To get you fired up for the release of Six Stories a Semester, we'll be introducing the authors, one by one, over the next week. First up, Steve Almond, who just happens to be the author of "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow," a book about story-writing! But he's got books and books...

Revisiting a gem: it's always a good morning to read "What The Water Feels Like To The Fishes," flash fiction from Dave Eggers.

Dave Eggers' short short stories

Like the fur of a chinchilla. Like the cleanest tooth. Yes, the fishes say, this is what it feels like.

theguardian.com

Bookseller friends, applications for the Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship are OPEN. You should apply! You could go to some trade shows for free! You could get some cold hard cash for a project in your community! Deadline to apply is 9/20.

Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists - Binc Foundation

This scholarship and its recipients will celebrate and honor Carla’s boundless enthusiasm for the books themselves, her delight in pairing the right book with

bincfoundation.org

Having cake for breakfast, thank you very much

McSweeney's@mcsweeneys.net · 3d ago

"Our current state of unbridled free market capitalism—where food might kill you, but taxes are slightly lower—is the best version of society we can hope for. Trust us, America doesn’t get any better than this." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/rel...

I AM IN A POEM

The first subscriptions to our new lit mag, Six Stories a Semester, came through this past week and it was pretty cool. This is really happening! First issue drops 9/22. Can’t wait to share it with everyone. Subscribe here (or just order the first issue):

The Book Shop of Beverly Farms

The best bookstore in Beverly Farms and the North Shore and Cape Ann area since 1968.

bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com

Just redeemed a gift card from 6/12/12.

Book recs from customers today: Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt (2013) Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens (2015) Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke (Nov 2026) The Blackhouse by Peter May (2011, reissue not available until Nov)

Just catching up on this article and I really take issue with the second half of this sentence?! Every generation has every reason to visit a bookstore?! "Now, a new generation of leaders are trying to make the COOP relevant to a generation that has little reason to visit a bookstore anymore."

The Harvard COOP lost its way. Can a new type of bookstore mark a turning point for the nearly 150-year-old cooperative? - The Boston Globe

After years of criticism that it had become a tourist gift shop, the store is testing a new model in Allston as it prepares for bigger transformations in Harvard Square and Kendall Square.

bostonglobe.com

Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.

rollingstone.com

Hollywood mega mergers hurt everyone except the people at the top. If you read one thing about the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, let it be this: www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

Mike Schur: The Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Is Existential for Writers

“A market ceases to function when competition disappears. And it’s disappearing,” contends the comedy writer whose credits include 'Saturday Night Live,' 'The Office,' 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Brookly...

hollywoodreporter.com

The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️

I set this reminder for myself to bring home the hand truck today but when it popped up I stared at it so confused like what did I know and how did I know it. RIP Dolly 💙

No matter what else is going on, I don’t hate a little poetry lesson in a mainstream publication.

Take 10 Seconds to Read This Ezra Pound Poem. Think About It All Day. (Gift Article)

People-watchers, trainspotters and A.O. Scott agree: Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” is one of the shortest great poems in English.

nytimes.com

We just started rewatching The X-Files after many years and it is so good. It is so good because of Gillian Anderson and the grace her character gives to everyone around her.

Bradley Perry@bradleyperry.bsky.social · 2w ago

@princess-vimentin.bsky.social this is a really interesting report and worth downloading the PDF. Thanks to Gillan Anderson's character 63% of women said she boosted their confidence to excel in male-dominated jobs, and 91% viewed her as a positive role model.

So pumped for this.

Book Shop of Beverly Farms@bfbookshop.bsky.social · 2w ago

We're going to make one of those fancy graphics and whatnot, but if you want to put it on your calendar NOW, we're doing a launch of the brand-new Six Stories a Semester short story publication on Sept. 24, at 7 p.m., at Paperbacks in Boston (JP, really). You should come!

I love these tips… #BookSky

Morning reading. A novel exploring the end of life and what makes a good life and what happens to us after. Publishing 12/1.

If this were a book, you can all see the twist coming, right? That Natalie Harp deliberately wrote these to get the position she wanted, that she knows exactly what she’s doing. That she is a mastermind with a heart and stomach of steel.

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Daily Beast publishes several of Natalie Harp's love letters to her man.

We have really great booksellers who leave nice notes for each other. Have a good morning, everyone.

Just had a retired librarian in buying a book & she asked after my background & I told her I worked in publishing before the store & she asked what publishers do & I said, they produce books? & she asked if that was different from editors and…we are not all speaking the same language, it turns out.

Okay, how is ETNA so good? I don’t even really like dogs that much. My absolute favorite thing about the book is how much restraint Paul Yoon shows. An emotionally epic journey without being physically epic.

You walk around a high school and every kid has the same haircut, wears the same clothes, everyone looks exactly the same. Because if you dare to be different you will be captured on camera for eternity and eviscerated on the internet. Even if you don’t dare…everyone is so scared to be themselves.

Maggie Harrison Dupré@mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: Teen boys are using smart glasses — mainly Meta's AI Glasses — to film themselves harassing classmates at school, following girls around and "rizzing" them or "ragebaiting" them w/ insults. In several videos we reviewed, girls plead w/ the poster to stop filming. futurism.com/artificial-i...

We have a customer who walks in every six months, orders a book, pays cash, says you can call but it’s a landline and I don’t have an answering machine (!?) so might not answer. Don’t worry about letting me know the book is here. I’ll just check in next week. Does not own a cell phone or computer.

I don’t usually read a book Sam just talked about on the pod bc it’s not like I’m going to talk about it AGAIN on another ep, and it would be really stupid to do that with a 700-page book, but I loved Time Traveler’s Wife so much and Sam called the new book “ambitious” so here I am, 100 pages in.

Book Shop of Beverly Farms@bfbookshop.bsky.social · 2w ago

But, also, we talked about the new Audrey Niffenegger on EP21. Have you even listened to that yet?

Given the state of things re books, predatory corporations, etc... it is more imperative than ever to buy your books from indie bookstores and their online sites. Exclusively.

Living that glamorous bookseller life pulling hair out of the vacuum cleaner.

Bookstore Romance Day has been great. Sold a bunch of blind dates. Met a bunch of people making a day of it and visiting a bunch of bookstores. Book people are the best!

In honor of Bookstore Romance Day, here are some of my favorite romance reads. SWEET SORROW by David Nichols is a sweet summer love story and also absolutely hilarious. DOLLY ALL THE TIME by Annabel Monaghan I loved for having a middle-aged protagonist and being so feel good. 1/2

If you want a very fun introduction to the Ojibwe traditions and culture, the books of Angeline Boulley are so great. Fast-paced crime novels that, oh, by the way, introduce you to so much authentic knowledge: bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com/item/3Czr8Ta...

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley | The Book Shop of Beverly Farms

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick! A Printz Medal AND Morris Award Winner!“One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels.

bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com

Matthew Gertz@mattgertz.bsky.social · 3w ago

Newsmax host Greg Kelly on MN Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a registered member of Ojibwe whose father was a celebrated Native activist: "She passes herself off as an Indian — I have my doubts... Peggy is not an Indian, I don't care what they say, right?" www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/news...