David Sedaris is coming!

A little bird has told me that David Sedaris will be appearing at the University Bookstore on June 20th. For free! Holy cow!

I hope to be helping out at the event (please please please, Steph!), but you can be sure I'll be there regardless.

I'll post more details as they become available. Until then, you can prepare by reading some of his recommended books.

Books for the holidays

If you are looking to buy books as gifts this year (and I hope you are) here are some places to check out:

• McSweeney's is having a lot of specials. Check out their store.

• Save up to 50% at Dover (offer ends 11/30/08)! I recommend browsing around the Dover site even if you're too late for that deal—they always have interesting titles at good prices.

• You definitely don't want to miss the 25% off special from the University of Nebraska Press. Don't know what to choose? Don't worry, there's a gift book guide.

• Go to Buy Books for the Holidays. There are tons of good suggestions for gift books. And if you still can't think of a title for that hard-to-buy-for relative you can send them a request for tailor-made suggestions.

• The Read Green Initiative is offering a free one-year subscription to any magazine (not books, I know, but I say close enough). I recently subscribed to a magazine this way, but haven't used it much yet. I have high hopes, though, as I've let just about all of my subscriptions lapse because I'm sick of the clutter they create.

A new website for A Novel Idea

A Novel Idea is one of my favorite bookstores (owned by my good pal Cinnamon). They recently launched a new website. Go check it out and tell them Jana sent you.

Book Lover Interview #2: Courtney Burkholder

I met Courtney when she was in the marketing department at the University of Nebraska Press. I don't know what her title was—she did so many different things it was hard to tell. We quickly became friends. She is currently the Director of Book Publishing at the International Society for Technology in Education and has recently agreed to stalk Laurie Notaro for me.

What is your favorite book (or current favorite)?
Comparing different books is like comparing trees, bicycles, and basketballs. How do I compare Tug of War: Classical Versus "Modern" Dressage: Why Classical Training Works and How Incorrect Riding Negatively Affects Horses' Health with Captain Alatriste? Those are two that I've read recently and really enjoyed, for very different reasons. I'm also finally getting to the last two books in the Series of Unfortunate Events.

What is your favorite book store?
Where I'm living? Powell's, of course!

Do you have a favorite book cover?
I had the good fortune to work with Richard Eckersley for over ten years, so I would have to choose some of his covers: Break of Day, The Crab Nebula, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the river winding along the spines, The Governor's Daughter.

Do you have a favorite book-related website/blog/social networking service?
Will Work for Books, of course! And I like to keep up with what people are reading via Facebook.

What are you reading now?

When I'm done with Lemony Snicket, I'll probably start Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Book Lover Interview #1: Cinnamon Dokken

Cinnamon Dokken opened A Novel Idea Bookstore in downtown Lincoln as a college senior in 1991. In 2006, she opened a branch shop—A Novel Idea Bookstore, Chapter Two—in the Book Town of Brownville, Nebraska. Her web site, www.anovelideabookstore.com, has virtual tours and information about book collecting. Currently, she is working to build her online bookselling business and has recently attained membership in the Independent Online Booksellers Association. She and her fiancé, Jon Carlson, have spent the past several months renovating a circa 1900 house in Lincoln’s Near South Neighborhood. Between them, they have two children—Isabel (5) and Aidan (4).

What is your favorite book (or current favorite)?

I've been captivated by non-fiction lately - The Worst Hard Time, Band of Brothers, Undaunted Courage, John Adams, etc. etc. Reading about what others have accomplished despite great hardship inspires me to put full effort into my own life. I've also been reading LOTS of children's books to my 5-year-old daughter, Isabel. Kate DiCamillo and Beverly Cleary are current favorites. It's fun to revisit some of the books I read as a child with the new perspective of a parent. I have a huge amount of admiration for children's book authors who don't write down to kids but, rather, lead them to new levels of thinking. (And there's just nothing like reading a funny book to a laughing kiddo.)

What is your favorite book store (other than yours)?

I have to say that, although San Francisco and Portland and New York are all home to some quality bookstores, Nebraskans have it pretty darned good. Bluestem Books, here in Lincoln, and Jackson Street Booksellers, in Omaha, are excellent stores. Being located in the Midwest doesn't lower us any.

I'm also looking forward to the opening of The Antiquarium in Brownville, where we have our second shop. Tom's doing some extensive renovations in Brownville's old public school building, and hopes to open in a month or two. Despite Brownville's population of 148 dear souls, it has 4 bookstores. It's a book-lovin' town!

Do you have a favorite book cover?

Several, actually. I love the old cover of Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - the one with the red shoes. I also love most of the covers of the trade paperbacks currently being published by Black Lizard, which is part of Vintage. Very sexy Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. The covers also have a matte finish, which makes me just want to pet them. Gorgeous. There's really nothing that compares to the cover art of vintage paperback mysteries and sci-fi, though. Some of the old Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason mysteries) covers are hilarious.

Do you have a favorite book-related website/blog/social networking
service?

I think your site is pretty special! ;)

What are you reading now?

Pitifully little, as my home-remodeling projects are demanding most of my attention lately. I just picked up a copy of Kurt Andersen's novel, Heyday, which I'm looking forward to. He hosts my favorite public radio program, Studio 360, and will be in town for the Nebraska Writers' Conference in June. I'm very excited about that! I've also been dipping into something called, For the Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books they Love Most. It's gratifying to see how people are influenced and affected by books. It reminds me that what I do helps people explore and discover—and engage in the world. It feels really good.