Holiday Podcasts

I've recorded some conversations with staff members about their favorite books, gifts, and games for the Holidays. Check them out here.

Dog of the Week

Dog of the Week returns in a big, big way with a big, BIG dog!

This is Morgan. He's a Great Dane. And a very nice boy. Notice how he was kind enough to pose for me.

Here's an idea: in honor of Morgan's impressive size and kind demeanor, let's all spend the upcoming months reading some books of imposing size and well-deserved reputations. I'm talking about books like the new translation of War and Peace or Moby-Dick.

We haven't nailed down a date quite yet, but sometime in early February, University Book Store will be holding a Proust night. That means now's a great time to start reading In Search of Lost Time. I'll be picking up Swann'a Way after I finish the book I'm reading now.

(It's Millard Kaufman's Bowl of Cherries, by the way. Quite good.)

So, let's go. Let's read some big, BIG books. Let's do it for Morgan!

William Blake

Don't forget that tomorrow we celebrate the life and work of William Blake at 7pm. Come out for readings, a slide show, and Heaven and Hell cupcakes!

Dog of the Week

Sorry. A day late with Dog of the Week. Busy with, you know, Campus Thank You Night and all. (A smashing success, by the way.)

The little one above is Hershey. Good gravy, that's a cute dog!

Celebrating Nigella Express

Hundreds of people turned out to help celebrate the release of Nigella Express, the newest cookbook from British Food Network star Nigella Lawson.

We ate, we drank, we were merry. We listened to Rosemary Clooney.

Nigella signed books for all before jet-setting to her next tour stop.

Brian Bouldrey tonight

Our used book buyer Brad asked me to remind you to join us for a reading by Brian Bouldrey, author of Honorable Bandit this evening. It will be at the cafe, fireside.

Brad's interview with Brian is here.

Goodbye Mailer

Norman Mailer, you no doubt have heard, has died.

From that obit, here's a quote from the opposite side of the Mailer coin, Gore Vidal:

“Mailer is forever shouting at us that he is about to tell us something we must know or has just told us something revelatory and we failed to hear him or that he will, God grant his poor abused brain and body just one more chance, get through to us so that we will know. Each time he speaks he must become more bold, more loud, put on brighter motley and shake more foolish bells. Yet of all my contemporaries I retain the greatest affection for Norman as a force and as an artist. He is a man whose faults, though many, add to rather than subtract from the sum of his natural achievements.”

Here's a moment with Charlie Rose.

More William Blake

Here's another William Blake reading to prepare you for our William Blake birthday celebration on Wednesday, November 28, 7pm, at our U District store.