Three Short Posts, Clumped Together.

1. We had a wonderful evening with Aleksandar Hemon this evening, who graciously drove up from Chicago to read from his new memoir/essay collection, The Book of My Lives. When we got to the signing, we had a strange dilemma--the designer put a big black box on the full title page where an author would normally sign.  Now an author could sign outside the box or on another page, but it struck me that there was a solution to this problem. I ran in the back and found a silver Sharpie, leftover from when a visiting Packer wanted a gold-toned one, and the only option we could find on short notice was a three pack of metallics. Now we just need to find someone who needs to sign in copper.

2. Robert Bundy writes:
"Last December, you folks were kind enough to let me take some pictures to illustrate a story that I was working on, about a chance encounter I once had at Boswell Books back when it was called Schwartz a few years ago. That story ran the week after Christmas on ThirdCoast Digest, and I also read it on WUWM Lake Effect where I have a regular travel series called The Traveler’s Roundtable. When I was in with my young son to buy a couple of books today, I realized that I had failed to give you a heads-up about the finished story, and that you might enjoy it. So here, belatedly, are links to the print story and to the essay on WUWM Lake Effect. I hope you like them. My family and I are big fans of Boswell Books"

3. From Jean Zimmerman's blog:
"Of the 32 speaking engagements I had last year, 15 took place at independent bookstores (I also spoke at libraries, historical societies, book colloquies, clubs of various kinds, etc.). At R.J. Julia Booksellers, in Connecticut, the sparkplug owner gave me the most gracious intro I’ve had, and insisted I take a book gratis. In the Bay Area, at Book Passage, I was given cream-colored stationery engraved with my initials. A few of the businesses that received me so warmly have since seen hard times or even gone under." And yes, there's some stuff on Boswell. Zimmerman appeared at Boswell last summer for The Orphanmaster. Much thanks for her kind words and look for the novel coming soon in paperback.