Book Title Hunt

Hello Firehouse friends. It's that time of the week again. I've been rather over worked as of late so today we are going to have a bit of fun.

First of all, let me once again remind you of a couple events we have taking place at the store.

At long last, Mad Scientist Day is almost here! All of us here at the bookstore have been praying and sacrificing to the Colorado Weather gods so we are sure to have lovely weather tomorrow. Yes, the event is tomorrow! We will have lots of fun, easy, hands-on science experiments for kids of all ages to try out. The event runs from 11-2. Stop by and check it out!

Our next in-store event will be on Sunday the 19th. Matthew Wolpe will be talking about his new book Reinventing the Chicken Coop. If you've been considering getting chickens and need some help getting started, this is the event for you. Plus, I made this lovely chicken display you should definitely come take a closer look at. Here's a picture to entice you.

Alright, now for the fun part.

I was tumbling down our Tumblr page the other day and came across this post by Little, Brown and Co.



I thought it sounded like fun, so when I got to the store this afternoon, I asked Justin for his assistance in this book hunting endeavor (don't worry, no books were harmed during this hunt).

We each picked five categories at random and then began to scour our brains and the store for books that met the criteria. It was a bit harder than we both realized to find books that both met our needs and were books that we had read. But, in the end, we came out victorious!

A girl's name: Franny and Zooey by J.D Salinger
An animal: How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (I decided mythical creatures counted as animals)
A place: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
An adjective: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 
A color: Gold by Chris Cleave
A feeling: Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen 
A verb: Looking for Alaska by John Green 
A boy's name: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 
A number: Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Word repeated: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

Overall I'd say we have a pretty fantabulous list of books here.

Justin and I agreed that this, while not the most fun we've ever had, was still pretty fun. You should give it a try. Some of the categories are quite hard to fill (Justin picked all of those luckily. Mwahaha!)

Alright my friends, until next time.

Cheers,

~Ren

Transitional Book Anxiety (also known as TBA)

Immediately after I typed the 'also known as' bit I realized my initialism (it’s a thing)  also means 'to be announced.' Oh well, those letters don't own that phrase. I do what I want!

Anyway, hello Firehouse friends. It has been quite an exciting week for me. Lots of things are happening! I won't bore you with all the details but know that things are well and the future is looking bright.

Let's catch up on a little store related news, then we can discuss TBA.

Upcoming events include:

Mad Scientist Day! Come have some fun with easy, hands on science experiments. The event will take place from 11-2 on May 17th. This is a teacher work day so the kids will be out of school. You're going to need something to do, right?

Reinvent your chicken coop! Or just invent it for the first time. Matthew Wolpe will be here on May 19th at 3pm to talk chickens. Stop by and learn you something! 

Another thing to mention, the David Sedaris event last night at the Lincoln Center was FANTASTIC! I was at work for the first half of the talk but I showed up about 45min. out from the end of the presentation and got to sit in and hear a bit. 'Twas hilarious. We have tons of signed Sedaris books in the store so stop by and pick one up!

Okay, let us move on to Transitional Book Anxiety.

To begin, I have to give you a bit of background. We have staff pick shelves at the store, like most bookstores do. Since I've started working here, there have always been several books on my pick shelf that I have not read. I recently redid my shelf and have read every book I put on it except one. This book is called Subliminal and I recently gifted it to my boyfriend. This is the next book I plan on reading so I can at last have a pick shelf covered in books I have read.

Here is where the TBA comes in. I finished Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls yesterday, just in time for the David Sedaris event. Subliminal currently resides at my boyfriend's house and I will not be over there again until tomorrow. This means I have almost survived a full day without having in my possession the next book I want to read. And I still have one more day to go.

Sure, there was no guarantee I would've felt the desire to read today or will tomorrow (much less get the chance to read). But what if I had? What if I do!? This, my friends, is what I have named Transitional Book Anxiety: where one finds themselves in between books and without access to the next book they wish to read. TBA can also be experienced when you find yourself unsure of what to read next.

It...is a terrible thing to have.

Luckily mine will not last long but others may not be so fortunate. Sure, you might say I could read another book. And under other circumstances I might. But this time, I am on a mission, a mission to have a pick shelf filled with books I have read! And yes, you might ask why I don’t just put a different book on my shelf. Well I say to that, stop poking holes in my dreams!

Ahem. Anyway, just thought I would let you into my anxiety-filled world tonight. I'm sure many of you can relate. Don't worry, we will make it through!

Cheers, and I hope it is a long time before your next bout of TBA.

~Ren

I can't eat anything....

Howdy book lovers! I hope your weekend is going well, and you are enjoying the sunshine, birds, and fresh air as I am.

As I was mopping the floors this morning, I had an idea, I thought I would talk about my food allergies (I was by cookbooks) and just how wonderful books are at helping me cope. Anyone with allergies can relate with me, and anyone with multiple allergies or dietary restrictions understands the chaos that is everyday life.

Here is my list:

I don't eat ANY meat but fish and seafood, because any other meats upset my stomach because of an acid problem.
I am allergic to:
GLUTEN
DAIRY
SOY
and sometimes I have a hard time with
NUTS
and
BEANS
and

Order a copy today on our website!

LEGUMES

I also have a difficult time with acidic foods from time to time like TOMATOES, and PINEAPPLES. (foods I LOVE mind you)

Believe me it is so fun going to the grocery store, out to eat, eat at friend's houses and many other places.

Anyway, as many "issues" as I have and restrictions the best advice, tips, recipes and hope has been found in the world of books! Amazing, even in the world of the internet and all the advice, recipes, blogs, stories and more I still find a good cookbook the most effective means to survive.

I ordered one a while back that I have been madly in love with called Happy Herbivore Abroad it is a vegan cookbook, but that does not hold it back. Full of global fusion recipes, with smart alterations and quick tips, not to mention quick listings at the top of every recipe on if it is Gluten Free, Soy Free, Budget etc. So every meal is chosen with ease and simplicity. I must say this cook book has pretty much kept me alive this semester, since it has been the last 6 months that I have been having the most issues with soy, nuts, and beans.

On our shelves now!

Other great books we have in stock, Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking excludes gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame! I have a copy of this one at home, and if you want something with more "home-cooking" this is the book. Grilled Cheese anyone? Also, for those that want a little more meat to your diet, this one is great for you.

On our shelves now.

For more vegetarian ideas, 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes looks compelling with a great variety of yummy dishes that could please anyone!

So there you are a few suggestions on surviving your cooking woes, but what about eating out?

I LOVE FOOD, I love eating out, I love trying new places and dishes, and anything local, international, and exciting. Guess what? This is not so fun when you fear the stomach ache at the end of the night because something was "contaminated" or when you cheat and eat cheese, cream or other foods you once had a relationship with, and can't quite cut the strings...

On our shelves now!

Eating out can either be painless or absolute misery. With multiple restrictions you fear that the server will spit in your food, or ignore your concerns, or both when you list off everything you can't eat. I'm the annoying customer "Um, hi, so does this have soy or dairy in it? Because I see it is GLUTEN FREE but I can't have soy, or dairy..." and mose the time they are raelly understanding, but occasionally you get a look or a "I don't know" or "ummmm it's fine, yeah, you'll be okay"( To this one I always end up sick...arrrgghhh).

There is hope yet! I found a gem today, which prompted this blog Quick Check Guide to Gluten-Free Foods. How cool is this? I can look up restaurants and brands and see just what I can or can't eat, and it even list all the nutrition facts so you are up to date on calories, fat, sugar, sodium etc. This would be the perfect travel companion for the United States, an instant savior with faced with unknown restaurants across the country.

However, the biggest part of the book is about grocery items that are safe, unsafe and what is in them.

So, if you often have a moment of panic and tears like I sometimes do in the grocery store where you not so quietly whine "I can't eat anything!" here is some hope. Stay strong allergy sufferers, you will find a balance and plenty of wonderful foods to eat, I promise. Oh, and if you want some personal help come in on the weekends and chat with me, Rebecca, and I'll offer my own experience and recomendations.

~Rebecca

Events, Contests, and Owls

Hello Firehouse friends! It is that time once again. I sit here behind the counter and regale you with whatever I find of interest...or whatever Kelsey and Justin tell me to write about. It's usually good stuff so I don't mind (love you Kelsey and Justin!).

First, I shall give you a rundown of upcoming store events.

Mad Scientist Day will be taking place on Friday, May 17th. We will have fun, easy, hands-on experiments for kids, parents, really anyone who loves science. The event will run from 11-2. It's a teacher work day and the kids will be out of school. No excuses! You'll need something to do, right?

The following Sunday (the 19th) Matthew Wolpe, author of Reinventing the Chicken Coop, will be in the store signing books and hopefully talking about chickens! And their coops, of course. If you've been considering bringing chickens into your home 1) you should because home grown chicken eggs are delicious and 2) chickens are endlessly entertaining. Stop by and get you some chicken knowledge! The event starts at 3pm.

Last, and probably most importantly, we have EIGHT DAYS LEFT to get votes for our Khaled Hosseini display. Remember, if we win the contest, Khaled Hosseini will grace us with his presence right here in FoCo! So please, CLICK HERE and vote for us! All you need is to give your name and email. Thank you!

Okay, I think that has gotten all the housekeeping things out of the way. Now for the creative part which, I will admit, I am lacking in tonight. But here it goes anyway.

I recently became familiar with the work of David Sedaris. I made the decision to pick up one of his books because he will be in Fort Collins on May 8th giving a talk at the Lincoln Center. Though I will not be working at the event, I figured it would still be wise to familiarize myself with the author's work so I could better sell his books. And I'm always looking for something new to read.

The book I read was Me Talk Pretty One Day. The title alone is interesting and mildly humorous, but the book itself is immensely entertaining and hilarious.

Sedaris has his own brand of humor to be sure. It can be dry, sadistic and cynical at times. If this isn't your idea of funny, you probably shouldn't pick up a Sedaris book. While I enjoy Sedaris' somewhat sick sense of humor, what I really admire about his writing, and really just him as a person, is that he is incredibly honest. He tells stories of his life and hides nothing of his experience from the reader. He captures and expresses what I believe to be many universal human responses and emotions. And what is most refreshing is he is not ashamed of any of them.

Okay, that last statement may have been a little too bold but the point is he is still putting them out there for other people to be aware of and that takes guts. I bring up Sedaris in this post because 1) he has a new book out and 2) he is coming to the Lincoln Center on May 8^th, as I mentioned earlier. I will sadly not be able to attend the talk but I will be skulking around the lobby waiting for the presentation to finish so I can meet the man and get my book signed. Should be fun!

If you were lucky enough to get tickets for the event, hurray for you! If you weren't lucky enough to get tickets to the event, come skulk in the lobby with me! If you don't care either way, well fine, be that way.

Stop by the store and pick up a copy of David Sedaris' new book Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls. If you buy it early you can beat the rush at the actual event and get in line for a signature first. Whoo!

That is all for tonight my friends. Next week's blog will be a surprise! (Seriously, I don't even know what it will be about yet.)

Cheers,

~Ren

Renee's tale of "The Handmaid's Tale"

Hello my Firehouse friends. You've been getting an extra dose of blogging this week. How lucky you are!

I come to you today with a tale, a Handmaid's tale to be precise. Well, sort of. Let me give you a little background info.

As you know, or should  know, World Book Night was Tuesday. I'm sad to say, due to snow...again, I didn't get out to distribute my books. But! This Saturday I will be hanging out in Old Town to give away my books on what promises to be a warm and sunny day. Anyway, as a sort of 'thank you' to authors and publishers, the staff members of stores participating in WBN were asked to pick and read one of the books being given away for WBN. The idea behind this was the staff would then be familiar with the author and be better prepared to sell his or her books.

The book we picked was Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." I had never read any Atwood before I was told to read "The Handmaid's Tale" but I am now looking forward to picking up another Atwood book when I have the chance.

Alright, what follows is my attempt to give a brief review of the book. There is quite a lot that can be said. I'll try and pick the best things.

"The Handmaid's Tale" takes place in a futuristic dystopia. It tells the story of Offred, a Handmaid living in the Republic of Gilead. She and the other Handmaid's are valued only for their viable ovaries. The life she knew with her husband, Luke, is gone and now all she has to look forward to is her daily walk to the food market, and every month she must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant. Her job, her money and her access to knowledge is gone.

I don't know about you all, but that sounds like a really *insert curse word here* life. Also, I decided about 10 seconds ago that I'm going to forget making this review sound semi-professional and just spit some words at you in a coherent manner. Let's go!

If you really wanted to boil "The Handmaid's Tale" (here after abbreviated as THT) down to one issue, the obvious choice would be women's rights. And you wouldn't really be wrong to do this. Women have been stripped of their freedom. They are not allowed to read, some are only used for their reproductive abilites, others are no more than servents and very few have any kind of power, and those who do only have such power because of the men they are associated with.

It all sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? But it is so much more than what it seems. Offred was unfortunate enough to find herself a victim of a society that let fear govern them. In trying to protect themselves, they snuffed out life, they stripped away freedom, not just from women but from men as well. And, as in most societies built on rigid rules, those rules are often broken.

It is hard to talk about THT without going on and on and picking it apart.The best review I can give you is to just read it yourself. It is not only relevant to women's issues we are discussing today but it also makes you think about how our own society functions and the part we as citizens play in its shaping and growth. Oh, and be sure to read the Historical Notes. They will blow your mind.

Okay, that last paragraph was a bit of a cop-out, but seriously, it is a good book and you should read it. In the end, readers make meaning out of a text, not authors.

Pick up a copy of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" at Old Firehouse Books. Do it!

Cheers,

~Ren

We're a finalist!

Oh man! I have very exciting news my Firehouse friends. Remember the first blog entry I ever posted? It seems so long ago! Well, that first post was the creation story for our Khaled Hosseini mountain (affectionatly called Echo Mountain by yours truly). And remember how I said it was all for this contest, the prize for which is a visit from Khaled Hosseini himself? You don't remember? Well go read my first post!

Okay, I'll cut to the good news. Old Firehouse Books is a FINALIST!!! Ah!!!

We are all very excited here at the store. We only have until May 10th to get as many votes as possible. This is where you come in.

All of us here at the store ask that you take a few seconds to vote for us. Having such a prestigious author come to our store would be a huge help. It primes the pump for getting other big name authors in the future and shows that Fort Collins is a community that has a passion for reading.

To vote CLICK HERE!

Once you're on the voting page, select Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, CO, enter your name and e-mail address then hit SUBMIT and BAM! you're done! Don't worry, they won't send you any newsletters unless you request them.

Below is a picture of our lovely display (so you can know what you're voting for).

Thanks again for all your help! Hopefully we will be bringing you good news come May 10th.

Cheers,

~Ren

Events & Conscientious Shopping

I've introduced myself on here before, but I'll do it again. My name is Kelsey, I've worked at the bookstore for about five years now, and last year I became the Event Coordinator for Old Firehouse Books.

We have a lot of great events coming up at the store in the next month or so. Nancy Atherton of the Aunt Dimity series will be here this Thursday, Debut Theater Company is presenting some scenes from James and the Giant Peach on Saturday, and Judy McNary-- author of Coin-- will be with us on May 2nd.

Last but not least, we'll be seeing David Sedaris at the Lincoln Center on May 8th! I hope you got your ticket! His latest book, Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls, comes out tomorrow and we can't wait to sell you a copy.

But please-- buy it from us. I usually try not to beg like this, but events are important to me, especially for major authors like David Sedaris. I'll break it down for you real simple: Old Firehouse Books hosts events. Amazon.com does not host events. Amazon.com will never bring David Sedaris, or any other author, to Fort Collins. Hachette Publishing will not be able to tell how many David Sedaris books they sold through Amazon.com to Fort Collins. They will be able to tell how many copies Old Firehouse Books sold. If we don't sell many books, they aren't impressed, and authors like David Sedaris never come back again. So please... SHOP CONSCIENTIOUSLY! I love my job because I get to provide usually free and totally awesome events to the city I grew up in, but the bottom line is if we don't sell books, the events won't be nearly as cool. So please... support these great literary events, support authors, and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE!

 But really... look at that face. Can you bear to disappoint Justin with poor David Sedaris book sales?? I hope not.