writer's block

So I was reading Jacks blog, hi Jack, and he mentioned having writers block which put me in mind of a book, of all things. This is Jessie by the way. The book that came to mind is Lynda Barry's What It Is. Lynda Barry is a brilliant (in my opinion) writer who uses drawings and a collage style in her books. What It Is is all about unlocking what's in your mind and getting it down on paper. It's full of short excersises to get your creative juices flowing. Anyone can write. You don't have to make a living at it or even do it particularly well. Just start doing it. Even if no one ever sees a page of it. You can do it just for you, and Lynda can help you get started. I would also recommend her book 100 Demons. Did I mention she's brilliant?

Life is too short to read bad books.

Of course, what constitutes a bad book is a matter of opinion, and some of the best arguments can be had about books that have made different impressions on different people. But, in the interests of open communication, and of living up to what we said we would do, how about a few books we did not care for (to put it mildly), books that have received lot of hype in other quarters.
One of our best examples is "Glass Books of the Dream Eaters" by Dahlquist. Closely followed by the book that has caused so much fuss recently "Jewel of Medina" the fictional biography of Mohammed's fourth wife. We read advance copies and were distinctly underwhelmed.
We operate a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on books at Nicola's. If you ask us our opinion, we will offer it, good or bad, but we won't push our opinion on you if you don't wish for it!
Then, just to balance it up, here are a few books we really like, that may be under the radar for you. "Jewel Trader of Pegu" by Hantover - an exquisite little book, all in letters from a nephew in the Far East back to his uncle in Venice set in around 1600. Nigel Slater's "Toast" a memoir of his childhood and particularly, his mother's cooking, and the cooking of England on the 60's and 70's., not exactly its heyday - his memories fit exactly with mine - and his examples are perfect.

okay let try this again

Okay so there I am staring at the tyranny of the blank page with a mild case of writers block
and I dunno all of a sudden the stupid computer said I had successfully posted a blog. I was kinda of happy (hey good job!) and in total disbelief. I hadn't even gotten started. So my name is Jack and you probably know by now that I am somewhat of a Luddite. Anyway again I say welcome and we thought we would tell you all about the book world. Books that we want to recommend. Insider gossip of the book business. What kind of events we are having and how they go. We hope there is an audience for this project and would like to hear from you.

There is a new book that I really liked. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. Basically think Charles Dickens in early 19th century New England. Young Ren is an orphan (of course) who one day is rescued from the monastery by his long lost brother Benjamin Nab. Ren was the victim of an Indian raid and his family all died except for him and Benjamin. The adventure begins! Filled with colorful characters and mysteries to be solved this is a great fast read. It's an American novel so its a lot shorter than Dickens. It just came out in hardcover and is twenty five dollars

So I'll be back tomorrow with something else to say. I want to look up a story about Dashell Hammett. I'm pretty sure he had writers block for years. But every day would get up and stare at his typewriter with a blank piece of paper in it

What's it all about?

Welcome!

Oh, the potential . . .

We're excited about our new blog! This is our space to talk about the books we are reading and thinking about and discussing amongst ourselves. Our goal is to add content weekly, though we appreciate your patience and understanding while we get this new project off the ground. If you have feedback we would love to read your comments. However, as this site is affiliated with our store, we reserve the right to remove posts that we feel are inappropriate.

We can't wait to write about the books we love, the books we hate, and whatever else strikes our fancy