Bill Simmons

A shout out to those of you who are Boston sports fans. As you may already know Bill Simmons is on tour with his new book The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy.. He is signing books at Hurricane O'Reilly's on Canal Street from 4pm today until tip off of the Celtics/Bulls game. Porter Square will be there selling books and if the DC and NY stops are any indication, this will be huge. So, come down and meet the most obsessive fan, in the best sense of the word, of basketball ever and get a book signed.

Interference and Other Stories

Local Cambridge author Richard Hoffman's latest work, Interference and Other Stories, recently arrived. I've read and recommended Richard's earlier memoir Half the House, and his book of poems, Gold Star Road. I wasn't aware he was writing fiction as well. Eager to see what the new book was like I read the first two stories on the train home yesterday and I found them both powerful and profound. I expect the rest are going to be up to that standard.

Logicomix Links

Logicomix, the graphic novel about Betrand Russell has taken off. I mentioned it in this blog post and made it a staff pick. We're having trouble keeping it in stock. If you're interested in the book visit the Logicomix home page. They've also put together a documentary about the making of the book.

Here's the trailer the publisher's created.

signed editions

Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, was kind enough to stop by the store before an appearance at another venue and sign copies of her new book Half Broke Horses. She calls her latest a true-life novel - a fictionalized first person account of the life of her grandmother.

We also have signed first editions of Margaret Atwood's new novel, Year of the Flood and Lorrie Moore's Gate at the Stairs.

We expect to have a limited number of signed first editions of Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence in early November. Let us know if you'd like us to reserve you a copy.

In all these cases, if you order online please let us know in the comments field of your order that you'd like to receive signed copies.

Next Queen of Heaven

Once again we are distributing the latest issue from the Concord Free Press. This time it's a new novel by Gregory Maguire titled The Next Queen of Heaven. Like all books published by the Concord Free Press, this paperback book is free. All they ask is that you make a donation to the charity of your choice or give some money to someone who needs it. How much you give is up to you. When you're done with the novel, pass it on so the giving can continue. For more info and to let them know where you gave the money go to www.concordfreepress.com. Visit us right away as the carton we received won't last long.

Two Major Short Story Collections

Two major short story collections have come out in the last couple of weeks.

The first is The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard. Ballard is probably most famous in America as author of Crash, the novel the movie, and now TV series were based on, but he is a major force in late 20th century English Literature. His work is so distinctive and influential that you can now describe something as "Ballardian." The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard is a great opportunity to get a feel for this complex and prolific writer.

The second is The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis. Davis is one of the most innovative and vibrant short story writers in America, and one of my personal favorites. Her stories have an edge of intellectualism, humor, and surrealism that too many writers fearfully avoid. She was writing flash or microfiction before there was a name for it. For example, here is her "story," "Samuel Johnson is Indignant:"

that Scotland has so few trees.

"We Miss You: A Study of Get-Well Letters from a Class of Fourth-Graders," from her National Book Award Finalist Varieties of Disturbance, is one of my favorite short stories.

Elizabeth Alexander

It's few months later but this link will bring you to some nice shots of the Inaugural poet when she was at Porter Square Books this summer. We were lucky to have Ms. Alexander in the neighborhood for awhile and pleased to say she was a frequent visitor. She has returned to Connecticut and her position at Yale University as chair of the African American Studies Department.

http://whizzer.smugmug.com/Events/Writers-Poets-Editors/Elizabeth-Alexander-Porter-Sq/8928590_xiSNW#593092592_VDrLZ

Tracy Kidder

As expected we had a sell out crowd for Tracy Kidder on Thursday night. Of particular interest was his decision to address his writing "style", as he is so often asked about it. As his readers know, he doesn't write dry tedious treatises on topics of interest, but compelling, inspiring and enthralling narratives about real people involved in diverse yet universally human pursuits. He has brought Partners in Health and the work they do to the forefront and let's hope Strength in What Remains will do the same for Village Health Works.

For further details about the evening you can take a look at this blog posted by Kevin Koczwara. http://feeldabeat.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/tracy-kidder-talks-new-book-and-issues-at-porter-square/

OR, check out http://www.portersquarebooks.com/book/9781400066216 for a video clip of Kidder.

We have signed copies of Kidder's latest on hand but they are going fast. Speaking of which, we have signed first editions of Lorrie Moore's A Gate at the Stairs available now. As of October 26 we will have signed first editions of Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood. You can call and reserve a copy or just come in the store.