Jerry Spinelli pictures.

I forgot to tell you to look at the pictures for the Jerry Spinelli signing this past Tuesday (5/17). Check out the link HERE.

Greetings from Texas! (from the Pecan Capital of the world!)

I'm on the road for a little R&R. I took this book with me on the plane to read. And all I have to say is WOW! This book is guaranteed to please. It's told from the point of view of a dog whose master is a race car driver. It has some wonderfully funny and wise moments in it. Don't miss this treat! Our whole staff is wild about it. And it's understandable.

The Art of Racing in the Rain
Garth Stein
HarperCollins
Hardcover, $23.95
9780061537936

The Lives They Left Behind
In case you missed the exhibit at the New York State Museum, here's your chance to meet the co-author of the book about the personal effects left behind in suitcases in an attic in a state hospital. The book is powerful, important and necessary.





Come meet Darby Penney at the Arts Center of the Capital Region
265 River Street
Troy, NY 12180

Tuesday, May 13
7:00PM

The event is free and books will be available for purchase.

Let the judging begin!
This week's Book Cover Battle:

Voting is over there in the right column. >>>>

Surrender, Winter!

It's gone, Winter that is, and Spring has happily danced across our path. My backyard has nearly reached lush status with green being the dominant dress. I love it. That means it's time to get out there and enjoy the color and light and warmth. At least that's my intention.

For your Spring viewing pleasure (and walking and hiking) you may want to pick up your copy of Natural Areas of Rensselaer County! And as an added bonus you can use this book in the winter for some great cross-country skiing! But save that thought! For now the Spring is opening its arms wide for us to enjoy. Dive in!

The book is a mere $10.00.

Jerry Spinelli is coming to town!


In case you didn't know, and I'm not surprised if you haven't, popular children's author Jerry Spinelli is coming to Troy! The event requires "reservations" so please call the store first. We are expecting a LARGE number of students at this event.

The new covers are up! Time to vote.

It's been a busy and exhausting week. Allergies, jack hammers, spring fever! What a horrible collision of experiences. I'm just glad I'm not practicing brain surgery! And miraculous I haven't given out the wrong change! Phew! One day off and I already have a clearer brain. Sleep is a wonderful thing and a day of napping is divine!

Thursday was a trying day. A simple oil change nearly became a disaster when the oil filter popped off on my way home from the garage. Then the dot matrix (DON'T say a word!) decided to jam up during a major print job and took 30 minutes to unclog. And I made a run to the local nursing home to make a delivery to a sweet resident. That was a bittersweet encounter.

But the absolute delight of the day was starting a new novel called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The book is due out next month, maybe even next week?! It is a charmer! Told from the point of view of a dog who is hoping to be a human in his next life. I'll tell you more when I finish it, but it MADE my day.

Well, were you?

Were You Raised By Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood Christie Mellor HarperCollins Hardcover, $19.95 9780061238246

Maybe it's not just your son or daughter
who lacks the simple wisdom to get along in this world.
Maybe your attempts to instruct fell on deaf ears.
Your reverse psychology failed long ago.

Don't be subtle but direct.
Don't leave this book lying around
hoping they'll pick it up.

You want them to learn to make their beds each day
You hope they learn 100 uses for baking soda
You know their knowledge of finances will be ruinous
And you know it would help if they could learn to tie a tie.

So you pick up this book for your niece
Because she actually listens to you
While your own offspring spend your money.

Or maybe this book is for you
who, like most of us
was never taught how to be an adult
and you think it's time you learned
to set the table properly.

A beautiful NEW children's book!

The House in the Night Susan Marie Swanson Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, $17.00 9780618862443

Once again Houghton Mifflin proves they know a thing or two about children's books. This stunning book is sure to become a favorite. The text is simple, eloquent and musical. I'll bet in two sessions you'll have it memorized. The dramatic black and white illustrations with a touch of yellow (by Beth Krommes) add to the rich quality of this book.

Do you need a book for a baby shower? This is a great one for that!
And speaking of perfect book for baby showers, have you considered Porn for New Moms? Take a look!

Normal hasn't come yet.

I'm surprised that the week as flown by and I haven't posted since the 15th. I'm beginning to understand the TRUE nature of post-traumatic stress. It comes from retelling the story over and over and over again. LOL That's what I have been doing since Sunday. It's no one's fault but my own. I love a good story and having explosions outside your front door makes for a good tale. And of course there are the side stories that arise from all this. Do I really need to go into this? Here's a summary: a local radio station interviewed me in which I said it's safe to come to downtown Troy, but folks still called to see if we were open.

If anything more interesting comes up, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'm putting this story to rest. Of course, the men in orange jumpsuits (National Grid) have been jumping down manholes and there's a certain excitement and expectation about that.

Today's appearance on WAMC
The chaos over the weekend turned my life upside down for a bit but now I'm ready to get back to work. I suspect there will be more discussion of the explosions downtown.
I'm on WAMC this morning to talk about books, poetry books to be specific! Here's my list, not in any specific order.
You can listen to the segment HERE.

	Oops! poems by Alan Katz
Red Bird poems by Mary Oliver
	New Collected Poems by Eavan Boland
Behind My Eyes by Li-Young Lee
	Third Rail: The Poetry of Rock and Roll edited by Jonathan Wells
The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems edited by Jackie Morris
	Here's A Little Poem edited by Jane Yolen
Ten Poems to Open Your Heart by Roger Housden
	Porn for New Moms by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative
Were You Raised by Wolves? by Christie Mellor

Downtown explosion in Troy.

Capital News 9 story video here: for the record, she's at the corner of 2nd & River and there is NO damage on Fulton. It's all on River Street between Fulton (where our store is) and 2nd (where Monument Square is, behind her).

There was an explosion in downtown Troy this morning at about 4:30AM. The call came from our security at 5:00AM that windows were blown out. When I talked to police I was told I couldn't go into the area until they were sure it was safe. I wanted to make sure our store was sure. Two thirds of our store is plate glass windows. All I could do was sit and wait for permission to enter the area.

(In the above picture the green arrow shows where the explosions happened. The white triangular building to the right of the arrow is our building. That's the Hudson River you see there and the Green Island Bridge.)

Finally at 7AM I was able to get in to take a look. Our store was safe. But the damage occurred further down on River Street where manhole covers were blown out and smoke was still issuing from one of the uncovered holes. The windows above us were shattered. Aurora's Willow Creek had a plate glass window broken. The Dauchy building seemed to sustain the most damage. Oddly, with the exception of Aurora's, only the windows on the second floor and above were broken.

We left the scene and stopped by Bella Napoli's bakery for an early morning treat to get the day rolling.

Sidebar Update.

In case you only read my postings you might want to take a look at my sidebar. I changed it last night to give you a list of some of the books I keep on my poetry shelf. There is no priority here. Just a few I wanted to tell you about, including some oldies but goodies. If I give you my Top Poetry books I would start with Walt Whitman and also include Thomas Merton. But here are some titles to consider for your own Poetry Kit.

On my desk...

There is always a book of poetry with my reach. I have my favorites that I return to again and again. Mary Oliver, Walt Whitman and here, David Budbill.

Moment to Moment is inspiring, comforting and challenging. Written in the style of reclusive hermit poets of China, Budbill explores his life and gives us lessons for our own. Isn't that what life should be about? I continue to look for lessons, don't you? Living isn't always easy, sometimes we need signposts along the way. David Budbill gives us some of those clues we don't even know we need.

We may not have this book in stock but we can order it for you. Or your local, independent bookstore can get it for you. It's worth the wait.

Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain Recluse
David Budbill
Copper Canyon Press
Paperback, $14.00
9781556591334

Stanley Speaks

Mark your calendar, turn on your radio, go online. Next Tuesday, April 15, I'll be the radio to talk about books. And in case you hadn't figured it out, I'll be talking about poetry.

Here are the details:

When: Tuesday, April 15; 10:00 AM (EST)... right after the news.

Where: www.wamc.org click on this to get to the Listen Live link.

or

on the radio try: (more can be found on their web page)

WAMC, 90.3 FM
Albany NY

WAMC, 1400AM
Albany NY

WAMK, 90.9 FM
Kingston NY

WOSR, 91.7 FM
Middletown NY

WAMQ, 105.1 FM
Great Barrington MA

W.W. Norton knows poetry.

New Collected Poems Eavan Boland W.W. Norton Hardcover, $27.95 9780393065794

I think just about everyone at touched an anthology of poetry published by Norton. Is this not true? As publishers Norton is permanently aligned in my head with poetry. And so when it publishes a book of poems I notice my head turning in their direction. Since I have an entire month to talk about poetry that's what I plan to do.

I read a great deal of poetry. I appreciate the economy of words that can capture life in a word or phrase. I am sometimes critical, sometimes neutral and sometimes ecstatic about the lines I read. For some, the visual forms of poetry create barriers to understanding. That's why I think it's important to read poems out loud, to have poems read to you. It thrills me to get a collection of poems that come with a CD of the poet reading her own words, that's the ONLY thing lacking in this collection of poems by Eavan Boland. And yet I don't need to hear her voice to grasp the power of her words. (But I secretly long to hear her tongue speak these words.)

This collection of poems covers the breadth of her writing from the age of 18 to more recent writings of 2001. This book is quintessentially a woman's book and an Irish book. When a poet's work is compiled in such a volume you get to see the progression, the shifts, the growth of the writer. Boland lays bare the life that sees sun and moon and flow of life as inextricably linked to the very blood that courses through our veins. Her work is visceral while being compassionate. The power of womanhood leaps off these pages. This is a book of lessons to the timid, to the uneducated, to those who take no risks. Open this book and learn yet another way to live your life.

National Poetry Month: Day 7

Eternal Enemies Adam Zagajewski, translated by Clare Cavanagh Farrar, Straus and Giroux Hardcover, $24.00 9780374216344

Bob Gray first told me of Adam Zagajewski's collected works Without End. I first stumbled upon Bob Gray's name among the staff recommend cards at Northshire Books in Manchester, VT. He was promoting Thomas Merton books. I knew I had found a kindred spirit. So, if Bob shows me a book, I'm going to pay attention. He did not disappoint me, neither did Adam Zagajewski.

The title of Zagajewski's new book, Eternal Enemies, evokes a struggle. I imagine that struggle to be between the world as it is and as it is perceived. I am hesitant to offer a dualistic interpretation at this point. I'm only now savoring this book and it takes several readings of any poetry for it to sink into me. I'll tell you more as the month unfolds.

Here's a piece taken from his poem "Blake" about William Blake: "I watch William Blake who spotted angels every day in treetops ... who died singing gleefully ... who labored and lived in poverty, but not despair... "

Without End Adam Zagajewski Farrar, Straus and Giroux Paperback, $16.00 9780374528614