Day 279: The Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops

Chatting Books Online Day 279. Today's recommended book is "Seven Kinds of People You Find In Bookshops" by Shaun Bythell.

You have Probably already guessed that this is from my favorite genre " books set in bookshops" . And you may have recognized the author's name . Shaun Bythell is the man of cutting wit and humor who gave us "Diary of a Bookseller" a few years ago. For those of you who don't know of him yet he runs a used bookshop in Wigtown , Scotland. Wigtown is known for it's proliferation of bookstores and literary festivals. Bythell’s books are full of cutting humor , often aimed at himself, and give an insider’s view of life running a bookshop . In this book he describes for us the seven types (and myriad subtypes ) of folks that come through his doors. I must say I recognized quite a few - and defended some of them in my head when his descriptions were less than flattering. But as he says , even the customers and loiterers in bookstores who have gotten on his nerves the most over the years were sadly and daily missed during this Covid nightmare. Which brings up another topic , it is absolutely amazing to me how many books I have read recently, both fiction and non-fiction, include references to Covid-19. How quickly this phenomenon has become part of our shared history and how quickly these authors must write and publishers and editors must work to have these books on the shelf already when I haven't even finished my first Covid project of organizing my pantry yet!

This fun, light read is hardcover and sells for $18.95 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and come see me at the bookshop - because you are one of the types of people I meet in bookshops!

Day 278: The Christmas Story

Chatting Books Online Day 278. Today's recommended book is The Christmas Story from The King James Bible with illustrations by Pamela Dalton.

This is the True Story of Christmas with beautiful cut-paper illustrations by Pamela Dalton. The words come straight from the King James Bible and the artwork comes from Pamela Dalton. You may already know Pamela Dalton's amazing work from another shop favorite "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" The Canticle of St Francis (Chatting books online Day 118 : http://www.conundrumbooks.com/chatting-books-online/day118 )
Her work is in the "Scherenschnitte" style a cut-paper technique rooted in Pennsylvania- German folk art. This book is a beautiful way to keep the true meaning of Christmas alive in your home and to introduce the story to children in such a beautiful way.

This beautiful hardcover book sells for $17.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and share the true meaning of Christmas.

Day 277: Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree

Chatting Books Online Day 277. Today's recommended book is : "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree" by Robert Barry.

This is one of those books that if you read it as a child it was one of your favorites and you have been looking, quite unsuccessfully in most cases , for a copy ever since. Why twice in the last few months I have had people wander in the shop and after seeing the selection of children's books we carry say : "This is a long shot but have you ever heard of a book called Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree? And when I handed the last girl the book she literally squealed with glee and hugged the book for the rest of their visit until buying it . I don't know why more stores don't carry this book , it is delightful. The book was originally published in 1963.

Mr. Willowby is a very rich man (butlers, gardeners, big house etc) who is very excited because he has ordered a gigantic and beautiful Christmas tree. There's only one problem , when they stand it up in his house it is too tall and bends against the ceiling. Not one to give in to a problem the butler takes a hatchet and swipes off the top of the tray and carries it away. That part of the tree is perfectly tree shaped and he decides it would be nice to give it to the upstairs maid who delights in the tree, puts it on a table - but alas, it is too tall so she snips off the top and discards it. That's where the gardener finds it and brings it home, where you guessed it, it's just a little too tall so they chop a bit off the top too. Then a bear, then a fox, the a family of rabbits in turn get parts of the tree that are in each case perfect for that family discarding the rest. Finally a mouse finds the last little tip and brings it to his home where they decorate it and dance around their wonderful and perfect tree. Fade out you realize this mouse lives in the wall in Mr. Willowby's house. A very full-circle joyous story . Well I did not mean to tell you the whole story but I just couldn't help myself it is such a lovely book.

This hardcover story book sells for $16.99 a copy and should be added to your collection if not already there.

Day 276: I Saw Santa in Louisiana

Chatting Books Online Day 276. Today's recommended book is "I Saw Santa in Louisiana" by J.D. Green, Nadja Sarell, and Srimalie Bassani.

This is a fun story about Santa's summer vacation. Typically Santa is supposed to fly under the radar when away from the North Pole but when he vacations in Louisiana his attempts to go incognito fall short and several children write letters to Santa asking if that was him they saw this summer in Tickfaw, at the Blue Bayou Water Park , in Baton Rouge at the State Capital and of course in New Orleans at City Park. Santa has such a good time on his trip to Louisiana that he decides to give each of these children a special gift this Christmas.

This hardcover storybook sells for $ 12.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and Have a Merry Christmas.

Day 275: TuTu's Christmas on the Bayou

Chatting Books Online Day 275. Today's recommended Christmas book is "Tu-Tu's Christmas on the Bayou" from The Adventures of The Swamp Kids by Leif Nedland Pedersen.

When TuTu realizes they have never had an "official" Christmas Tree on the bayou he sets out to go to town and buy a traditional Christmas tree from a tree lot only by the time he drags it all the way back to the bayou it has lost all of its needles. As you might imagine through love, singing and the magic of Christmas it all works out beautifully in the end .

As with all of The Swamp Kids books this one also has a Lagniappe Lesson included at the end of the book. In this one you can learn how to wish someone a Merry Christmas in 16 different languages. And there is also a how-to where you can learn to make Pine Cone and Popcorn and Cranberry Garland like the ones TuTu and his friends use!

This hardcover book sells for $16.95 a copy and right now we have copies signed by the author in stock.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and Have a Merry Christmas (or in Italian : Buon Natale ) !

Day 274: Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas

Chatting Books Online Day 274. Today's recommended book comes from our little blue friend , it is Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas by Kimberly & James Dean. .

Written in the format of the song The 12 Days of Christmas this book see's our pal Pete taking a road trip to the sea with his friends. Along the way they see a concert , go surfing, have cupcakes and onion rings, run across a number of sloths (naturally) , and a bunch of ugly sweaters (it is Christmas time after all) and a bunch of other groovy stuff. This will be a fun one to sing along to with your grooviest of friends.

This hardcover story book sells for $12.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and Take A Road Trip to the Sea ! .

Day 273: The Week in Review Dec 7 - 13, 2020

Chatting Books Online Day 273: The Week in Review Dec 7 -13, 2020.

With only one exception we were all Christmas all the time this week.

On the Christmas end I recommended some of my all-time favorites including:

The Polar Express, Red Ranger Came Calling, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Gaston the Green Nosed Alligator and The Night Before Christmas (or a Visit from St Nicholas).

One one exception to the Christmas theme this week. was the fascinating book "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts" a memoir by Neil White about his time in the Leprosarium/Federal Prison in Carville, Louisiana.

If you missed any of these reviews and want to read what I had to say about them you can see all of our Chatting Books Online picks by visiting our website at: http://www.conundrumbooks.com/chatting-books-online .

We still (and always will going forward) offer shipping if you cannot make it to the store. Or just stop by the shop during or normal hours . See you soon !

Day 272 : In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

Chatting Books Online Day 272. We are taking a break from the Christmas books today to recommend the book:" In The Sanctuary of Outcasts " by Neil White.

This is one of those books that people have recommended to me for years but for one reason or another until this week I had not read it myself. Well now I have and it is fascinating.

This book is the memoir of Neil White, a man sent to federal prison for bank fraud only the prison he was sent to was doing dual duty as a home for people with Leprosy. Located in Carville, Louisiana this facility has a long history as a Leprosarium and over time the bureau of prisons had also added federal prisoners into some of the unused buildings. In this book Mr. White talks about his experiences. He tells the stories of some of his co-prisoners as well as those of some of the Leprosy patients at the facility that he came into regular contact with. These stories are so interesting to me as I really did not know much about leprosy before reading this book or about the experiences of those afflicted with the disease and their exclusion from society. Absolutely fascinating read.

This paperback book is 313 pages and sells for $16.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you -Now mask up and Take Care.