It's a Classic

Oh how I love a Penguin Classic! If I won the lottery, I would not run out and buy diamonds or cars or houses, I would buy the complete set of Penguin Classics. As an independent bookseller, I rarely want to buy anything from Amazon.com, but every once in a while I log on and look with longing at their "sale priced" (only $7,989.50) collection. It is described as follows: The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection currently consists of 1,082 titles, all great works of literature totaling nearly half a million pages. From Renaissance philosophy to the poetry of revolutionary Russia, from the spiritual writings of India to the travel narratives of the early American colonists, from The Complete Pelican Shakespeare to The Portable Sixties Reader, there are classics here to educate, provoke, entertain, and enlighten readers of all interests and inclinations.


While I am waiting for those winning lottery numbers, I try to be content with reading one classic at a time and slowly building up my library. I love the Jane Austens, the Charlotte Brontes and the Steinbecks. So in the spirit of starting up new things in the fall (it is a new school year, after all), the Open Book Book Club has decided to start an offshoot devoted only to classics. We will meet on Sunday afternoons every other month to have a snack and discuss a classic novel. We are starting with Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. If you live in the area and would like to join us for our October meeting, you are welcome.

If you can't make the meetings, join us in spirit and let me know what your favorite classic is. And keep an eye out for those distinctive black-bottomed covers at your favorite independent bookstore. They always encase a treasure.

Wife Tales

The last two books I read had the word "wife" in the title. I could try to continue my streak but that would mean abandoning the advance of the new Wally Lamb book which is titled, The Hour I First Believed. So far the Wally Lamb is disturbing and really good....I cannot wait to find out where it will go.

So, to the wives.


The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff is part historical fiction, part present day mystery. The story of Jordan Scott, a "lost boy" expelled from his fundamentalist community and the story of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th wife of Brigham Young are intertwined in this well-researched, fascinating novel. The history of polygamy and the Morman religion are explored as the stories proceed. The characters are complex and their stories are compelling. A great read to take you into Autumn.


American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld is the story of a Republican president's wife. This character closely resembles the current president's wife and this book has gotten quite a bit of publicity because of that. I liked this book because it made me think about the perceptions we hold of public figures. Sittenfeld writes clearly and with great detail about this woman who lives in a skin that is not always a comfortable fit. Although, I did not always admire the main character, I felt some compassion for her life.


Enjoy Labor Day weekend, take some time to read a good book!

Rules to Live By

On the way to the library today I passed a church that had a billboard out front. On the billboard it said, "Don't Commit Adultery. Don't Kill. Don't Steal." About a quarter of a mile past the church there is a liquor store. In front of the liquor store there is a neon pink, handwritten sign that says, "Be Nice". Though the latter is less specific, I believe it may cover a lot more ground than the church billboard. Enjoy the rest of the summer. Be nice.

Bookstore Stories

How could I have possible lived this long without reading this wonderful little book? Beth the Librarian told me about it last Friday and by Friday at midnight I had read it and added it to my list of the very best books ever. This small gem of a memoir tells the story of a New York writer and the people who work at a small London bookshop and the correspondence between them in the years following World War II. Apparently there is also a wonderful film starring Anne Bancroft.

There are other books that feature bookstores and their caretakers. Here is a list of a few of them:

Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Bookstore by Suzanne Strempek Shea

The Bookshop: A Novel by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

The Kings English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller by Betsy Burton

I realize that not everyone is as obsessed by bookstores and bookselling as I am, but all of these books are little windows into a world that has kept me interested and learning for almost ten years.

It's A Mystery

It is a mystery how the summer can fly by so quickly....

Last night the library's mystery genre discussion group met. We had a great group with lots of suggestions for good reads. We also were very lucky to have a visit from Jason Pinter, author of The Mark, The Guilty and The Stolen. Not only did Jason drive all the way from Manhattan to Southampton, but he and his wife even baked cookies and brownies for the gathering. The group members enjoyed talking to Jason about his writing and his life. I think we should all keep our eye on Jason Pinter.....someday we will gloat that we knew him before he was a mega-million selling author!

Some of the other authors that were mentioned at the discussion were Josephine Tey, Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and Jacqueline Winspear. My list of mysteries to read continues to grow. I am currently finishing The Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich. It is interesting, but quite convoluted. I may have to finish it in the winter when my concentration levels are higher.

Summer brings all kinds of people into the bookstore, some wonderful, some not-so-wonderful. This summer has had its share of both. It is best to try to laugh at the difficult people and revel in the wonderful. My favorite customer this summer was a small boy, about 6 or 7 years old. He came up to me and said, "Excuse me, could you help me find a book?". I (thrilled to be treated to some good manners) said, "Sure, what are you looking for?". "Well," he said. "I need a book for a grown woman." I tried not to giggle as I asked him what he had in mind. He told me, "I think this Jane Austen might be a good present for my mom." We happily found him a Jane Austen and wrapped it as beautifully as possible for a very lucky grown woman.

Summer Reading

The ironic thing about running a bookstore in the Hamptons in the summer while working part-time as a librarian, is that there is almost no time to read. I review catalogs and read reviews and order books, but the time to sit down and read is almost non-existent.

You might be amazed at the sneaky ways I find to read. There is a book in my car for the line at the automatic teller machine (and the occasional long red light). There is a book in the kitchen and my cooking truly reflects my love of fiction. There are books in each room, just in case I can grab and extra minute or two.

My summer reading this year reflects the quirky nature of my reading life. The following books are both wonderful and just a bit odd:

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry was released a few years ago and being re-released this July. It is a tale of twins and madness and religious zealots and love. It takes place in Salem and tells the of a generation of women who can tell fortunes by reading pieces of lace. It twists and turns and surprises you up to the end.

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos is another kind of story. It is the story of a small neighborhood and friendship and a marriage. It is a story of first impressions and how they can change. This book continues the story that de los Santos started in Love Walked In and she takes her characters on an interesting and very human journey.

How to describe The Monsters of Templeton? Well there is a monster and it is partially a historical novel and it is also a contemporary story of a historian hiding out in her hometown after trying to run down her married lover's wife with a bush plane in Alaska. Oh yes, the town is a thinly disguised Cooperstown, so the Baseball Hall of Fame also plays a bit part. Actually, I really cannot describe this book. I really liked it and I hope you do too.

I absolutely love Georgia Nicolson. I know these books are for teenagers but I just don't care. I love her slang and her outlandish ideas and her many friends. I even like her enemies (no one can be more nasty than Wet Lindsey). Stop in the Name of Pants is the latest in the saga, so if you haven't read Louise Rennison before you must start with Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging. I dare you to try to stop at just one book.

This is Buddha. He holds open the front door of The Open Book. Buddha has been licked by dogs, kicked by small children, sat upon, hugged and his stomach has been rubbed more times than can be counted. He had been called "Buddy", "Baby" and "That Chubby Guy". And still he sits patient and serene.

When we moved into the new store, we found that the big glass front door was extremely heavy. We tried rubber door wedges and wooden door stops and the door smashed them. I bought a cute cast iron dog and the door knocked it across the sidewalk. Finally we settled on a cinder block, which was practical but ugly and soulless. And then one day I came to work to find Buddha sitting in front of the door, effortlessly holding it open for all passersby. Jessica, the magnificent store manager and her husband, Seamus, the adorable, had brought Buddha from home to live and work at The Open Book. Seamus even built Buddha a little cart with wheels so that the Open Bookies could save their backs for lifting heavy boxes.

Buddha reminds people to ignore the siren song of the sand and sea and to come into the store to browse the books. He convinces people that the steak on the grill and the wine in the glass can wait a few minutes while they decide on a good read. Buddha reminds me to be kind and patient when I am tired and every face starts to blur into one.

I hope that having Buddha as a doorman is not sacrilegious. I believe his position is one of honor and sporadic respect. Moms with yoga mats have been known to teach their children to say "Namaste" to Buddha. I know that I have rarely left the quiet, empty bookstore at the end of a long day without giving his belly a little pat for luck and saying a thank you for his service.

So next time you are in town, come by and say hello to Buddha. Just don't call him "Baby".