Filed under: bookstore news, news of the world | Tags: borders bankruptcy, borders books, commited to the future, unabridged bookstore, unabridged bookstore bookseller, unabridged loves books, we love lakeview
As of today America’s third largest mega-book retailer, Borders, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They have marked all but one of Chicago’s stores for closure. While the loss of jobs to Chicago, and to the United States, is saddening, we feel this is a direct result of a book-retailer business model that just does not work.
We want to thank you, our loyal customers, patrons, and conversationalists for realizing there is an immense value in supporting a local independent bookstore.
Unabridged has been serving the community for 30 years and we are still going strong. We take great pride, and quite a lot of time, in running a business that is both successful and an important community resource. We are, in no uncertain terms, committed to the future of Lakeview, Chicago, and the printed word. Through our hand-selected new hardcovers, our amazing collection of children’s books, the value-priced remainders section, our always relevant LGBTQ room, our cutting edge fiction, the ever studious history, philosophy, and psychology sections, and so many more books to fill your shelves with knowledge, humor, drama, intelligence and wit, to stock what interests you.
We are always eager to hear ways that we can nuture the surrounding community. We encourage you to contact us via any matter of modern technology that you deem relevant.
Yours in book selling,
- Unabridged Bookstore
Filed under: books | Tags: abraham lincoln vampire hunter, cool youtube video, grand central publishing, hachette, seth graham-smith
True Story! You should watch this video. Probably rated PG-13.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Graham-Smith is available at the store on March 2 via Grand Central Publishing.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: JD salinger, JD salinger letters, little brown, lost jd salinger novels, morgan library & museum, new york city
If you’re going to be in New York City anytime between March 16 and April 11 you should, nay, NEED to stop by the Morgan Library & Museum and check out a recently declassified (there is no better word) cache of letters from famous authorial recluse, J.D. Salinger.
From the Morgan Museum:
Written to Michael Mitchell, who was commissioned by Salinger to create the dust jacket for The Catcher in the Rye, the letters cover a forty-year period and constitute an extraordinarily rare and revealing correspondence. They richly document a period of Salinger’s life that has remained obscure and provide hitherto unknown details about the daily habits and thought of this legendary author.
So, I’m guessing todo lists like:
“1) Go to Piggly Wiggly 2) Pick up brisket 3) See what this Facebook is all about 4) Tort Reform
NOPE.
More like (emphasis mine):
He wrote eloquently and poignantly about the challenges to creativity that come with middle age, and the self-doubt attendant upon his writing. But he confirmed what many of his devoted readers had long hoped: Salinger continued to adhere to a strict writing discipline and, by the mid-1960s, had completed at least two novels and continued to work on others.
Okay, Little Brown, no need for the Stephanie Meyer cash-cow any longer. “Cha-ching” I can hear in the background.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: about a mountain, book reviews, john d'agata, louise erdrich, shadow tag, unabridged bookstore is very helpful, we do not like squirrels
Here are two excellent books that were just reviewed by us, the helpful staff at Unabridged.
Stefan had this to say about … ABOUT A MOUNTAIN by John D’Agata
D’Agata crafts a stylish and circuitous investigation of the controversial government plan to store our nation’s nuclear waste inside of Yucca Mountain to illuminate the state of the modern metropolitan area. The prose whips by in a series of montages that affect a sublime, lucid quality that skilfully interweaves many desperate sources to tell the overarching story. There is a lot going on here, but D’Agata never lets the material consume the moment. Stefan loved, loved, loved! This book.
Shane read/loved/and recommends SHADOW TAG by Louise Erdrich. He said: 
What initially attracted me to Erdrich’s novel was not the plot, but rather the format in which the book is written. Shadow Tag alternates between excerpts from two diaries (one fake and one real) and third-person narration. The idea of keeping a manipulative fake diary (that you know your spouse is secretly reading) fascinated and disturbed me. And Shadow Tag did fascinate and disturb me – from beginning to end. Ultimate, it is about the collapse of a marriage and family. but with powerful imagery and engaging prose, Shadow Tag is a highly original tale, leaving the reader with profound insights into sex, love, and power. Some readers may be put off by the unlikable characters and bleak subject matter, but it is worth the plunge. Intense, poetic, chilling, raw and fearless – I really cannot recommend this unforgettable novel enough!
They are, of course, available for your pleasure. Stop by today to chat about them or, you know, whatever. Just not about squirrels. We are not currently fans of squirrels.
Filed under: books, reviews | Tags: book reviewers, galleycat, twitter, twitter book reviews
Hell, who isn’t on Twitter at least 74 times a day?
The problem in those 140 characters is that you can’t properly review a book. Thankfully, Galleycat has compiled a list of helpful peeps that all provide links to the necessary articles of their fancies. Or short and sweet just like how Twitter was imagined so many thousands of years ago.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: amazon does not care about you, amazon is destroying the book, amazon is not a good business model, amazon sucks, john grisham, the chicago tribune
Finally The Trib starts to do something worthwhile. Sorry if I missed this a few days ago. This is a great article about the larger issue facing some small independent businesses. Ahem.
And (soft segue) if you didn’t see john Grisham’s appearance on THE TODAY SHOW this morning here are the quotables about the DISCOUNTING price wars: “A disaster” “short-term” “short-sighted” “a book is WORTH $24 – this devalues the book.”
Further reading: CHEAP: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell
and
BIG-BOX SWINDLE: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell
We, of course, have both in stock.
