The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

I've said it before and I'll say it again. One of the best things about working at a bookstore is getting to read Advance Reader Copies of new books, especially highly anticipated ones like the new Stieg Larsson!

I just finished THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST by Stieg Larsson. The American publication date is May 25, 2010. This is the third (and sadly, last) installment in Larsson's excellent mystery series starring Lisbeth Salander.

I devoured the book, just as I did the first two, but this time was different. I knew it was the last one. And not intended to be so.

As most Stieg Larsson fans know, Larsson died shortly after delivering the first three manuscripts to his Swedish publisher. But it was not supposed to be a trilogy. He apparently was planning to write a 10 book series. Unfortunately for us, that will never be.

Without giving anything away, I will say I was disappointed at the end of THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST. It was a great "middle novel," meaning it moved us along and answered many questions raised at the end of the second book. But, by no means did this feel like a final book. Why? Way too many loose ends were left open.

There is a literary technique known as Checkov's gun that basically says, "If you place a rifle on the wall in chapter 1, it had better go off by the last chapter." In other words, when you include an intriguing plot element, you need to follow it through. In my opinion, Larsson skillfully laid out several "rifles" for us in the first two books, but some of these are never "fired." The epilogue in book three ties up a few loose ends, but not nearly enough.

I have heard rumor of a fourth partial manuscript by Larsson. But there may be a legal battle going on regarding it's ownership. We can only hope it is substantial enough to one day make a fourth novel in the series.

Until then, read THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST with relish since it's the last chance you'll get, at least for a while.

Waiting for Baby

At Micawber's, we are in a waiting game this week. When will Baby W show up? Han's wife is due on Saturday, but you never know with babies. They come when they feel like it.

Today I'm "on call" just in case. With all the excitement and anticipation, I bet Baby will decide to come late.

Either way, it's a great time for babies and new life and all things growing. Spring has definitely sprung and I can't say enough about how happy that makes me (and most Minnesotans)!

Last night was our first big thunderstorm. Today everything genuinely looks greener. And it smells good too.

So, hurry up Baby W! We can't wait to meet you and share Springtime with you.

The Garbage Police Strikes Twice

There is a Garbage Police in our Micawber's neighborhood. And he (or she) has now struck twice!

Last week I was closing the store. It was around 8:30 pm and I had two small bags of garbage to take out. We are supposed to put our garbage in the big dumpster out back. But, I was heading the other way. And frankly, I don't love going to the dumpster at night. It's dark and creepy and recently I saw a rubber glove of unknown origin on the ground. Plus, when you share a dumpster with a restaurant, all manner of nasty can appear.

So, I took my two small bags of garbage with me out the front door when I left. I placed them into the garbage receptacle on the sidewalk and went home.

The next morning, poor Karen found the same two garbage bags plopped on Micawber's front stoop! They had been ravaged by squirrels. (Apparently, there was 1/2 a sandwich in one bag.)

She wondered if I had forgotten to throw the trash away. But, when I arrived at work that day, I assured everyone that I had indeed put the bags in the garbage can.

So, someone actually dug into the garbage can, took out our two bags, and put them on our front steps.

I felt embarrassed. Apparently someone had seen me throw our trash into the city garbage can on the sidewalk. I know these cans are primarily meant for lunch-time strollers, dog walkers and coffee drinkers, but I had no idea it was such an enormous deal to deposit two, small bags of garbage there as well. I was wrong.

That day I vowed to never put Micawber's garbage into the city can again. I am, once again, facing chicken guts and possible kidnappers in order to place our garbage in the correct receptacle.

I thought the garbage drama was over. But then, the Garbage Police (dare I say Trash Nazi) struck again!

Yesterday morning, I opened the store and found a single bag of garbage sitting on our front steps. When I questioned Hans about it, he admitted to hurriedly putting a bag in the sidewalk can the night before.

The ever-vigilant protector of the city waste had discovered the bag and brought it back home. This time I noticed there was an envelope in the bag that had our address right on it. Aaah. Perhaps the Garbage Police is not a nosy neighbor watching us each night, but rather the trash collector himself in the morning.

Either way, I am tempted (slightly) to put some garbage bags in the can, sleep overnight at the store, and catch the Garbage Police in action. This is probably the only way to find out his/her true identity. Remember, this is Minnesota so the garbage is placed on our steps without a note. Just a Minnesota reprimand to not use the city garbage cans.

13 Treasures

This has been a good season for new children's books. One middle grade novel that arrived at the store today is 13 TREASURES by Michelle Harrison. I read the advance reader copy a couple months ago and really enjoyed it!

13 TREASURES is the story of Tanya who can see fairies, but wishes she didn't. They are not the kind, lovely little fairies you might imagine. These fairies tend to cause a lot of trouble (and sometimes actual pain) for Tanya. Tanya is sent to live with her grandmother in an old, secluded mansion near a strange town in Essex, England. Tanya begins to explore the mansion, the woods nearby, and encounters more fairies who torment her. And, of course, there are mysteries to solve along the way.

Harrison, who is from Essex, did a lot of research about fairy lore and myth for 13 TREASURES, which is her first book. One belief Harrison discovered, that makes its way into the book, is that wearing the color red helps protect you against fairies.

Luckily I like the color red and will be wearing it much more frequently now that I know its protective powers. I don't want to take any chances and perhaps meet some of the fairies Tanya encounters!

A Nest for Celeste

As a bookseller and children's book buyer for Micawber's, I receive many ARCs each season. ARCs are Advance Reader Copies of books that are forthcoming. The idea is that publishers send booksellers ARCs in the hopes that they read the new books, buy them, and most importantly hand-sell them. The power of hand-selling is tremendous and publishers know this.

Unfortunately, there is no way any bookseller can read all the ARCs he/she receives. When I first started working at Micawber's, I was so excited by all the free books that I took stacks and stacks home. Now, a year and 1/2 later, my house, which already held hundreds of books, is threatening to explode! So, I'm being more choosy about which ARCs I take home with me.

The ARC I'm reading now is so delightful that I wanted to tell you about it. It's a middle grade reader by Henry Cole called A NEST FOR CELESTE. Cole is the illustrator of many books for children. He has also written and illustrated children's books including, JACK'S GARDEN which we have at the store.

A NEST FOR CELESTE reminds me of THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick, not because of subject matter, but because of format. Almost every page of the book has black and white illustrations that enhance the story. I love Cole's depiction of Celeste, the cute little mouse who is looking for a place to call home.

Celeste encounters many adventures and creatures (human and animal) along her path. Two humans that are central to the story are John James Audubon and his young assistant Joseph. I have always been interested in the real-life Audubon, of BIRDS OF AMERICA fame, and Cole weaves historical details into the story well.

A NEST FOR CELESTE is set in the 1820's on a plantation outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, where Audubon actually stayed for several months. But, the heart of the story is really about a little mouse named Celeste. And as Cole says himself, it's also "A Story About Art, Inspiration and the Meaning of Home."

A NEST FOR CELESTE was published in February 2010 and should be available now at your local, independent bookseller. If you like nature, history, art or cute little mice, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Welcome Back!

Apparently I took January and most of February off from blogging, but I'm back!

So here is my rundown of all things Micawber's for January and February, 2010:

- Inventory Day! Once each year, at the beginning of January, we take stock of all the stock. This involves Hans asking all his friends and many relations to come help us out. We work in teams or solo. We take down EVERY book in the store and jot down the price and quantity.

Example: $16.99 /// (This means three books at $16.99.)

You get the idea. We start around 9 am and finish around 3 pm. We don't officially close the store, so a few brave souls venture in for a look around amidst the organized chaos. Inventory Day might sound like a drag, but it's actually kind of fun. At least it's fun one time a year.

- Karen goes to England every other year for the month of January and this was her year to go. She accompanies her husband and about 20 of his Hamline theater students for a month of study and fun on the emerald island.

This is what I noticed while Karen was gone:

1. 3 workers is not as good as 4 workers. Even in January, which is typically a slower month, I felt the lack of our 4th partner.

2. I helped with the filing while Karen was gone. I now have a much greater appreciation for that part of her job.

3. The guys were not as fastidious about cleaning in January. Luckily, we got a new vacuum cleaner and all is better now.

- I had surgery in February. As soon as we were back to 4 people, I went in for minor surgery and the store was back to 3 people for a while. Not only did they have to deal with a heavier work load, they also had to deal with . . .

- Lots of Water! There was a bad leak in the store ceiling while I was gone. It would come in periodic rushes from the apartment upstairs. Thank God it ended up being from the sink, not the toilet! It's all fixed now. And by some miracle, only three books were damaged.

Typically January and February are slow months in the book business. But, here at Micawber's we had lots of excitement!

Two Kings

Last month, Micawber's sold books at two big Talking Volumes events at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. On November 11, the guest author was Barbara Kingsolver. And on November 18, it was Audrey Niffenegger and Stephen King. Two Kings = Two Big Events!

I was at the Kingsolver event selling books before, during and after the show. We had arranged ahead of time for Barbara to sign some copies of her new book, THE LACUNA, which is her newest title. When it was time to go get the signed copies, I volunteered. I have long been a fan of hers and wanted the chance to meet her.

Hans and I walked back stage and down into the rather small green room below the Fitzgerald stage. (It smelled like Hot Artichoke Dip, which was not the smell I was expecting.)

There at the table sat Barbara Kingsolver with Kerry Miller going over a few last minute things. We gathered up the signed books as they chatted. We were ready to leave and they were still talking. I didn't want to miss this chance to meet her in person, so I (nicely) interrupted them.

"Hi, I'm Dara. I'm one of the booksellers from Micawber's selling your book tonight," I said.

"Oh. I'm Barbara," she answered, shaking my hand. "Nice to meet you."

The fact that she said, "I'm Barbara," in such a normal, down-to-earth-way made me like her even more. Of course, everyone there knew who she was. But she kindly said, "I'm Barbara," just the same.

We chatted briefly about the state of independent bookstores. She wanted to know how our store was faring.

I told her that I was low person on the totem pole, so the fact that I still had a job was a good sign.

She laughed.

I made Barbara Kindsolver laugh!

So, that really made my night. Her interview went very well. She is smart and articulate. Plus, the voice she did for Frida Kahlo was amazing!

I bought two (signed) copies of THE LACUNA - one for my mom for Christmas and one for me. (Mom, if you're reading this, ignore the last sentence.)

All in all, the Kingsolver event went very well!

The Stephen King event went well too, although differently. It was a bit of a well-organized, mad house. He doesn't "come out of hiding" very often, so a public appearance is a BIG deal. We sold a lot of his books, including all 250 copies of UNDER THE DOME that he agreed to sign ahead of time.

This is a busy time of year - for events and now for holiday shopping. I'm glad I had the chance to meet one of my favorite authors in person. That was a gift.