Joni Mitchell

With some regularity in the publishing world either by sheer coincidence or confluence of forces in the cosmos several books on a particular topic will be published at about the same time. Right now, for instance, several books examining the life and work of Joni Mitchell are in the store. Having been a devotee since her first album in 1968, I've been particularly excited. The latest, by Michelle Mercer titled Will You Take Me As I Am, focuses on what she calls Mitchell's "Blue" Period, the work leading up to that seminal album through "For the Roses".

The details of Mitchell's personal as well as professional life (and also that of Carole King and Carly Simon) are chronicled in Shelia Weller's book Girls Like Us just out in paperback.

Finally, for those more interested in a more rigorous look at her music Lloyd Whitesell has written The Music of Joni Mitchell. For this book familiarity with music theory is assumed.

Buy Indie Day

I want to thank Marie who blogs at bostonbibliophile for the news about Buy Indie Day and for her support.

Essential Pleasures

In honor of National Poetry Month Robert Pinsky and W. W Norton and Company have sponsored a website inspired by an new anthology edited by Pinsky entitled Essential Pleasures. The anthology collects poems Pinsky feels are distinguished by being read or heard aloud. Naturally, a cd accompanies the book. The website displays blogs, audio and video clips, etc. by Pinsky and many other invited poets with new postings daily.

IndieBound Wish Lists

Among the other cool things that IndieBound has done online, it has also created a Wish List function. With the Wish List you can let friends and family know what books you want and direct them to the Indie bookstores you want them to buy from. Just go to IndieBound and sign up if you haven't already (it's great way to get involved with independent businesses around the country). Click on "MY WISH LIST" and you're off.

PSB Presents: April's Poet of the Month!

JAMES TATE

James Tate. James Tate. James Tate. Did we mention James Tate? Porter Square Books is very proud to present James Tate as April's Poet of the Month!

Currently teaching English at the University of Massachusetts, this renowned poet is the author of several award-winning books such as The Lost Pilot (1967), Constant Defender (1983), Worshipful Company of Fletchers (1994), Return to the City of the White Donkey (2004), The Ghost Soldiers: Poems (2008), and many more.

Just as acclaimed, as he is prolific, James Tate also has been the recipient of numerous awards including the National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Poetry, the Wallace Stevens Award, a 1995 Tanning Prize, and a number of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2001, he was elected Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Here's what fellow poet, John Ashbery, had to say about him: "Local color plays a role, but the main event is the poet's wrestling with passing moments, frantically trying to discover the poetry there and to preserve it, perishable as it is. Tate is the poet of possibilities, of morph, of surprising consequences, lovely or disastrous, and these phenomena exist everywhere... I return to Tate's books more often perhaps than to any others when I want to be reminded afresh of the possibilities of poetry."

Don't forget to check out our in-store display on the work of James Tate! Oh, and if you'd like to hear the poet read one of his poems, click HERE for a free mp3 download. Enjoy!

Tea time of the living dead

So – like a bloody, mindless, hungry horde – the zombie books have arrived. First came Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry shambling from the dark depth of delivery trucks. Then the anxiously awaited and much feared Pride and Prejudice and Zombies burst from its cardboard box like the horribly mutilated (but strangely fascinating) corpse that it is. And the customers came, emerging from the admittedly not-foggy-at-all March afternoon and snatched away the newly-dead novels. But don’t stop panicking, more zombies will arrive in mid-April.

Both Patient Zero and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies have proved popular and received favorable reviews (from those who have acquired a taste for zombies) so I would like to frantically point out a few older zombies.

The first two books are by Max Brooks (yes, he is the son of Mel Brooks). Published in 2003, The Zombie Survival Guide is not a novel but a survival manual for dealing with the living dead. It is written in a completely serious and straight-forward tone and provides detailed instructions on preparing for an attack, identifying threats, and of course fighting the dead. The Zombie Survival Guide is often classified as “humor”, but I’m not sure why; it’s certainly not funny. What it is is very entertaining. Read it with your friends, plan your escape route, contemplate the different scenarios, give in to your inner survivalist.

Following in the dragging, shuffling footprints of ZSG and using the “rules” set down in the guide, Brooks’ next book was World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (published in 2006). This novel takes the form of a journalistic report on a recent global zombie pandemic, told through a series of interviews with survivors from across the globe. The main focus of the book is wide and satisfyingly global, including a Chinese nuclear submarine, the US government’s campaign to retake America, a disgraced profiteer hiding in Antarctica, a satellite crew watching helplessly and hopelessly from orbit, and a terrible and repulsive South African plan that may have saved the world. When the focus tightens Brooks delivers moments of gripping, personal horror. Despite its relatively low “gore-factor” this book can be quite frightening. It is also thoughtful and even moving from time to time.

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (2004) is a short, funny novel of yuletide horror. The story is set in the sleepy Californian town of Pine Cove and features a cast of eccentrics that will be familiar to Moore's readers. Common holiday malaise turns to panic and horror when the undead shamble out of the December night. It's Shaun of the Dead meets A Christmas Story. I know it's springtime, but if Patient Zero and P&P&Z don't have to wait for Halloween I see no reason The Stupidest Angel should wait for Christmas.

And for those whose hunger goes beyond the printed word there is Zombie Outbreak 2009, New England’s own zombie parade. Cover yourself in goo! Pretend you’re dead! Shuffle in a parade! Just stay away from my brain! I have a sharpened shovel and I know how to use it! For more information go to:
http://www.meetup.com/New-England-Horror-Group

New Magazines

We've started carrying a number of new magazines in recent months.

Tokion is an art and fashion magazine and a collage artist's dream.

Paste is an indie music magazine, something to replace or supplement Rolling Stone and Spin.

Buddhadharma is a Buddhist practice magazine.

Eating Well is one of the bestselling health and nutrition magazines in the country.

Aperture is a premier photography art magazine.

We've a few more new titles coming, so stay tuned.