Finally, a bit of sunshine!

And no, I'm not talking about the Giants and their dramatic back to back victories against the Dodgers...

Earlier this week, The San Francisco Bay Guardian published their annual 'Best of the Bay' award issue, and indeed, Green Apple Books emerged victorious in two separate categories!

Thanks to all those who voted for us in the 'Best Used Bookstore' and 'Best Independent Bookstore' categories in the readers' poll. While it's true that we have enjoyed string of 12 or 15 years as the winner in these areas, it's always a great honor, and I hope our streak extends well into the decades to come.

So SFBG Editors and SFBG readers: open your arms for a giant hug from your favorite, appreciative, local booksellers!

Hey kids - read and be rewarded!

We announced this last week in our newsletter, but I wanted to take another quick moment and pass it along to our blog followers as well: Green Apple Books is having a summer reading reward program for any and all kids 15 and under.

Click the image on top of this post to go to the full-size questionaire. All we ask is that you read 20 books this summer and then tell us a bit about your favorite. Once you fill out the questionaire and bring it into Green Apple Books, we will give you a store credit good for $5.00 - it's that simple. Really.

The books read don't have to be purchased at Green Apple (although we wouldn't mind if you did) and there is a chance that we will use your comment card as an in-store "shelf-talker" so other readers can share in your favorites.

Book lists must get back to Green Apple by August 31st, 2010 so GET READING!!!

Friends with ink

No, I'm not talking about the spiky, dyed and dirty punkrock pals of mine with new tattoos... Yes, I'm going to take a second and give a virtual pat on the back to a couple of chums who have been garnering high praise for their recent efforts.

This morning's edition of The Chronicle offered a sterling review of Domenic Stansberry's newest novel, "Naked Moon," the fourth and final installment of his recent series featuring ex-CIA agent Dante Mancuso. Domenic has already pocketed one Edgar Award, and the other titles in this series have also been finalists for that, as well as the Shamus and Hammett Awards. If you've ever read Domenic's work, that's not really a surprise, and if you haven't discovered this Bay Area heavyweight of noir, now is a fine time; I recommend starting at the beginning with "Chasing the Dragon." Each novel in this quartet is set in North Beach, and as The Chronicle puts it, "Reading Stansberry's books is a cross between eating a box of marzipan and watching a car wreck: page-turning and irresistibly voyeuristic." I couldn't have said it better myself, except that I would have opted for cannoli.

Robert Mailer Anderson, author of the cult-classic novel, "Boonville" (which hasn't budged from our staff favorite section in close to a decade) also made headlines of a different sort this week. Robert is the chair of SFJazz and last week he, and his closest 300 friends, took over The Four Seasons for the 6th annual SFJazz Gala. Yes, I was there. Yes, it was quite a bash. But we'll let The Chronicle's Miss Biggelo and her Social City column take it from here. Full disclosure...I don't look half bad in a suit!

Keep up the good work, guys - you make a city proud!

Punks not dead (yet, anyway)

It seems that the historic Gilman Street venue in Berkeley is about to slam into hard times in the next few months, as the rent at this DIY, all-ages haven is skyrocketing an additional $31,000 a year! ZOINKS!!! I don't think that even a new Green Day 7" can make-up a difference like that... Well, maybe that can, but let's not hold our breath.

You don't have to be a rock star to be able to contribute toward keeping this landmark up and running, however. Jack Boulware, top dog of the Litquake Festival and author of various tomes has organized a grassroots benefit for Gilman Street involving his most recent release, Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk From Dead Kennedys to Green Day and various Bay Area bookstores.

During the month of May, Green Apple Books will be donating 20% from every copy we sell of Gimme Something Better to the Gilman benefit. Not only will you get the inside dope on all the dirt kicked-up during Bay Area punk's heyday, but you will be doing your part to keep the gromits off the streets and skanking in a supportive pit. Can I get an Oimen? (sorry)

Get your copy of Gimme Something Better from Green Apple HERE

Felices Pascuas

It's a bit after 1:00AM in Buenos Aires, where I've still got a couple of hours to kill before going out to hit Palermo Soho and its legendary nightlife. All the buzz back in the states seems to be that the Ipad was released to as much fanfare as the original Iphone. Excuse me if I don't grab the next plane to Best Buy. During the past couple of weeks my wife and I have traveled through three countries and are looking at two more to come. I've been on eight flights so far and have yet to see a Kindle. I can't imagine that the Ipad will be much different, fanfare and dollars aside.

We're both (obviously) voracious readers, and packing a mini-library for a month's worth of excursions away from home was quite a chore. You've got to be committed to your selections. Every page needs to count. But that's half the fun, yes?

I tore through Sebastian Junger's forthcoming 'War' in an advance reading copy - it won't be realeased for more than a month. Yet when we saw that the lending library of our digs in El Chalten (Patagonia) had a bathtub bloated paperback of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' on its lending shelf, I gladly left 'War' and gave the dragon its due. Then we passed that "Girl" off to the Scottish couple behind us in line for our return flight; they were thrilled. I wonder who will find 'War', and if they will realize that it's something a bit special.

My wife was reading my old copy of 'Subterrianans' when an old photo of an older girlfriend fell onto the bed. She was cute in a late-eighties sort of way, and I hadn't thought of her in decades. The copy cost me $2.00 way back when, and even though it broke into pieces during this trip, between the two of us, a buck became a buck well spent.

I read a tattered copy of an out of print biography of W.C. Fields on Easter Island. Damn if he doesn't look like a Moai on the cover... There are 3,500 horses that roam free on the island and they claim as many people, but there are three libraries in the singular town of Hanga Roa. Still, I'll probably leave this tome somewhere near Bolivia. Or maybe in Uruguay if it survives the journey.

Killing time in the airport of Santiago, Chile, we were drinking beers in an earthquake shattered terminal beside an older Austrailian couple. He had a Lee Child mystery peeking out of his backpack. I had read that one in the past, but he'd just found his near where the penguins roam in Punto Arenas. We gabbed about Jack Reacher and then pooled our change to cover the drinks - all the ATM machines were on the fritz.

As I type this, my wife is flipping through 'Basketball Diaries' by Jim Carroll, a genuine poet who passed away while books were still read on paper, and didn't yet need a current converter to give them life overseas. She knew I was posting this blog, and chuckled at the serendipity of a line she came upon. Books are sometimes like that. Aku Aku.

"The more I read the more I know it now, heavier each day, that I need to write. . . and each time a page gets turned a section of the pentagon goes BLAST up in smoke. Solid."

Thanks BoingBoing!

Short but sweet from my side...

Another insightful post on boingboing.net caught my eye this morning...

I'll just let the fine folks at The Journal of Electronic Publishing that this interesting notion from here!

p.s. - joe hill just stopped by and signed copies of his new tome, Horns. get them while you can!

Join me for a drink?

I’m growing more and more impressed with the quality and uniqueness of literary events in the Bay Area these days - impressed yes, but not surprised… In a city that leads the rest in dollars spent per capita on books and booze, I’ve come to expect (and also work hard to organize) authors from far and wide pimping their wares in watering holes that range from dive bars to speakeasies to penthouses to cafes. If there’s a table and a stage – OK, maybe some haven’t had a stage, but still – literature in The City flows like fine wine; or at least MD2020.

Over the past couple of months I’ve attended sold-out Literary Death Matches, a packed Porchlight and a really rambunctious Quiet Lightning. Sad that I missed the most recent Writers With Drinks, but I do believethat I'll be there next time...

So when I encourage you to brave the rain tonight and join me at The Knockout for another in the continuing Drinks With Tony series, you know that I know what I’m talking about. Tony Dushane has been recording a live talk-radio show there for some time now, but tonight’s scene will be a bit different, as we’re celebrating the release of Tony’s new book, Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk – his memoir of growing up Jehovah Witness. Interesting, indeed! Joining Tony on stage this evening will be Alan Black, Harmon Leon and Marisa Matarazzo with musical guests Vagabondage.

Tonight's event is FREE, so please try and make it down and support your local scene!

VERY BAD (but somehow sweet and nice...)

OK folks - I dig the creative and well placed 'urban art' that graces many of the walls, sidewalks, light posts and overpasses in our fine city. I appreciate the blast of color and the infusion of life onto the bland, gray voids of the urban jungle. I understand that many of these murals are done with the full consent of building owners, and beyond that, I want everyone to know that Banksy is a personal hero of mine. I get it - I really do!

But I really DON'T enjoy having to replace the front windows of Green Apple because some ***-h*** decided to scribble a tag with acid etching markers. I DON'T dig the abuse of private property without a higher goal than basic defacement. It's time to grow-up a bit, dontcha think?

Sigh, but then I saw this new addition to the entry way of Green Apple this morning. I heart books too, my friend, but I really wish you would just blog about it like everyone else does and leave our walls and glass alone. But thanks for the kind words - next time, why not tell tell your friends instead?

Winston Smith rocks!

San Francisco can lay claim to many famous residents over time, but while we all know that Jack Kerouac slept off many a late-night bender here, and that Mark Twain spent his coldest winter ever here during summer, there is one stalwart talent who has been here for decades but that you may not be familiar with - Winston Smith.

Winston, who took his name from the ill-fated protagonist in George Orwell's 1984 began working with Jello Biafra and The Dead Kennedys in the late 1970's when his iconoclastic sculpture of Christ crucified on a cross of dollar bills was used as the cover of "In God We Trust, Inc." This collaboration begot a relationship that lasts to this day, but while always sticking to his anarchistic guns, Winston has broadened his influence to include work for Spin, Playboy, Mother Jones and can even lay claim to a New Yorker cover!

Last night in a basement gallery, down a tiny alley in North Beach, Winston decided to clean out his closet and sell dozens of original collages, many of which were turned into flyers for some of the greatest punk shows ever, and most from that sweet-spot of his Alternitave Tenticles partnerships, the early 80's; trust me when I tell you that I was like a kid in a candy store!

So, maybe you've seen Winston's stuff on a Green Day record or maybe you own some of his books, but chances are you've never seen the stuff I just added to my collection. Until now! Thanks again for the great time last night, Winston (and for the killer deals) - you do San Francisco proud!

She can always buy from us...

A sad story coming out of Texas today - it seems that the Barnes and Noble is closing in the town of Laredo, which might have been welcome news to the independent booksellers there, except that there are no other bookstores in this town of 250,000. In fact, the next closest bookstore of any kind to Laredo is some 150 miles away...UGH! A 14 year old girl in Laredo named Zhuara Rivera is circulating a petition to try and save the store, but even though it is a profitable location, the chain itself is in the red - so it seems like curtains for the Laredo branch.

So, the big boxes move in and force the independents out (we've all heard this one before). But then the big box has fiscal issues and makes the corporate decision from afar to close a profitable store because the massive scale of their operation is losing money. With well over 700 Barnes and Noble bookstores throughout the U.S. employing some 40,000 people, it makes me wonder how many situations like Laredo we're going to see over the next few years.

Fight the good fight Ms. Rivera! But if you ever need the help of an independent bookseller who won't turn its back on you, drop us a line at http://www.greenapplebooks.com/ and I'll make sure that you get free shipping for life!

If you've got 'em, we'll come get 'em

If you've got a bunch of books that you want to get rid of, and i mean a bunch of books (think hundreds, not dozens) we may be able to come to your house armed with a blank check, a grip of empty boxes and at least one strong back to buy those used books and take them away! We call these house calls "Out Buys" and with a little planning, it just may be the easiest way for you to make some extra cash (or trade).

Here are a couple of photos from the collection I purchased yesterday - or at least the halfway stopping point - I'm going back in a couple of weeks for the rest. They don't all look like this, but if the books are good enough (and this batch certainly was), then this is what we're willing to crawl through to help you out. And believe it or not, I've been in worse...

So think of us, the Green Apple used book buyers, when you need to clear some space or just get some extra scratch. We're like The Marines of book buyers, except that we're much sweeter, and some of our hair is longer.

Green Apple Books and Music (and MAGAZINES)

Green Apple is known far and wide for our wonderful selection of new and used books; at this point, that much seems to (thankfully) be a given. You've heard from us lately about our musical CDs (and the fact that they have been on sale) as well as DVDs (of which ~500 are currently on sale at 50% off!), but I'm wondering how many of you know that we also stock well over 1000 titles in our magazine section. Now that's a lot of mags!

Fresh out this week is an amazing issue of my favorite food mag, Saveur. This is sure to be an invaluable addition to any home chef's library, as the editors have put the readers on task for their annual Saveur 100 issue. From the introduction: We asked for your ideas, your inspirations, your favorite food finds. And you answered, from every corner of the world, on every imaginable culinary subject, from family recipes to treasured cookbooks to time-honored tips. The result is a saveur 100 unlike any other. Thanks to you, this year’s roundup is richer, tastier—and bigger—than ever. No dixie-whistle here, as this issue certainly rocks!

At only $5.00, this is a bargain, if just for the spread on a dozen interpretations of the Bloody Mary. My favorite, The Heirloom Bloody Mary is illustrated above, but the receipe can be found here! And there are 99 more things to be thankful for in this perfect periodical...