A Little Saturday Gift Posting, Plus a Few Boswell Asides.

1. Last night we added Kevin Powers to our event with Gary Shellman. I had this idea that they were both fictionalized stories of war experiences. That said, the Cold War does not have the brutality of the Iraq War. I am honored to have hosted the author of The Yellow Birds, even with 2.5 days notice, as I think this book will be shortlisted and possibly win awards come year's end. Thank you to both Shellman and Powers for their graciousness.

2. Today we picked up Wade Rouse's writers' workshop, which was also a Next Chapter event. Somebody said the attendees were like hurricane refugees, which seemed like a fitting simile. Oh, these writers! Everything was fun and uneventful and the booksellers got some brownies and pizza out of it.

3. I don't know if you folks know this, but I am our transitional school events coordinator. Today I divvied up our Bad Kitty orders and realized that I forgot to put one of the Bad Kitty books I ordered on the form. Let's hope there's a lot of spur of the moment sales for Bad Kitty Christmas.

4. We had an afternoon surprise, as Emily St. John Mandel came by, straight from the airport. The author of The Lola Quartet, Last Night in Montreal, and The Singer's Gun, is appearing at Boswell tonight at 7 pm. We had lunch at Beans and Barley, where I introduced her to several customers and Beansians. This was my second Beans lunch this week, following another with Jonathan Evison. I have learned that authors do not eat well on the road and the idea of eating healthy food is very appealing.

In addition to her three novels, Mandel also writes book features for The Millions.

5. I guess it's Saturday, so you probably want a little gift info. Last week we put out some magic wands, which like the wooden snakes, were always a popular gift item at Boswell. They are plastic rods with a lot of glitter in them. We brought back the leather animal change purses, now fair trade. And our Woodpecker notes arrived, with covers that mimic the barks of four different trees, and a wood grain design running through the paper. They come in two sizes, and are either lined or unlined.

6. Did you guess what yesterday's picture was yet?