For our next book club meeting, we chose People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.  However, since it just came out in January, is only available in hard back and we don’t have any in stock at the store, I would like to suggest The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  It sounds like a similar “Da Vinci Code”-type of story, we already have a few in stock and we can order more in paperback so nobody has to spend $25+ to get a copy.

I just looked up a description of it online - looks like it fills the bill for vampires, too.  Didn’t Sharon ask for something with vampires?

The theme for Game Night on July 5th was Free-for-All so we played a variety of games. We thought we’d turned the tables on a conga line of zombies that were kicking our butts - we’d reduced the conga line to a trickle - but as the luck of the draw would have it, literally (the game master’s draw),  the tables turned again and we lost. The nice GM lobbing the zombies at us won, though :-).  I had fun all the same, and everyone else seemed to have a good time, too, if the laughter and groans (when that blasted card turned up) are any indicators.

Since I’ve had no requests for a particular theme, August is Anything Goes.  Bring your favorite game and a folding chair (both optional) and join us for fun and games, Saturday, August 3rd at 6pm until whenever.

The first book club discussion took place last Wednesday the 18th with the usual suspects: Tim, Tina, Rachael, and I. Sam was also present, but chose not to participate. The book we discussed was “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert A. Heinlein. There was some lively debate about the language and characterizations that the author chose, but ultimately I do not think anyone present had a favorable impression of the book. I think we all agreed that the book, originally published in 1961, probably contained some radical ideas in its day. However the book did not age well with the changes to society in the past 47 years. What was probably tantamount to heresy in 1961 barely raised an eyebrow in 2008. While the book started with an interesting concept with a nice mix of characters, the story appears to lose its way halfway in, causing most of the characters to become listless and, according to one source, downright preachy. Overall the book was not rated highly, and probably did not start the book club with as much enthusiasm as originally hoped. Sam, however, did enjoy being petted.

The book that was chosen for July is “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak. Published in 2005, this book tells a story of a young girl living with a foster family, from 1941-44, in Molching, Germany, a village outside Munich and home to the Dachau concentration camp. Mostly, it’s a book about books and the power words have to shape our world: they’re capable of creating a vision of a better world - or quite the opposite.

Here Be Books placed some copies on order which should be in shortly. I certainly hope more people will join us for the meeting in July. We need more people to help choose a name for our band of book vagabonds, but mainly offer other opinions and insights. We also need much help on choosing what books to read next. We are hovering between “depressing” and “puff” in our choices, so we really need more people to suggest books somewhere in the middle. So come on down to Here Be Books on the 16th for some pleasant conversation, or at the very least, pet Sam. He really enjoys it.

Local author, Mary Elizabeth Reynolds will be on hand Saturday, August 23 from 1pm to 3pm to chat with readers and sign her book, Diary of a Ghost.

About Diary of a Ghost:

After losing her lover to suicide, Samantha, the heroine of the story, sinks into a terrible depression relieved only when she begins transcribing the war journals of a Union soldier. The dead journalist, Josiah, appears to Samantha as a ghost and takes her back in time to visit the battles and places he experienced while a Union soldier. Samantha’s ghostly journeys have a cost, though: the more she delves into this fascinating spirit world of the past, the further she drifts from reality. Can Sean, the young Charleston lawyer who loves her, save Samantha from herself at the risk of losing himself?

Diary of a Ghost is based on the authenticated Civil War diaries of New Jersey soldier Eugene Forbes, that were transcribed by the author. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, every place the ghost and Samantha travel to, through time, are the same places where Eugene Forbes fought and endured.

You can learn more about Eugene, the diaries, and the inspiration for Diary of a Ghost at the author’s website:www.ereynolds.net.

Come join us for games Saturday night! Usually we pick a theme (board games, card games, etc.) for the evening’s venture, but, in the spirit of Independence Day, we’ve decided to make July’s Game Night a free-for-all. We have quite a selection here at the store, but you’re welcome to tote your favorite game along with you and set up camp.

Snacks and drinks are available for purchase, but if you have an extra folding chair or two, we could use some extra seats. The more, the merrier - come join us!

Date: Saturday, July 5, 2008
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm

Updated!

We’ve been doin’ some Spring cleaning and have come up with boxes and boxes of books to clear out. Here’s your chance to take home piles of books for few bucks or pocket change. Literally hundreds of books to choose from, including:

• Mass-market paperbacks for 25¢ each.
• Nice hardbacks for $1 each.
• Lots of vintage sci fi/fantasy we don’t have room for on sale for 25¢ each!

Clearance books will be on tables in the space two doors down from our store (next to Philly’s). We’ll be running many in-store sales as well. Just ask at the counter or look for the signs when you come for the sale.

In-Store Sales Include:

• 75% OFF All Computer Books (View list. Prices listed are before discount. After discount, many books are on sale for as low as 75¢ each!)
• 15% OFF all Playing Cards & Dice (includes the 100% Plastic Playing Cards that just arrived)
• 20% OFF Hardback Fiction (excludes Roleplaying Games, collectible books, items on consignment, and items in glass cases)
• 20% OFF Trade Paperback Fiction, i.e. oversized paperbacks (excludes collectible books, items on consignment, and items in glass cases)
• 20% OFF Nonfiction Books (excludes History, collectible books, items on consignment, and items in glass cases)

See you at the sale!

Get on board for games on Saturday night at Here Be Books! Our theme this month is board games, so Scrabble, Life, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, and Aggravation are all in the game plan. (You‘re welcome to bring your own games if you want.)

Most of us are amateurs, just looking for ways to mix fun and friends with some light evening entertainment. Snacks and drinks are available for purchase at the store, but if you have an extra folding chair or two, we could use some extra seats. The more, the merrier - come join us!

Calling All Harry Potter Fans!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, Lauren and Lena will perform songs inspired by the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling at Here Be Books.

20-year-old Lauren is a New Jersey native and member of The Moaning Myrtles. The Moaning Myrtles earned seven Wizard Rock People’s Choice Awards in the past two years and is one of the first and most successful female Wizard Rock bands in the genre. 19-year-old Lena is a music composition major from New York. Lena’s Wizard Rock band, The Butterbeer Experience, received Wizrocklopedia.com’s Best New Artist Award for 2008.

Don’t miss seeing these two award-winning female wizards as they tour the eastern U.S. this summer playing a combined set of their original Harry Potter music. Help them spread their love for books and music with other Harry Potter fans. Join us as we rock out and have some fun! A treat for the whole family.

You can view Lauren and Lena’s video about their tour at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ni00m3OG1XQ&feature=related. Don’t know what a Wizard Rock is? Check out this video at YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YzZIY6sfV2w&feature=related

Admission is FREE.

We recently had a request by Jason, one of our customers, to start a book club. I’d been kicking the idea around for awhile, so quickly agreed.

Time and Place

Here Be Books
3rd Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm

Theme Still Under Consideration

Jason, Rachael and I, the only 3 members so far, have discussed the following themes/names:

• Eclectic Reader’s Book (ERB) Club: anything goes.
• Movie and a Book (MAB or MAAB) Club: we watch a movie, then read the book it was based on, or vice-versa. This would cover all sorts of genres, from historical to sci-fi to thrillers…
• Any ____ Genre (I’m trying to get Arrgh or Arr or Arrg - you know, to go with the bookstore’s theme)

Any ideas? Clearly we’re going for an eclectic selection of books from all genres, including: sci fi/fantasy, general fiction, mystery, thriller, historical, etc.

Interested in joining? Give us a call (Tina or Rachael) at Here Be Books. (843) 695-1498. You can also register for an account and post a comment to this blog post as well to share your ideas.

Right now all of our computer books are on sale for 50% of the marked price. That’s right, all in-store computer books in stock are 50% off!

Great way to pick up books on a variety of computer and programming subjects on the cheap.