Things I'm Excited About!

Greetings, fellow readers! I thought I'd take a short break from my summer reading log posts to share with you some of the other bookish things (besides books, of course) I'm excited about this summer.

1. Free stuff. You would not believe how much free stuff I get working in a bookstore. Free limited edition Batman comics? No problem. Free samples of a new fantasy series from Tor.com? We've got a whole box of 'em to give away. Free magazines? You had me at Entertainment Weekly's special coverage of San Diego ComiCon! Which, by the way, I am crushed I was not able to attend this year--I was in California a week too early. Ah well, I'm still young! And I did score a pretty sweet vintage Doctor Who t-shirt online brought back special for the event.

2. Indie bookstores. While I realize that in some ways my working for a chain bookstore could be considered selling out to The Man, I spend quite a few of my hard-earned dollars at The Bookmark, Neptune Beach's independent bookstore-by-the-sea. Seriously, if you live in the Jax Beaches area or are here for a visit (please come!), you HAVE to check this place out. It's small and sunny and full of signed copies from their weekly author events. They're even bringing Tomie DePaola of children's book fame to speak in October! That's one I can't miss.

I was there yesterday with my dad, intending to buy one book (the third book in Cathrynne M. Valente's Fairyland series) but I ended up coming away with four--I should really know better by now that books are like Lay's potato chips: you can't have just one. In addition to the Fairyland book, I found the most beautiful illuminated copy of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself that I absolutely couldn't live without (Thank you, Brain Pickings, for breaking my checkbook with your covet-inducing reviews!), a centennial Penguin Deluxe edition of James Joyce's Dubliniers with a drool-worthy cover, and the Penguin Great Ideas edition of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. This is a neat little series that I discovered at Foyles while I was in England last summer. Penguin has collected the most world-changing essays and works of nonfiction into a lovely series with minimalist covers that capture the ethos of the ideas themselves. I already have two, which I bought in London, and I think Signor Machiavelli will feel quite at home with his compatriots on my shelves.

How I feel at the end of each new haul.

3. Magazines. Normally, I'm not a big magazine reader (other than the occasional Mental Floss for long plane trips) but lately I've become enamored of Wired and its sleek synthesis of art, technology, and design, not to mention the thought-provoking, often hilarious, articles. Jerry Sinefeld on Google Glass--guys, you have to check this one out. I feel a certain kinship with the good folk of Wired: I'm excited about all the new developments in technology and what we can do with things like prehistoric superfoods and tablet journalism, but I also admire beautiful things and the tradition of human artistry that predates the digital age. Wired succeeds where many other observers fail to combine the two and create something new and awesome--so awesome, in fact, I might even subscribe.

4. BookTube! Readers of this blog will be well acquainted with my obsession with Ron Lit and, more recently, Words of a Reader, but lately, my YouTube channel has exploded with BookTube videos. I can't stop watching them! Or subscribing! Or fighting the urge to go out and buy all the awesome books these rockin' ladies recommend!!! (I am highly caffeinated right now, in case you couldn't tell.) If you're looking for your next great read, or just wanting to expand your literary horizons, go to BookTube. The channels I've tagged will give you a good start, and once you're down the rabbit hole, like Alice, you'll go wherever your heart takes you. 

So that's about it for today--let me know what you think of this post by commenting below! As always, I'm all about da recommendations.

Until next time,

Anna