I’ve got two different titles to give away this week. Thanks in advance to the publishers for providing them.
First, if you were intrigued at all by JR’s review of the two Ballard stories this morning, we’ve got a single copy of The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard to give away to an interested reader.
Second, you have no doubt seen the stellar reviews, and read DH’s fine three part series, but now we have two more copies of Dinaw Mengestu’s How To Read The Air to give to lucky readers.
To have a chance to win, tell us a) which one you’re interested in, or both if such is the case, and b) one of your favorite bookstores, new or used, to find something you didn’t expect.
I’ll start. When I was in high school, we used to skip school from time to time and go to Little Five Points in Atlanta where I’d spend an appreciable amount of time in A Cappella Books. After lunch we’d sometimes cross town to go to the two Oxford Books stores – mainly spending the day in Oxford Too – amongst the used lit. A Cappella’s still there, but Oxford’s long gone. Now, when I’m treasure hunting, I’ll go to Harvard Book Store, or New England Mobile Book Fair, or I’ll ride up I91 towards Vermont and stop at the Montague Book Mill, or any of the other half-dozen used book stores up that way – I don’t even know if they all have names. Last time up there I found a lovely hardback copy of Violence by Richard Bausch and another of Edisto by Padgett Powell.
10 Responses to “Friday Giveaway 11/12/10”
November 13, 2010
GwynneashI would be interested in How to Read the Air (I heard the review on NPR the other day as well as reading about it here).
I grew up in College Station, Texas. There was, at first, only one used bookstore, Bobbi’s Books. Bobbi’s not only sold used books, it traded them: two of yours for one of theirs, but you had to stay within your genre–sci fi for sci fi, fiction for fiction. There I found my first Robert Heinlen adult novels, after teething on Red Planet in jr. high. I didn’t like them much, and understood them even less.
Now, in town, I go to one of the many Half-Price books. They used to be more quirky, and now are more corporate, but I can always find good fiction there. And when I go to NYC I never miss a trip to The Strand.
Gwynne Ash
Austin, TX
November 13, 2010
Jason ChambersHi Gwynne
Hard not to like the Strand – the selection at least. The attitude always annoyed me though.
I was in a HPBooks once in Pittsburgh and found an older Mark Helprin collection and, if my memory serves me a copy of Chabon’s Mysteries of Pittsburgh which I couldn’t resist. I’ve never lived anywhere they were common.
November 13, 2010
J.E. JohanemanI’d love to win a copy of The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard.
As to the bookstore: In Monticello, NY, in the foothills of the Catskills, there is a place called “Read it Again”. It is in an old Social Security building. It is the home of the Sullivan County Literacy Program, and all proceeds from the bookstore go to that program. Hardcovers are $1.50, softcovers are 75¢. I found two great books there. The Riverside Chaucer (in near perfect condition) for $1.50 and a very old copy of The Letters of Ezra Pound for 75¢
November 13, 2010
PaulI am interested in both.
My favorite used bookstore is the Strand in New York just for sheer volume, selection, and browsing experience. Book Court in Brooklyn is nice for looking at new books. My favorite bookstore might be Amherst Books for nostalgic reasons.
November 13, 2010
Shane Solar-DohertyDon’t know if the contest is limited to just Friday, but today’s Saturday, and I like talking about bookstores pretty much every day. If the contest is still on, How to Read the Air would make me a happy reader.
I absolutely agree that Harvard Bookstore is a good stop, especially with their used selection downstairs. I also always enjoyed visiting Rodney’s Bookstore, another Cambridge locale, before it closed — some people complained about its lack of organization, but really their scattered shelves of secondhand books were best suited for discovering unknown gems. As for used bookstores that are still around, Lorem Ipsum Books, a small shop in yet another Cambridge neighborhood, is great for a little browsing, buying, and bantering with the locals.
November 13, 2010
Jason ChambersHi Shane,
The contest goes until I cut it off, probably first thing Monday morning.
I did not know Rodney’s closed. I liked that store a lot. I used to have a consulting gig up the street and I always had good luck finding some forgotten gems there – RP Warrens the Cave, Fred Chappell’s I am One of You Forever. I bought a pile of Harry Crews’ Two by Crews there last year that I sent to the unconverted.
November 14, 2010
Shane Solar-DohertyJason, yeah, sadly Rodney’s is out of business. The announcement came at the end of last spring, and they spent the summer clearing out their books with a sale on top of their already inexpensive secondhand prices. It’ll be hard to replace Rodney’s in a neighborhood that’s still trying to figure out what exactly it wants to be.
November 13, 2010
jesusangelgarciaInterested in either/or.
Favorite bookshop is Moe’s in Berkeley. I try to ignore the shelves and give myself up to the miracle of chance by going directly to the carts where uncategorized, unalphabetized, slightly tattered volumes huddle together in a chaotic heap. Diving in w/ zero expectations, anything I’ve ever found this way felt like a gift, from The Teaching of Huang Po to Dharma Bums to John Berger’s G, all mind-benders when first encountered.
November 13, 2010
davidabrams1963I’d love to have the J.G. Ballard.
As for favorite bookstore? ….. That’s like asking me which is the favorite of my children. You’re putting me in a real Sophie’s Choice situation here, man. ….. Fine, I’ll just go with my latest love: Second Edition Books here in Butte, Montana. A little sloppy and haphazard in appearance, but man they have a great selection of vintage hardbacks and paperbacks. You want something on ranching in Montana in 1921? They’ve got that! A pulp-fiction western by the likes of Norman A. Fox? They’ve got that, too! Incredible store.
November 13, 2010
Jason ChambersYou don’t have to kill one to save the other David. In fact, we’d prefer you didn’t.