The concept of simulacra is fascinating.  We have a need and desire to make things look like something else; an outdoor mall that looks like a European village, amusement parks that present a world we are meant to experience as reality, presenting the ideal“photographic moment” to tourists so that they can take with them only the most perfect representation of their experience.  There is something disturbing and yet very normal about this phenomena, and it is especially prevalent in American culture today.  It’s understandable, really- it’s  comforting to be in a new place and be reminded of home and it’s exciting to be home and feel as if you are somewhere more interesting.  It is, however,  upsetting to hear someone at Joshua Tree National Park remark that the granite rock formations look like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland, and not the other way around.

Las Vegas is the epitome of the simulacra; it exists entirely on its own.  Nothing is real, and it makes you wonder what exists outside its constructed reality.  In Las Vegas Periphery, Newport Beach photographer Laurie Brown presents the sprawl of this manufactured land.  The 89 panoramic images depict the land on the outskirts of Las Vegas- a land that appears haphazardly constructed. They illustrate a desolate land turned into a home, fighting to strike a balance between the natural and the constructed, right outside the excess of the city.

Brown has always been interested in the effects and characteristics of urban sprawl.   Her earlier book, Recent Terrains: Terraforming the American West, was published in 2000 as part of George F. Thompson’s  Creating the North American Landscape series.  In Recent Terrains , Brown examines the effects of this development on the greater Los Angeles area, and the new pressure these changes place on the region’s ecosystems.  For Las Vegas Periphery, Brown travels east and continues her exploration of this topic, revealing a landscape that provides evidence of both lavish expansion and failed attempts at creating an American paradise.

Mangled chain link fences and power lines surround the edges of Brown’s photos, enclosing grandiose condos and houses within their borders.  Signs advertise model homes and “new towns from the American West,” with every house the same as the one next to it, all fading into the landscape.  Defeated, premature palm trees dot the horizon.  Strange blue bodies of water offer a bit of reprieve from the harsh heat of the desert, but end up looking out of place.  While these photographs chronicle more than 10 years, there is a sense that nothing is finished, and there doesn’t appear to be any indication that it ever will be.

As Sally Denton points out in her essay for the book, Las Vegas has always been a place of great change and development.  As a third generation Nevadan, Denton provides a brief but thorough history of the Las Vegas Valley.

“ Still, for all its swagger, for the raw presumptuousness of its money and machines, the city has a fragility and precariousness that is palpable.  Las Vegas is the ground-zero crossroad where ancient landscape meets modern artifice.  There is a sense that it could all blow away tomorrow. That the same forces that have ruled the desert since the beginning of time could swiftly reclaim these castles in the sand.”

Despite the breathtaking mountains and expansive blue skies, Laurie Brown’s photographs are unsettling and eerie, capturing the landscape in compositions that are at once geometric and organic, fabricated and natural.  Her choice of panoramic format effectively translates the experience of being faced with such open, lonely places- the viewer is trapped and abandoned in the expanse of the Mojave Desert.  Long, foreboding shadows reach across the images, trying to hide the landscape beneath them.  The striking absence of people in these photographs speaks to the evolution and development of this area, as well as many places outside larger cities in the West.

What does it mean to build a place for people who are not there?

It’s almost here!  A week from today, Vroman’s and Book Soup will be headed to set up booths for the Los Angeles Times Festival Books on the always lovely USC campus!  If you have never been (!!!), the Festival is a sunny, beautiful, bustling two whole days filled with books, authors, music, and all the people who love these things.  There is absolutely something for everyone- every interest, every age.  I love knowing I am surrounded by thousands of other people who are also there to celebrate their passion for books and reading.  It’s a wonderful, inspiring day and you’ll learn and see so much!

In addition to the hundreds and hundreds of books Vroman’s is bringing to the Festival this year, we are very excited to introduce amazing new gift items!  We have brand new designs for our exclusive t-shirts, including one with I read past my bedtime printed on the front.  Because we do.  And we know you do, too.  And obviously,  you need a shirt that says so!  We also have some great After Reading Mints and exciting new mug designs!

We’ll be at booth #117, so stop by and visit us!

Our fantastic sister store, Book Soup, has quite the packed schedule of signings for both days of the Festival- there are signings every hour!  You can find them at booth #086. No tickets necessary, just purchase the book you would like signed and hop in the signing line.

Signing Schedule | Book Soup | Saturday, April 20, 10am-6pm | Booth #086

11am Gustavo Arellano – Taco U.S.A.

12pm Matthew Spektor – American Dream Machine

1pm Brian Boitano – What Would Brian Boitano Make?: Fresh & Fun Recipes For Sharing With Family & Friends

2pm Jonathan Lethem – The Ecstacy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.

2:30pm Maria Semple – Where’d You Go, Bernadette?: A Novel

3pm Susan Feniger - Susan Feniger’s Street Food: Irresistably Crispy, Creamy, Crunchy, Spicy, Sticky, Sweet Recipes

4pm Jerry Stahl & Nina Revoyer – Bad Sex On Speed: A Novel & Wingshooters

Signing Schedule | Book Soup | Sunday, April 21, 10am-5pm | Booth #086

11am Philip Kerr – A Man Without Breath

11:45am P.G. Sturges – Angel’s Gate: A Shortcut Man Novel

1pm Joshua Mohr – Fight Song: A Novel

2pm Jim Poscoe & Tom Fassbender – By The Balls: The Complete Collection

3pm Stephen Jay Schwartz – Beat

3pm Dan Bucatinsky - Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?

Festival Happenings
The Festival of Books schedules an overwhelming number of events on multiple stages every year, so no matter what you’re looking for or who you’re going with, you’ll always find something to do! This includes authors & author panels, celebrities, cooking demonstrations,  and music!  You can see the complete schedule here.

The Festival also hosts great Indoor Conversations with authors.  You can find out more information about tickets and how to get them here.  Tickets for these conversations will be available beginning Sunday, April 14 at 9am.  Again, general attendance is free to the Festival is free, as are the outdoor stages and activities.  Tickets are only required for the Indoor Conversations.

You can also purchase tickets to attend the 33rd Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Prizes Ceremony!  You can find details here.

Parking & Transportation
It’s probably pretty obvious, but parking at the Festival is a bit on the tricky side.  Save time, money, and gas (and save yourself from screaming at everyone on your drive to USC), and take the Metro to the Festival!  The Expo Park/ USC stop on the Expo Line drops you right in front of the USC campus and museums- it really couldn’t be easier.  Also, Sunday, April 21 from 10am-3pm is CicLAVia, an impressive event that closes city streets and provides a safe public place to bike, walk, run, and play.  The street closures will run from downtown L.A. to Venice Beach- you can see the route here, just in case it affects your commute to the Festival, but also because you may want to go to both events.  It really does sound wonderful- what a fantastic weekend to live in L.A.!

There’s lots to do, and everyone at Vroman’s and Book Soup is working so hard to make sure our booths at the Festival are the best yet.  We’re really excited and we can’t wait to see you there.  Grab your sunscreen and spend an awesome weekend with us!

I was working in the bookstore late one evening when a customer asked for me.  “I’m looking for a book,” he said, “and I saw your staff picks around the store and thought you might be able to help me.” I asked him what kind of book he was looking for.  He paused for a moment, then his voice caught and it seemed like he might start crying:  “I’m looking for a book that will change my life.”

In 20 years of bookselling, I’ve had customers share surprisingly intimate details of their lives with me.  A woman in her late 50s asked me for books on relationships, but after I walked her to the section, she started crying and confided the story of her daughter’s marriage to an abusive man, and how she needed a book that could save her.  A well-dressed couple, him in a suit and her in a wrap dress, came in over the holidays and asked me for books to give a friend who was just diagnosed with terminal cancer.  They had tried searching on Amazon, but the titles that came up were about the mechanics of how to survive, not the particular poetry of living with dying.  More than once someone has asked me for a good novel, “something that will make me laugh,” only to admit once I’d found a book for them, that they needed something funny to distract them from some trauma or drama that they then proceeded to share with me.  A hipster asked me for books on personal finances; she was determined to begin the long crawl out of a deep debt.  A famous actor admitted his stage fright and asked for a copy of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.  A young woman asked me for books on recovering from loss; she had recently lost a child…

In the wake of Internet competition, bookstores have been feeling like publisher showcases and promoting ourselves as literary curators.  But our true value may be as basic as this: often people come to us simply to talk to another human being.  In a world that is more and more automated, computerized, web-based, sometimes, someone just wants to tell their story to another human being, feel like someone heard them, and take away hope that things will change — hope in the form of a book.

I walked with the customer downstairs and we went through my staff picks that he had seen earlier: Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, A Woman’s Worth, The Gift of Fear.  At various points these books had all shifted my perspective, changed my way of thinking, even saved my life one could say.   Diet for a Small Planet inspired my conversion to vegetarianism when I was 18.   The Comfort Trap helped me bring necessary closure to my 10-year marriage.   Wherever You Go, There You Are introduced me to meditation and a new mindful approach to my life.  As Thoreau wrote, “How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.”

These recent years have marked a new era for all of us, one full of changes.  And for many people, those changes felt dramatic and alarmingly sudden.  But they were years in the making, the results of hundreds of decisions we all made every single day: who we voted for, who we trusted, where we shopped, where we didn’t shop, what we chose to not pay attention to, and so on.  I’m not saying the global economic meltdown is our fault, but I am suggesting that perhaps right now we are making choices every day that will influence our future.  A decision to save $6.00 on Amazon, multiplied by thousands of customers every day, means that your local bookstore, the place where you hang out, meet friends, met your partner, or found the book that changed your life, may not be there next year…

But for now, many of us brick and mortar booksellers are still here, committed to what I believe is a noble pursuit: putting the right book in the right person’s hands.  Tonight when I left work there were 30 people lined up for the grilled cheese food truck in our parking lot. There were another 40 people in our event space to hear a first-time author read.  There were 10 members of a book club discussing a new novel, and another dozen folks in our coffee shop, most of them reading or writing.  A family in the children’s department was reading picture books together, and another 15 people quietly browsed the bookshelves. It is in these moments that I am awed by the role a bookstore plays in a community, a feeling made even more awesome by the realization that today we sold 1,087 books, any one of which could change someone’s life.

The sign of a great Master is his ability to win a won game quickly and painlessly.  -  Irving Chernev

We have had quite the variety of displays recently, so I thought I would continue to share them!  One of our displays this week, A Game of Chess, features fiction and non-fiction titles about chess and infamous chess players.

Our featured title is A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer duBois.

“Gorgeous . . . a thrilling debut . . . [Jennifer] DuBois writes with haunting richness and fierce intelligence. She has an equal grasp of politics and history, [and] the emotional nuances of her complex characters. . . . DuBois’s evocations of Russia are lush, and her swashbuckling descriptions, whether of chess games, a doomed political campaign, or the anticipation of death, are moving yet startlingly funny—full of bravado, insight, and clarity.”—Elle

In St. Petersburg, Russia, world chess champion Aleksandr Bezetov begins a quixotic quest: He launches a dissident presidential campaign against Vladimir Putin. He knows he will not win—and that he is risking his life in the process—but a deeper conviction propels him forward.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, thirty-year-old English lecturer Irina Ellison struggles for a sense of purpose. Irina is certain she has inherited Huntington’s disease—the same cruel illness that ended her father’s life. When Irina finds an old, photocopied letter her father wrote to the young Aleksandr Bezetov, she makes a fateful decision. Her father asked the chess prodigy a profound question—How does one proceed in a lost cause?—but never received an adequate reply. Leaving everything behind, Irina travels to Russia to find Bezetov and get an answer for her father, and for herself.

Other featured titles:
The Immortal Game: A History of Chess by David Shenk
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon
Improve Your Chess Tactics by Yakov Neishtadt
End Game by Frank Brady
The Chess Player’s Bible by James Eade
Chess: A Pop-Up Set by Sam Ita

Now, if only I could play…

Featured books about Hemingway:

Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson
There’s never been a biography quite like this one… The stories are rich with contradiction and humanity, and so raw and immediate you can smell the salt air. – Publisher’s Weekly

 

Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway’s First Wife by Gioia Diliberto
Hemingway: A Life in Pictures by Boris Vejdovsky & Mariel Hemingway
Hemingway: The 1930′s by Michael S. Reynolds

And by Hemingway himself:
A Moveable Feast
A Farewell to Arms
The Sun Also Rises
The Old Man & the Sea
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
For Whom the Bell Tolls

I think we all know the answer.

Last week, I heard a story about someone who had bought one book for every year he and his wife had been together.  They had been married for 50 years!  He chose 50 different books- various subjects, new books, classics, fiction, and non-fiction.

Beat that this Valentine’s Day!  Or just do the same thing because that is THE BEST IDEA.

So, you’re feeling the pressure- Valentine’s Day is this Thursday.  Last year, I ruined Valentine’s because I came home from work with a 101 degree fever, meaning my evening, and the next two days, were spent lying on the couch watching Seasons 1 & 2 of Downton Abbey, drinking my weight in juice, and being absolutely pathetic.  I think I can do a little better this year- or at least I know it can’t really get worse.  In fact, I want everyone to have a better Valentine’s Day than they had last year, so I present to you, in no particular order:

A Few Valentine’s Gift Ideas from Vroman’s Bookstore
or
Ideas to Save You from Buying Generic Candy, Wilted Flowers, and a Gigantic Strange-Looking  Teddy Bear from the Valentine’s Aisle at the Grocery Store at 11pm on Wednesday Night

1.  Squishables
Just can’t seem to pull yourself away from the gigantic stuffed animal idea this year?  Squishables fill your need to purchase over-sized creatures, and are available in a variety of not-so-ordinary species.  Hedgehogs, whales, jellyfish, narwhals, and a yeti are all members of  the Vroman’s Squishables menagerie.  Give one a good home!  Also, there isn’t a little kid on this planet who could say no to one of these guys!  Don’t forget to show your little ones that they’re special on Valentine’s Day, too!

2.   A great collection of short stories
These little gems provide the reader with a miniature escape- something a bit shorter that they can read over morning coffee or right before bed.  The action and story structure varies from that of a novel, so they provide a much different experience.  Short stories are also a great way to introduce someone to a genre they don’t know much about or that they wouldn’t normally read. Luckily, there have been a lot of short story collections out in the last few months.  Joan Wickersham’s The News from Spain: 7 Variations on a Love Story is especially appropriate as a Valentine’s gift.  These stories span several centuries and all over the world, involving many different people, but at the same time confronting the same basic theme: the attempt to understand and control love.  Other notable titles include the recent Tenth of December by George Saunders, This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz, and Dear Life by Alice Munro.

3.  Any book + some candy/ chocolate/ tea
If you’re still thinking about going the candy route the year, that’s totally fine!  We have an unending supply of chocolates and candy at Vroman’s, and we have flavors to suit just about anyone’s taste.  Hammond’s makes chocolate bars with flavors like PB & J Sandwich,  Sweet & Spicy (Chocolate & Chipotle),  Sea Side Caramel, and Crackle Crunch.  We also have the infamous  Sea Salt Caramels from Pasadena’s beloved Little Flower Candy Co.
Tea pairs very well with any book, and we have a pretty extensive selection.  Tea Forté has released a new collection of loose leaf teas with intriguing flavors like Tupelo Honey Fig, Peach Rhubarb, and Hazelnut Truffle.

5.  Write an old-fashioned love letter!
Snail mail is the way to go!  Afterall, you can’t profess your undying love via email, can you?  Our Pen & Stationery Department has everything you need to write your sweetheart a sweet little something.  We have sealing wax kits and parchment paper, and if you’re feeling really crazy, we also carry rose-scented ink.  Crane makes beautiful monogrammed note cards- stationery also makes a perfect gift!

6.  Gigantic, stunning photo or coffee table books
Why settle for a huge bouquet of roses when you could give someone a huge book?  They are available in basically every subject, so there’s really something for everyone.

7.  A Vroman’s gift card
We get it- buying books for other people can be really difficult.  Our gift cards take the pressure off of you, and everyone is happy in the end!  You seriously, absolutely cannot go wrong with one of these.

Obviously, when it comes down to it, you don’t need to buy someone something to tell them you care about them.  But, giving gifts is fun and exciting, so if you’re going to, why not be the best gift-giver you can be?

Vroman’s also offers free gift wrapping at our Will Call department on the 2nd floor, and if you’re still stuck and can’t quite find what you’re looking for, one of our awesome booksellers will be right there to help you pick something out.

Alright- go out there and show someone some love!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Certain authors have the ability to make you grow very comfortable (or I suppose in this case, very uncomfortable) with the world they have created.   The Age Of Miracles has been the talk of the town among the Vroman’s staff in the past few months, so, trusting their recommendations, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I began reading with no idea of what the book was about, other than some vague anecdotes that sounded like something I would like.  I knew the story centered around a young girl named Julia who happens to be growing up at the same time the world was quite literally slowing down.  Seriously- the rotation of the Earth was gradually slowing (referred to in the book as “The Slowing”), making days and nights longer,  and affecting the planet in unpredictable ways.  Now, don’t go thinking this is just some crazy Twilight Zone-esque story (I mean, there’s a hint of Twilight Zone in there, definitely, and who doesn’t love that?), because there is so much more.  So much more.

Yes, this is a coming-of-age story about Julia.  She is 12 years old and dealing with body image, a changing family dynamic, first kisses, self-esteem, and what it means to fit in. But, this is also a story about the world changing in an unfathomable way. There is an intriguing  dichotomy between the problems Julia faces, which is what makes for such a compelling story.  I mean, the rotation of the Earth was slowing with no certain end, and she was really just concerned about buying her first bra.  Julia wasn’t even being selfish really- as a character, she handled everything pretty well, and she just proved that life goes on, sometimes under even the most extreme circumstances.  There were times in the book when she was just as worried about the state of the planet as she was about the boy next door.  The Age of Miracles is a refreshing look at this type of scenario; Julia was growing up and realizing that there were many things she couldn’t change, but there were a lot of things she did still have control over, so she chose to embrace  those instead.  Karen Thompson Walker introduces us to a character we can relate to, even under extraordinary circumstances.

Also, fun fact: The Age of Miracles was chosen as the 2013 One City, One Story selection for Pasadena.  There will be a lot to talk about with this one.  Find more information about One City, One Story here.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I’m not sure I would have chosen to read this book if it weren’t for the fact that nearly everyone I work with was falling over each other to get a copy.  However, I have learned to trust my colleagues and their various book recommendations.  When interest in a book catches like wildfire, I know it’s a pretty good indication of what I should be reading next.  So, I picked up Gone Girl.

Initially, I was skeptical- the book description reads like the synopsis of a Lifetime Original Movie (a really awesome one that sucks you in and prevents you from doing anything else for the rest of the day, but a Lifetime movie just the same); happy couple on their 5^th wedding anniversary, beautiful wife goes missing, husband becomes the primary suspect, etc.  I’m not one to turn down a good Lifetime movie, what with its formulaic storyline, realistic script, and exceptional acting, but I wasn’t sure I could commit to reading one.

Well, FALSE.  I couldn’t have been more wrong if I tried.  On the surface, the storyline appears to be very simple.  The couple in question, Amy and Nick Dunne, appear to be happy.  Then Amy goes missing and Nick is implicated in the crime.  But Gillian Flynn is not in the business of predictability, and she creates a twisting, enthralling story that is impossible to stop reading.  Told in alternating voices, the reader learns Amy’s and Nick’s  side of the story independently.  That is, until their stories eventually collide.

I would suggest reading this with a friend so that you have someone to talk to about what happens.  A lot of your conversations will probably begin with “Can you even believe that?”  “Seriously?!?!” and “What the what!?”  This is an awesome feeling while reading, so being able to share it with someone makes it 80 times more fun.  I read it on a flight to Ohio, so I didn’t have anyone with whom I could share my experience.  I didn’t think the stranger next to me would appreciate my extreme excitement, so I just exclaimed a lot in my head and, never moving from my seat, read the entire book in 4 hours.  Exactly.  It’s that good.

So, like I said, I need my can’t-put-the-book-down fix.  And my resolution is to read more frequently so I can find those books more often.  I’ll make some lofty book-related resolutions for which you all can hold me accountable, but I think I’ll do that on Wednesday (already off to a great start, right?).  Until then, here’s a short list of the books I have my eyes on for 2013.

Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto

Dear Life by Alice Munro

The Dawn of the Deed by John A. Long

A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins

Astray by Emma Donoghue

Speculating Daguerre: Art and Enterprise in the Work of L.J.M Daguerre
by Stephen C. Pinson

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

  What’s on your list?

Here’s to a year of amazing books and a year filled with new ones to discover!
Happy New Year!

Update!  1/7/13

I am hosting the Lisa O’Donnell event for her debut novel The Death of Bees.  It has come to my attention that I very desperately need to read this book, so I’m moving it to the top of my To Read list for this year.  Take a look:
The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell

Tree Houses: Fairy Castles in the Air by Philip Jodidio
The houses are beautiful & I have always wished I had my own little hideaway. – Regina, Book Department

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
I’m a big fan of her blog & recipes in general.
-Jen, Promotional Director

Kobo Glo eReader
It has a no-glare screen and backlight!
- Johnny, Assistant Manager (cashiers)

V for Vendetta Deluxe Collector Set by Alan Moore
This collector set features one of the most influential graphic novels and comes with your very own Annonymous mask.
- Mr. Steve, Children’s department/ Sale Book Buyer

Lost at Sea by Jon Ronson
It’s kind of like a playlist of Jon Ronson writing-  he’s great!
- Sarah, book department

Route 66 Encylopedia by Jim Hinckley
It makes me want to take a road trip- it has great vintage photos and facts, all in alphabetical order!
- Anne, Visual Merchandising Manager

Canal House Cooks Everyday by Christopher Hirscheimer & Melissa Hamilton
These recipes make sense and are for home cooks, plus the photography is just beautiful.
- Sherri, Head Book Buyer

Art and Madness:  A Memoir of Lust Without Reason by Anne Roiphe
It’s the story of a women who was a muse to many artists and writers, struggling with how she would one day be able to create her own art- really interesting story!
- Jo, Book Department

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design
by Weta Workshop
The photographs and drawings are beautiful, and I’ve been excited for this move for 5 years!
- Madalyne, Buying Dept. Administrative Assistant

Princesse Grace de Monaco ballpoint pen by Mont Blanc
It’s absolutely gorgeous with its pink topaz and champagne gold settings.
- Cara, Pen & Stationery Department

Cashmere Scarves (assorted patterns, 100% cashmere, $28.95)
They make great gifts for both guys & gals- and who doesn’t love plaid?!
- Alison, Assistant Promotional Director

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
A stunning, unsettling book that I just couldn’t stop thinking about, even long after I had finished it.
- Rachel, Digital Media Coordinator (me!)

Puppyhood: Life-size Portraits of Puppies at 6 Weeks Old by J. Nichole Smith
A book that will make you go “Awwwwwwww!”
- Nicole, Assistant Manager, Book Department

So there you go- the (Vroman’s) people have spoken.  And don’t worry, there are plenty more gift ideas where those came from, just stop on by!

Interestingly enough, the IndieCommerce Institute happened at a very important time in the world of ABA member bookstores.  Yes, we were there to review the mechanics of websites and talk about books and reading and all that great stuff, but there was a big announcement to be made, and it just happened to coincide with our conference.

ABA member bookstores have been selling Google eBooks, but when Google announced it was ending its reseller program for eBooks in January, the ABA needed to find a new solution for independent bookstores to continue selling eBooks.   The ABA spent a lot of time looking for an eReader and eBook vendor that would be appropriate for its member bookstores, and after much consideration, they worked out an agreement with Kobo, a family of eReaders  founded within Indigo, a popular Canadian bookstore chain.   Kobo has over 10 million users worldwide and offers over 3 million ebook titles.

“But ebooks are evil and I love Vroman’s so much, I’ll never buy eBooks or an eReader ever!”  Not at all!   Kobo and Vroman’s (and any other indie bookstore, for that matter) can live together in perfect harmony.   You’re supporting our store when you purchase a Kobo device from us, and you continue to do so when you buy Kobo ebooks through your Kobo account on your device or on our website.  So don’t you worry!

We have a lot of information about the Kobo eReaders on our website, and you can find the detailed Kobo information here, but here’s a quick overview of the world of Kobo.

What Kobo devices do you carry at Vroman’s?
Vroman’s carries the Kobo Mini and the Kobo Glo.

The Kobo display at Vroman’s! Vroman’s Hastings Ranch also carries the Kobo Mini & Kobo Glo.

What is E Ink?
The Kobo Mini and Kobo Glo are both E Ink devices.  E Ink is meant to look like ink on paper for a comfortable, no-glare reading experience.  And by “it’s meant to look like ink” I mean it IS ink— tiny particles of ink stick to the screen so that text appears crisp.

What other devices allow you to read Kobo eBooks?
You can actually read Kobo eBooks on several different devices.  Vroman’s will now be selling Kobo eBooks instead of Google eBooks, so if you have bought those in the past, you can purchase Kobo eBooks in exactly the same way.  You can read the Kobo eBooks on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android devices, Sony readers, and more with Kobo’s free reading apps . You can find instructions and the full list of supported devices here.  And remember, once you’ve set up a Kobo account through our link, with each Kobo eBook  you purchase, you’re supporting Vroman’s!

So if you’re not selling Google eBooks anymore, how do I access the ones I already have?  Can I read them on my Kobo?
You will continue to be able to access them via your Google account. However, the IndieBound Reader app was designed specifically to interface with Google eBooks and will no longer be supported after January 2013.  If desired, you can load your Google eBooks to a new Kobo device using Adobe Digital Editions. Please see this video, produced by Google, for a step-by-step guide to transferring your Google eBooks to your new Kobo eReader.

How many books to the Kobo Mini and Kobo Glo hold?
The Kobo Mini holds up to 1,000 eBooks on 2GB of internal memory.  The Kobo Glo also holds 1,000 eBooks on 2GB of internal memory, with the option of adding memory with a 32GB Micro SD card (maximum).

Does Kobo allow sharing of books between Kobo devices, like Kindle and Nook do?
At this time, it is not possible for a Kobo customer to lend or share eBooks from their library with another person. The eBooks in your Kobo library are tied directly to your account and password.

Can I give Kobo books as a gift?
Yes!/ Kind of (you just need to give a Kobo gift card).  Since all Kobo ebooks are connected to your account when you purchase them, and Kobo customers are unable to lend or share their ebooks,  you can’t technically buy an eBook and just give it to someone.  But don’t worry!  Kobo offers Kobo gift cards that you can give that special someone and will allow them to buy the books they want.  Vroman’s Bookstore gift cards cannot be used to buy Kobo eBooks at this time, as a Kobo eBook purchase takes place through your Kobo account, not the Vroman’s website.

We also sell Kobo cases and covers!

Maybe you’ve been interested in eBooks and eReaders, but you weren’t quite sure where to start.  Maybe a Kobo would be perfect for someone on your holiday shopping list.  Maybe you want to be able to say you have 1,000 books in your pocket.  Or maybe you just like that KOBO is BOOK with the letters jumbled.  If you’re looking for a way to read eBooks and support independent bookstores at the same time, the Kobo might be just what you’ve been searching for.

Savvy by Ingrid Law (Grades 3-7)
They each possess a “savvy” — a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity… and now it’s the eve of Mibs’s big day.
As if waiting weren’t hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs’s birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman’s bus… only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up — and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

Readers could take their picture with the pink bus from Savvy at yesterday’s Savvy Soiree.

Lightning bolt cookies!

Our very special guest, Ingrid Law, talks to her readers about writing, characters, and imagination. Thanks, Ingrid!!!

Throughout October and November, Vroman’s was proud to sponsor various events related to the book, including the Savvy Essay contest, for which readers in grades 3-7 were asked the question “What’s Your Savvy?”  Yesterday, the Young Readers’ League celebrated reading the book with a Savvy Soiree, where readers participated in games, met a very special turtle (a character from the book!), and listened to author Ingrid Law present and discuss Savvy.

Two essay contest winners were announced at the Savvy Soiree (out of almost 40 essay submissions!), so I thought I would share with you their heart-meltingly adorable, and at times, very practical answers to what their Savvy would be.

(No corrections were made to the essays- they are presented to you in all their original amazing-ness.)

The elementary-level essay winner was Christine, a 4th grader from Jefferson Elementary:

My savvy is love.  I love lots of thing like bugs, dogs, cats, nature, and my family.  I just love things alot.  But sometimes I get too carried away with my love to some people.  My love helps heal the hearts of people who are sad, lonely, and heart broken.  My love warms the hearts of all of my family members, when my dad is lonely and very sad, I just tell him how much I love him and give him a kiss on the check and that makes him all better.  When my mom is really sad, I give her flowers and a big hug that would warm her heart right up.  When my seven year old sister is really sad about her friends that left her school, I tell her how many of my old friends that left too, then she stops crying and is happy again.  My love Savvy is very powerful!

The  middle school essay winner was Daniel, a 6^th grader at Barnhart School:

If I could have any savvy, it would be the ability to control water.  This would be the one I choose because it would be useful in many different ways.  One way would be fighting crime.  Imagine if you were a coast guard officer and you are chasing criminals on the dark, stormy, choppy ocean, but your boat is too slow to catch them.  Wouldn’t it be quite helpful if the strong current suddenly changed direction and the boat to shore?  Another useful time would be if a waterpipe broke.  I could keep the water flowing properly until the plumber arrived and repaired it correctly.  Another instance would be ocean related natural disasters.  I would be able to stop most of the destruction and save many lives taken from many coasts by hurricanes and tsunamis.  I believe this savvy would be fun to play with and helpful in many cases.

 

It’s wonderful to see kids so captivated by a book!  Stay tuned for information on the next selection for the Young Readers’ League, hopefully headed your way after the holidays.  Can’t get enough Savvy? Check out the sequel, Scumble!

It took a lot of people to put the Young Readers’ League together, so thanks go to everyone involved in making it such a wonderful success,  and to Penguin Publishers, who donated a classroom set of Savvy to give away to one lucky teacher at our Teacher’s Night in October!

Thank you to author Ingrid Law for being our special guest and sharing Savvy with us at the Soiree- all of the Young Readers were so excited to meet you!!!

And, of course, a very special thanks goes to Heather, our Customer Service Manager, who worked tirelessly to make the Young Readers’ League a possibility!

To everyone who participated in the Young Readers’ League- we hope you had a lot of fun- keep reading!!!

So… what’s YOUR savvy?