The Book Shopper

One Inspirational Independent Bookstore

Years ago, when I was doing my four-city world book tour for The Book Shopper, a friend of mine from Wichita (I lived there in the 1980s) insisted that I have lunch with Warren  Farha, the owner of Eighth Day Books.  Since then, Warren and I have kept in contact. He even graciously sponsors the blog (though no money exchanges hands) and I try to give a shout outs on occasion. This weekend is reason enough to make some noise as the store celebrates its 25th Anniversary. Eighth Day Books simply carries books that matter (philosophy, serious fiction, religion) and if you are a discriminating reader you should check out his store. More than likely you cannot visit there, so a virtual visit has to be the next best thing. To keep the faith: order a copy of the anniversary book, find them on Facebook, order their catalog, or buy a book (includes a sale for Internet customers) but do something. Indie Bookstores and the people who love them can still make a difference.

Below is a press release on the festivities:

Eighth Day Books marks its twenty-fifth year in Wichita, Kansas this month with author readings and the release of a new book featuring 30 writers and poets. Timely…Timeless: Twenty-five Years at Eighth Day Books goes on sale at the store, 2838 East Douglas, on Friday, October 25.

That evening, Hillsboro (KS) native Jessica Penner will read from her new novel Shaken in the Water, followed by a book signing. On Saturday, October 26, more than a dozen local authors will be on hand to read from the anniversary collection Timely…Timeless. Both events begin at 7 p.m. and include refreshments.

The essays and poems in Timely…Timeless celebrate the lasting affection inspired by Eighth Day Books, a Wichita cultural landmark and one of the country’s great independent bookstores. Carolyn Ballinger, Kingman, calls the store “a haven of peace in a world of sensory overload.” Notre Dame’s Dr. Joshua Seachris likens Eighth Day to “a sanctuary filled with cloth and paper treasures,” while John Traffas, Atchison, describes the “happy combination of a pub and a chapel.”

Other contributors include Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, University of Missouri professor Scott Cairns, and several local writers, including 2011 Newbery Medal winner Clare Vanderpool .

Timely…Timeless also features 62 color photographs and an essay on the store’s founding by owner Warren Farha. Farha began selling classics in religion, literature, and history in 1988. Twenty-five years later, Eighth Day Books enjoys an international customer base and a reputation as “one of the best religious bookstores in the country,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.

Author Jessica Penner sets her novel Shaken in the Water in western Kansas, where a Mennonite woman gives birth to a daughter in 1903. The child bears a birthmark known in Low German as Tieja Kjoaw, the Tiger’s Scar, which portends either greatness or tragedy.

Penner grew up in Hillsboro, attended Eastern Mennonite University, and received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Her essay “Mustard Seed” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2012. She now lives in Virginia.

For more information about the anniversary readings, contact Eighth Day Books at 316-683-9446.

Zipless Flight: Erica Jong at the Decatur Public Library

When & Where: Monday, October 14th at the Decatur Public Library. The event was originally scheduled for the Carter Center, but the government shutdown forced a change of venue. Jong was on tour to promote the 40th anniversary of the publication of her book Fear of Flying. Published in 1973, Flying was a novel that heightened womens' self-awareness that they could and should be complete persons – not only as mothers and wives, but as artists or scientists. The main character, Isadora Wing, takes charge of her live-out loud, fantasy-rich life. The book sold more than 27 million copies and has been translated into 40 languages.

Attendance: ~ 75 people of mostly women from the generation who remember the book from the 70s. A few men showed up, but can you really expect any more than that on the same evening as Monday Night Football?

Why I Went. My longtime partner Denise encouraged me to go with her, but she didn't have to persuade me as I had read Jong's Fear of Flying and How To Save Your Own Life (1977). The latter came recommended in Anthony Burgess' famous booklist 99 Novels. [The list also included a book Jong referenced during her talk, The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing (1963).

What She Talked About. During her 45 minutes on stage, Jong read a very short excerpt from Flying that had become the most famous part of her novel – the zipless f**k. She said a lot of people misunderstood the term: The Z.F. was not a buzz phrase for casual. meaningless sex, (today's “hooking up” ) but rather it was a wistful fantasy. Jong suggests that fantasizing about sex is a woman's Viagra. She cited a few examples of misinterpretation of her book, one being that that women should leave their boring husbands. She admits candidly she has a love/hate relationship with Fear Flying. It's success and notoriety overshadowed her other novels and eight books of poetry, especially rankling, as Jong sees herself more a poet than a novelist. I'd imagine the love part is that Flying gave her the financial independence and reputation to have a long writing career. Moreover, she knows that the book has had a profound positive influence on women all over the world. (And don't forget some men have changed too, says Jong. )

Jong said she was unsure whether her mother or daughter read the book. She spoke eloquently and at length about the relationship between mothers and daughters. Jong, now 71, noted that “Daughters must distance themselves from their mothers, but then they circle back when they have children.”

Q & A: Jong answered only a few questions from the crowd (she's not much of the short answer type ) for another 15 minutes. One question asked for a further clarification of the Z.F. I have been to a lot of author events over the years, but I have never been one where f-bombs were tossed around so cavalierly.

Question I Would Have Liked to Ask, But I Was Too Shy. Jong's book-in-progress is called Fear of Dying, in which she reflects partially on the death of her mother who died recently at the age of 101. When she talked about our society's denial of mortality, I wondered if she had read Ernest Becker's Denial of Death (1973). A great book, by the way. Not only did it win the Pulitzer in 1974, but it's the book that Woody Allen is holding in Annie Hall when Diane Keaton complains that he reads only books with the word “death” in the title.

Did I Buy A Book? No, I still have an unread copy of Jong's Devil At Large on my shelf, a book where she discusses her relationship to another artist who was labeled a pornographer and often reviled, but later revered – Henry Miller.

And What Was Denise's Reaction? While she had enjoyed reading Flying in the 70s, she hadn't followed Jong's career much after than and attended mostly out of curiosity to see how the author had fared through the decades. She found the lecture more thought provoking than expected and returned home with less of a “fear of seventy.”

My Personal Atlanta Area Book Calendar - October, 2013

Since Denise and I already have our tickets for the poet Billy Collins at the Carter Library on Wednesday, October 23 at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, I guess that means we're committed to attending at least one literary event in October. Tickets are still available from A Cappella Books. Anyone who has seen him (we saw him keynoting at the Decatur Book Festival years ago), knows that Collins will not disappoint even with our high expectations.

But there are plenty of other good events this month too. The Auburn Avenue Library is hosting some a variety of authors and programs. Bill Bryson (Friday, October 11 at the First Baptist Church in Decatur ), Erica Jong (Monday, October 14) and Lee Smith (Wednesday, October 30) headline a host of October events sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book.

Since this blog is  designated as  a Garrison Keillor-Free Blog, I cannot mention that he is coming to town this month as well.

End of the Season

As the Atlanta Braves' season comes to an abrupt close, I am reminded of a quote from Robert Weintraub's baseball book 1946 where he writes, “In the championship caldron, a team's weakness is invariably, often ruthlessly exposed.”

Code Yellow: MARTA Book Club #24

It's been a while since the last roll call of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Book Club, an impromptu reading club whose only membership requirement is to read a book while riding public transportation. At first I used the excuse that people weren't reading as much, which may be partially true, but more likely, I have been too preoccupied with MARTA's new code of conduct initiative called Ride with Respect. I am hoping Ride with Respect comes with a new video maybe with an Aretha Franklin soundtrack and replacing the current lame safety video, which features a mascot recruiting commuters who lack the common sense not to stand near doors, or jump in front of buses and trains, to join a rhythmically challenged dance team at the CNN Center station.

I always say that I see more instances of civil behavior on MARTA than I do boorish behavior like smoking, drinking, eating, begging, spitting, littering, panhandling, threatening, or playing loud music. But in the occasional case of incivility, I just focus a little more on my book, which this week has been Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union (2007).

What makes me a little nervous is that if the new conduct code is successful what other kind of codes could be implemented next? For example, what if MARTA puts into effect a Napoleonic Code, which would forbid riders' privileges based on birth. (No prime reserved seating by the door for seniors anymore.) Enforcing the eye-for-an-eye, a tooth-for-a-tooth, Code of Hammurabi could be a lot more messier than just a little spitting or littering. The Code of the Samurai, which is centered on frugality (since MARTA riders already got that), loyalty and mastery of the martial arts doesn't sound so bad. I would jump at an opportunity to carry a Samurai sword umbrella (shown here) on the train. Kidding aside, the MARTA Club biggest fear is that the MARTA administrators will enforce The Code of the Woosters, where riders can read only the works of P.G. Wodehouse while using Atlanta public transportation.

And you can see why. Just browse this list of what people have been reading on MARTA public transportation lately. It may be brief, but its diverse.

The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life by Paul Davies

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Booty Call by ??? (Did you know that Booty Call is a very popular title for a book?)

Locked Down: Information Security for Lawyers by Sharon D. Nelson, David G. Ries and John W. Simek.

The Racketeer: A Novel by John Grisham

Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen

Holy Bible

Holy Quran

Deadly Harvest: A Detective Kubu Mystery by Michael Stanley

Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States by Carol Mattson Porth and Glenn Matfin

A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown

Look Back All the Green Valley: A Novel by Fred Chappell

Merge /Disciple: Two Short Novels by Walter Mosely

The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst