reading enjoyment. You can also order them here at http://nantucketbookworks.com/ And while you’re at it, check out our newly designed web site!

A Valentine’s Day Medley

Bookworkers — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:27:00 +0000

Here’s a look at some books with red covers, for Valentine’s Day, of course!

Socrates in Love by Christopher Philips is a follow up to his previous books, Socrates Cafe and Six Questions of Socrates. In this book he “goes to the heart of philosophy and socratic discourse to discover what we’re all looking for: the kind of love that makes life worthwhile.”
Christopher Phillips is co founder of The Society For Philosophical Inquiery http://philosopher.org/ and you can read more about this book at http://christopherphillips.com

Next on our list is The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century edited by Tony Hillerman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman It’s a biggie, as would be expected, and it starts out with A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry from 1903 and continues through the century with a diverse selection of authors including Dashiell Hammett (1925), John Steinbeck (1933), Raymond Chandler (1938), Ellery Queen (1947), Flannery O’Connor (1965), Joyce Carol Oates (1973), Stephen King (1978) and ends with Dennis Lehane’s Running Out of Dog (1999). You can read more about it here http://nantucketbookworks.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780618012718

Here’s on for the love in your life who’s a baseball fan. Crazy ’08 by Cait Murphy is “an extraordinary book, maybe the very best of the many excellent histories that have been written about specific years in baseball lore” -from the forward by Robert W. Cramer, author of Babe: The Ledgend Comes To Life. You can read more about it at http://crazy08.com

A beautiful collection of love poems by Pablo Neruda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Neruda White bee, you buzz in my soul, drunk with honey,and your flight winds in slow spirals of smoke….. that alone should make anyone swoon….

Another collection of poems by Robert Hass, his first to appear in a decade. “It has always been Mr. Hass’s aim to get the whole man, head and heart and hands and everything else into his poetry” NY Times Book Review…You can read the rest of it here http://nytimes.com/2007/10/07/books/review/Burt-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Yummy! This is , according to my chef friends, THE best French restaurant in NYC. http://balthazarny.com/index.php It is a beautiful book printed on heavy, glossy paper with plenty of pictures of the restaurant and their succulant dishes. The recipes aren’t intimidating, as you would think.I made Braised Short Ribs, (page 139) for my boyfriend for one of our early dates, and we’re still together. I really think that’s what did it…so pick one up and either cook up a romantic meal for the two of you, or better yet, give it to them so they can cook for YOU!xoxoxo

You can purchase all of these books here at the store…we are open 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 9 pm and Friday and Saturday until 10:30pm AND 24 hours here http://nantucketbookworks.com/

xo to all

All the news that’s fit to blog…The ABA winter Institute trip

Bookworkers — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:24:00 +0000

It was just another day for most Nantucketers, but for Nantucket Bookworks, little did we know it was the start of a great adventure.We were off to the American Booksellers Winter Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. We nabbed the 6:30 Ferry to Hyannis, and the fun began…..
The moon setting on one side…..

Sun rise on the other side….

First stop….Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich, Ma…http://titcombsbookshop.com/

You recognize this fellow on RT.6A………

Let’s start upstairs….used books…..

Here’s Dick!…How odd for him to be in the Poetry section…..

This is a fun place to get lost….like Granny’s attic….

My second favorite section (The Edward Gorey section is first….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gorey ) the used children’s section.(Books, not children….being an Edward Gorey fan, that needs to be clarified)

Lots of “stuff” just like Bookworks!

Down we go……more used…cooking and reference and all kinds of goodies..

These are fun! I love the colorful rugs.

Now off we go to Boston and then Louisville!Thank-you Titcomb’s Bookstore!

First stop…Muhammad Ali Center for the opening reception. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Center. We met Booksellers we hadn’t met before as well as saw the “old crowd”.Then we got to tour the museum…I liked Muhammad Ali’s nice brown, vintage Mercedes Convertable…..Get me one of those as a company car, Wendy!

Friday morning we had breakfast with Danny Meyer, Chef and Author . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Meyer Chef Meyer talked about his many restaurants and how hospitality is so important in business. So expect us to be EVEN NICER than we already are to you! He was a great speaker and had lots of interesting information.We listened in awe as we ate our scrambled eggs……

One of our favorite education seminars was called “Green Retailing”. There we learned how small businesses can save oodles of energy with just a few small steps and changes.It also can save a small business oodles of money!Everything was discussed…lighting,appliances (we immediately went back to the bookstore and shut off our hot water tank),powerstrips…did you know parasitic electric losses are now over 10 percent of residential energy bills? Maybe even higher here in Nantucket!…Fans,insulation, thermal barrier paint,water (spouts,showerheads,low-flo toilets,downspout collection)…solar energy heating,solar electric options,solar electric, small wind and other options…and you thought we were all about books (and cool toys) The panel included Sue Lynn from Confluence Bookstore ,Bistro and Business Center in Belleview, Nebraska http://confluencebookstore.com/ , an environmentally friendly bookstore. She told us what she did when she opened her store to make it environmentally sound and how she saved money while doing it.

Scott Sklar is president of The Stella Group,Ltd. http://thestellagroupltd.com environmental consulting firm. He walks his talk and lives in a solar home and uses solar energy in his Washington DC offices. He also writes a Q&A column that appears on the largest renewable energy web portal http://renewableenergyaccess.com/. He’s been at this for a long time and was very informative.

Last but not least, there was the enthusiastic Representative Jay Inslee fromWashington state.He is seated on the House, Energy and commerce committee,and in March 2007, he was appointed to the 15 member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. It’s nice to fit a politician in there somewhere.

We have lots of information on any of the topics mentioned. Just stop in the store or email us at nantucketbookworks@gmail.com

Representative Jay Insee’s book

At one of our lunches, we had the pleasure of listening to a panel of three authors that are very active in environmental, local self-reliance and local economy issues. They had a great panel discussion that was informative and powerful. They were Bill McKibben,an American environmentalist and activist who writes about global warming and alternative energy. In late 2006, Bill helped lead a five day walk across Vermont to demand action on global warming. He founded http://stepitup07.org/ .

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the New Rules Project, http://newrules.org/ that works to advance policies that support strong local economies and vibrant communities.

Michael Shuman is an attourney and economist and a periodic commentator on NPR’s “All Things Considered”. He is also Vice President of Enterprise and Development for the Training and Development Corporation of Bucksport, Maine http://tdc-usa.org/

Aren’t we lucky enough to have our own activist right here at the bookstore on Nantucket?http://nytimes.com/2006/04/12/realestate/commercial/12island.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Bill Mc Kibben’s book

Stacy Mitchell’s book

Michael Schuman’s book. All of these are available on our web site…. http://nantucketbookworks.com/

One of the highlights of the convention was a chance to meet 40 Authors with new books coming out this spring….Here’s a look at 4 of them….up close and personal….

The first author I met was Tobias Wolff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Wolff .This is a collection of ten short stories, his first in over a decade. “A writer of the highest order: part storyteller, part philosopher, someone deeply engaged in asking hard questions that take a lifetime to resolve.”(Los Angeles Times) His book is due out March 25, 2008.

Mary Roach (author of “Stiff:the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” and “Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife”) is just as funny in real life as her books. In her latest book, “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex” she describes what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place. The book is due out in April 2008. I asked her what she might be writing about next.She answered “Outter space”. Should be interesting!

This is a book written by a most interesting author, Sasa Stanisic. He is only 29 years old, and fled his native Bosnia for Germany as a teenager.He was very nice to talk to and charming as can be. I can’t wait to read his novel which will be out in June 2008.The book is written from a child’s point of view. “The novelistic debut of the year….(filled) with poetic and intoxicating language, and a burlesque panorama of pathetically lovable figures. An extravagant, theatrical, overboard, entirely great, and above all captivating book” (Freie Presse) He is featured in the most recent Publisher’s weekly article,”New Fiction, New Worlds…Ten debut novelist’s for the spring.

And finally, a book by Jonathan Miles, Cocktail editor for the N.Y.Times.”A scathingly funny story of a stranded passenger whos enraged letter of complaint transforms intoa lament for a life gone awry.” I have read the advanced reader and it is outrageously funny and highly recommended.The book will be available June 5, 2008. You can read more about these books as well as pre-order any of them here http://nantucketbookworks.com/ .

Now, here’s some views of downtown Louisville from the hotel window….

Little did we know that there was a nor’ eastern on it’s way to Cape Cod and the Islands….We left Louisville and got into Boston with barely enough time to make the 2:45 ferry , only if we had a driver who was speedy and savvy enough to get us there on time. Luckily, Wendy was at the wheel. Although we had reservations for the later boat, as the weather got worse, we knew this would probably be our last chance on standby.We made it! We were the last car to back on, as the Captain didn’t want to turn around the boat once we got to Nantucket. We were relieved.The boat didn’t leave until 3 or so, and there were just enough seats for all on board. In other words, it was packed. The whole town was there…school teachers, postal workers, the town planner, the UPS guy, the Nantucket Island Waves of sychronized skating fame, http://nantucketskatingclub.com/id1.html we were all in it together. The boat began to rock more and more. The hull was making noises. We were wondering if all of the vehicles would be squished in a corner down there when we got to the dock. But, alas, there was an announcement…”We have changed course and have turned around”. Back to Hyannis…at 5pm. The boat ride back wasen’t bad, but when we got there, the storm was a howling! We took off and grabbed the first hotel with vacancy. Happily, it was walking distance to the Mall….

The storm at it’s peak…a view from the hotel window. We had fun watching Shaun White http://www.shaunwhite.com/ win gold at the X Games in Aspen. And then the next day, it was “Nantucket Day” at the mall and Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant. I think we ate two meals there…Pretty good and great staff.http://notyouraveragejoes.com/.

All of our customers were at the airport. Flights didn’t start until 3 ish….

Finally we flew home to Nantucket at 5 pm……Now THAT’S an adventure! Whew!