Birdsong From Another Country

A Short Frolic To The Medieval Past

2009-06-26T22:15:00.001-06:00

We have never wished anyone harm, nor do we bear ill will. Disclaimer firmly stated, we'd like to share the following curse, originally formulated by the industrious and talented medieval monks who so painstakingly copied and illustrated books in the days before the invention of the printing press:

For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails ... when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever.

We'd also like to state for the record that while we do not believe in 'curses,' we do admit to taking a certain amount of - dare we say - glee in just reading that charming quote from a bygone era.

'Nuff said.

Morwyn's Summer Clearance!

2009-06-18T20:38:00.003-06:00

Check out Morwyn's sale over at Etsy -

Come on down to the store and see these terrific pieces in person! There are about 50 selected items to choose from -see the complete list on Etsy- Buy one item and a get a second item of equal or lesser value for HALF OFF!! Look for the Red Hearted tags!

Gave Up On Twitter

2009-06-17T12:15:00.005-06:00

And now I'm kinda sorry we did - first customer today was a local celeb!

Deanna Sauceda from KRQE News, who is even cuter in person. And a very nice lady to boot.

Her book club is currently reading this:

And hey! Don't forget - we've got TONS of serious beach reading here - some for as little as 50c!

Update on the Website and the Store

2009-04-25T16:42:00.004-06:00

Finally got around to posting some new picks in honor of Mothers' Day - like this one:

AND! We finally got around to fixing a bunch of really old light bulbs around the store. We are now, indeed, that most desirous of facilities:

World Book Day!

2009-04-22T12:58:00.008-06:00

Tomorrow is World Book (and Copyright) Day - coincidentally Shakespeare's birthday.

And his death day. And Miguel de Cervantes' death day.

In keeping with some rather fine European traditions
- Catalonian in particular -
on this day we give a white (paper) rose with every book purchase.
Something to do with St. George's Day and his flower being a white rose, the booksellers of Spain, lovers trading books for roses, the whole thing starting in Catalonia in the 1920's - it's kind of hazy now - all we know for sure is that two librarians came to our store many years ago and asked us if we'd participate in getting the word out to Albuquerque about this fairly cool tradition in Spain. We said, what the heck. Paper roses are a snap to make, and any excuse to frill things up a little is okay by us.

The Bumperstickers Are Here! The Bumperstickers Are Here!

2009-03-03T15:24:00.003-07:00

I just spent the morning counting them and putting them into the display racks - it took me all morning as I had to stop for laugh breaks every five minutes. We got some great ones this time, lemme tell ya.

Paring Down & Making Room

2009-02-19T13:38:00.006-07:00

UPDATE: ALL PHOTO HOW-TO BOOKS HAVE SOLD!!

To make room for all the great art books we just acquired, we had to make some tough choices - we decided to eliminate our section on Photography How-To and Museum Collections. These books are now 50% of their already low marked prices. And seriously - how can you pass up this one?

UPDATE: SOLD!!

From the jacket notes: "packed with practical tips and sound techniques to show you how to get the highest possible resolution from your telescope . . . a wealth of stunning astrophotos of the Sun, Moon and planets,by the world's leading amateurs, show you just what can be achieved . . . biographies of key high-resolution astrophotographers, both past and present". If that don't spark yer Hubble, we don't know what will!

High-Resolution Astrophotography by Jean Dragesco
Cambridge University Press, 1995
Hardcover, VG/VG
ISBN: 0521415888
Currently in print: $80.00
OUR CLOSE-OUT PRICE?
SOLD!!!

That Was More Fun Than It Needed To Be

2009-02-06T13:28:00.003-07:00

THIS JUST IN!
ONLY $50.00!!

If you know your Albuquerque used book store scene, then you're more than aware that Jerry of The Book Stop has moved for the 352nd time in his shop's history. This latest move saw him downsize to record levels - and we were fortunate enough to plow through a substantial number of boxes on their way to a local thrift store.

Our art, poetry, history and literature shelves are all the richer for it.

Most especially poetry. Lots and lots of poetry.

Getting them all comfortable in the bookcases is going to be our task for the next few days and in the meantime, please feel free to shop out of the boxes!!

Romance Meets Crass Commercialism

2009-01-22T12:42:00.007-07:00

Valentine's Day! Another chance to over-market stuff to an over-saturated consumer group!!

Well, who are we to buck tradition? Here are a few of our picks for the season.

Pre-Raphaelites In Love by Gay Daly
VG/VG in Brodart; First Edition; Ticknor & Fields
ISBN: 0899194508
Our Price: $12.50

I read this one and LOVED IT. "A fascinating portrait of the real lives, passions, and obsessions that inspired the dreamy romance of Pre-Raphaelite painting." It's the full dish on who slept with whose wife, who broke whose heart, and just why Rosetti had to rob his own wife's grave. Nice selection of illustrations and photos of the major players in one of art history's greatest soap operas.

Made for Each Other by William Steig
VG/VG; First Edition; Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060285125
Our Price: $7.00

This collection of vignettes by the Caldecott winning New Yorker cartoonist is both sweet and sour, and an absolute delight.

Linda Goodman's Love Signs by Linda Goodman
Paperback;Good;Harper Perennial
ISBN: 0060968966

Our Price: $9.00

"This is a hefty guide to star-crossed loving . . . Each possible combination of signs is explored in general and then in detail." The subtitle for this book is "A New Approach to the Human Heart."
Seventy-eight sun sign combinations. Hefty indeed.

SOLD! 2/12/09

Love Love Love by Andy Warhol
G/G
(frontspiece has birthday greeting and a lightbulb joke* inked in)
First Edition; Bulfinch
ISBN: 0821221329
Our Price: $5.00

"...this enchanting gift book gives us forty-three of his wittiest, most charming illustrations of passion and romance . . . sprinkled throughout [are] Warhol's inimitiable aphorisms". A definite cutie.

*"Q: How many Republicans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: None. They wait for the light bulb to change itself. Ha!!"

Good Heavens.

2009-01-18T22:50:00.007-07:00

End of the year clean up was a bit much this time.

I notice I haven't posted anything since November. Just goes to show, eh? Been kinda busy lately.

We made it through another December - and we'd just like to stop here for a minute and thank each and every one of our terrific customers who helped to make it OUR BEST HOLIDAY SEASON EVER!!

We managed to get through the end of the year inventory by ourselves this time around - we're happy to report that most of our friends had REAL jobs this year. While we missed them, we're so happy that they're employed!

All end-o-year reports have been handed over to the accountants (it's been a week and they haven't called with questions - let's hope this means we got it all right for a change). We've been busy tidying up the shelves after OUR BEST HOLIDAY SEASON EVER!! and that's just about done, so we can turn our attention now to refilling those shelves with some of the best reading material in town.

This blogging stuff is exhausing, but it won't take me two months to update next time.

I think.

What? Too Cold To Blog Now?

2008-11-18T12:45:00.004-07:00

I can hear you now - "So, Morwyn, what's your excuse for not blogging these days? Too cold now? Ya big girl - man up and post something already!"

To which I say, yes. Yes I am a big girl. A big ol' sissy girl. Again, hardly germane to this bookseller blog.

You're probably wondering what we might have lying about that might make a decent gift - if not, you should be - the holidays and the Silly Season will be on us before you know it!

Just a few suggestions here:

This is a first edition, first printing of the illustrated (by Charles Vess) version of Neil Gaiman's modern classic, Stardust. Pretty freakin' sweet at only $50.00. You must know someone who'd go nuts to find this in their stocking. Okay, it'd have to be a really big stocking, but you know what I mean.

This gorgeous reproduction of Henry's own book of hours is truly a gift fit for a king. Yikes. I did not just say that. Oh, well. It's an amazing amount of historical art to hold in your paw for only $40.00.

Yes, THAT Alice B. Toklas. Yes, THAT cookbook. Yes, it's a true first edition. But here's the big surprise - it's only $30!!!!

What can we say about this true renaissance man? Poet, author, photographer, musician, artist, actor - here is a very hard to find compendium of his works, CD included!! And it's only $25!! I KNOW!! Some things are just too amazing.

The Word For Fall: PIE!!

2008-10-17T11:26:00.011-06:00

We do love a good slice o' pie around here. Which is totally beside the point of this bookseller's blog. Now that the State Fair and the Balloon Fiesta are a part of Duke City History once more, things are settling down nicely.

So here it is, the Spooky Season again, and what to our wondering eyes should appear but THREE (count 'em, THREE!!) titles from the Japanese master storyteller responsible for scaring the crap out of us with The Ring (yes, we know the link goes to the original Japanese version of the movie but we wanted to be sure you knew who we're talking about here - and BTW, the Japanese version is DA BOMB).

So, having established the author's supercreepy bona fides, we present these titles:

and

Wanna hear something spooky? When we scanned the last title, the whole cover was captured, but when we went to resize it for the blog here, the bottom half inch of the picture was missing!!

We know.

Weird.

It's Still Too Hot to Blog, But . . .

2008-08-01T12:12:00.003-06:00

News is news. Asa just did a massive purge of our mystery section - there were a substantial number of titles on the shelf that had been there for far too long, as well as a few in somewhat "lesser" condition. After the big shakeout, we now have a bit of breathing room. Good news for our bargain hunting friends - this means nearly 500 mysteries have been added to the 50-cent shelves.

We've recently acquired a couple of interesting books, too -

Talk about your polar opposites. Like I said, it's still too hot to blog, so the descriptions will have to be edited in later.

Cheers from the sweltering confines of the office!
M

It's Too Hot to Blog . . .

2008-07-06T13:40:00.002-06:00

French Impressionists, Anyone?

2008-05-29T13:47:00.006-06:00

We've just received an influx of around 30 GORGEOUS art books, primarily French Impressionists with some interesting American artists as well. As I look at this stack on the counter, I'm nearly overwhelmed. It includes Cezanne, Van Gogh, Courbet, Chagall, Morisot, Caillebotte, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Boudin and Dufy - and that's not all. Wnslow Homer, Paul Horgan, Andrew Wyeth -

We'll be sorting out the art bookcase most of the day today, I expect.

Attention Philosophisizers:

2008-05-22T20:28:00.006-06:00

Our latest influx of books has swelled our Philosophy section by over 150 titles. The tide includes some fairly obscure titles: Prior and Posterior Analytics by Aristotle, An Existential Ethics by Hazel E. Barnes, and The Tanner Lectures on Human Values Volume VIII (1988)to name but a few.

PLUS: we have a habit of picking up books just because the titles are so . . . well, outside the mainstream, shall we say? For example, our latest entry to our Judaica section:

And this interesting title for our Western Religions section:

There's something different every day. We love this stuff.

We're Ready For Our Close-Ups, Mr. Alvarez:

2008-05-16T08:41:00.013-06:00

Morwyn here. Today I move with all the grace of a flip-book stick figure, and Asa has the grandmother of all headaches. Allow me to explain.

An independent film company approached us some time back to use our store as a location in their production, Easier With Practice. We agreed, time passed, and the filming took place yesterday.

We had some idea of what was in store, but Reality is always more intense than you can prepare for.

First, the Art Department/set dressers (aka The Kids) came in around 9 a.m. to move an entire aisle of books out of the way. We showed them how to box the books for ease of returning them to the shelves and toddled back up to the apartment to savor our morning caffeine. We went back to check on them when it was close to our usual opening time, fully expecting that no one would pay attention to our "CLOSED" signs. The kids were moving the bare bookcases into the empty storefront next door when a hapless soul wandered in and asked me if I was buying books that day. I steered him out politely and with no great surprise.

Center aisle cleared away, they set to work on the bookcase in the alcove, then they "dressed the set," i.e. filled the space with stacks and piles and heaps of stunt books, along with the odd bit of furniture.

My apologies to the crew members pictured here, but I don't remember their names. We were introduced to so many folks it became an overwhelming blur at some point.

The caterers showed up next, then more and more crew members. We kept retreating to our apartment upstairs to stay out of the way, being called down from time to time to answer different questions and grant permissions for variousness and sundries. Around 5 p.m. they asked if we'd like to be extras for the opening scene. We agreed. After about forty-five minutes and I think seven separate takes for what will amount to less than two minutes of finished footage, there may be a glimpse of our elbows when all's said and done. It was fun with sufficient moments to fuel a few chapters in my next mystery novel. Being part of TamaleWood (however small) has found its way into our personal narrative.

They filmed another scene (in the center aisle where the mysteries live), then began breaking down the set around 8:30 p.m. They invited us for dinner (from the catering truck) which we declined. We did join them in the store, though, to sell a few books to the crew and shepherd The Kids as they packed up all the "stunt books" and paraphernalia. We did more than we should have, helping with putting the bookcases back in place and re-shelving books. The original "last packed, first out" concept had sort of fallen apart which made the unpacking of books more tedious than planned. Asa took himself off to bed around midnight, and I hung in there with The Kids until it was all relatively back in place. I waved them farewell and locked up just before 1 a.m. Hence my stiffness and Asa's headache.

What did we learn? We already knew that movie making is 98% boring|waiting around|grunt work, and 2% action|excitement|interesting, so there was nothing new in that. We did discover that my control issues are deeper than we thought. Disheveling our shelves upset me more than I was ready to admit. I bit my lip more than once to keep from screaming, "This is NOT how a proper bookstore should look!!!" Then having total strangers wandering in and out, while having the back door and the front gate standing open most of the day without being there to keep an eye on things made me a nervous wreck. Lastly, we learned we're getting way too old for this stuff; the lifting, carrying, and general shlepping while working with a very tight time line. We could have let them do it all themselves, but that would have made us both crazy. How can you sit around and let someone else restore order to your livelihood?

To sum up: to our great surprise it was fun. Everyone involved in the project was a delight to work with - especially The Kids. They were energetic, upbeat, excited about their project and full of an infectious good humor. If we had it to all over again? In spite of our stiffness, soreness, headaches and lack of sleep, we would.

Best of luck to them all - may they break several legs, make lots of money and win many awards.

EDIT: We've been asked who is in this film, so here are some links to a few cast members' IMdB pages: Brian Geraghty, Kel O'Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeannette Brox, and Jenna Gavigan.

Back From Holiday!

2008-05-07T09:22:00.002-06:00

Tanned, rested and ready. And I'm here to share A Moment.

While we were lounging about our beautiful casita at Casas de Sueno s, we enjoyed a few movies on the ENORMOUS flatscreen television in the room. One of those movies was "Breakfast at Tiffany's," a big favorite of ours. So we're sipping tea and munching fruit and the movie is unfolding and we're chatting, and suddenly my head swiveled a la Linda Blair and I have one of those Holy Cow!! moments.

The hero of the tale is saying his name. "Varjak Paul," he says, as that's how he's listed in the library's card catalog.

HA!! Too funny!!

Tai-chi Chuan: Its Effects and Practical Applications by Yearning K. Chen

2008-05-02T13:02:00.005-06:00

And now, a small treasure from our Martial Arts section:

SOLD!!

Description: A collectible and somewhat scarce martial arts reference. Tan boards, mylar dust jacket has some minor wear to spine edges, tight binding, clean text.
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Kam Keung printing Co., Hong Kong, (presumed) 1979
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Good

KOB - Goddard's Magic Mast: 50 Years of Pioneer Broadcasting by Ann Velia

2008-04-22T12:34:00.005-06:00

More local color!! If you live in New Mexico, it's hard NOT to know about KKOB Radio, 770 on your AM dial.

OUR PRICE: $25.00

We'll just quote from the dust jacket here: ". . .more than a broadcasting history, this is a book about a desert town growing up, about a sprawling state coming together, and about a 'cow college' becoming a great university. It's an absorbing story about the persons who helped make it all happen."

Description: Brown boards with gilt lettering to front and spine, clean, tight, inscribed "To Dick as I promised you several months ago - Roy Goddard"; dust jacket has minor shelfwear to edges, minor chipping along top edge with a 1/4" closed tear on top back edge, else good in brodart.
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: New Mexico State University
Publication Date: 1972
Binding: Hard Cover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Good
Inscribed by Roy Goddard
Edition: First Edition

SOLD: The Navajo Language: A Grammar and Colloquial Dictionary by Young & Morgan

2008-04-17T11:43:00.005-06:00

This just came in! And what a beauty it is!

OUR PRICE: SOLD!! (07/06/08)

Bibliographic Details -
Publisher: UNM Press
Publication Date: 1991
ISBN: 0826310141
Book Condition: Leather spine embossed with gold stamping, dark blue cloth boards. Faint shelf wear to cloth boards, otherwise the book is very good - in fact, it seems almost new! It's clean, tight, bright, and crisp! 1069pp.
Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket
Edition: Second Edition (Revised)

The Armaggedon Rag by George R. R. Martin

2008-04-15T17:35:00.005-06:00

A touch of local color, this - and a must for any Martin collection:

OUR PRICE: $15.00

The Armageddon Rag by George R. R. Martin

Description: Tiny, faint purple stain to lower text edge else good in pictorial wraps. "The Definitive Novel of the 60's, the 80's, and the Forces That Shaped a Generation," from Roger Zelazny's private library (undocumented).
Bibliographic Details -
ISBN: 0671475266
Publisher: Poseidon Press
Publication Date: 1983
Binding: Original Wraps
Book Condition: Good
Book Type: Advanced Reading Copy (ARC)

Cantemos al Alba: Origins of Songs, Sounds, and Litrugical Drama of Hispanic New Mexico by Tomas Lozano

2008-04-11T13:40:00.009-06:00

One of the treasures from our Southwest section:

OUR PRICE: $50.00

Cantemos al Alba: Origins of Songs, Sounds, and Litrugical Drama of Hispanic New Mexico by Tomas Lozano

Description: Faint scuffing to the illustrated boards, with the text being tight, bright and clean. Edited and translated into English by Rima Montoya, with a foreword by Anthony Cardenas.
Bibliographic Details
ISBN: 0826338747
Publisher: UNM Press
Publication Date: 2007
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition

Quoting from the back of the book:
"Cantemos al Alba is the first book to trace the origins of Hispanic New Mexico's liturgical drama, early songs, and sounds to ancient European traditions. Tomas Lozano weaves a historical unifying thread of events originating in medieval Spain, passing through Mexico and into New Mexico. In the process, Lozano uncovers folklore never treated before."

The New Age Bible by Ben Hunter

2008-04-10T09:19:00.006-06:00

To spotlight our New Age and Metaphysical sections, we decided to put this one into the Online Oddities:

OUR PRICE: $45.00

The New Age Bible by Ben Hunter

Description: Dust jacket very good in brodart, book has previous owner's name in ink on flyleaf, else tight, bright and clean in dark blue boards.
Review: "Through philosophical inquiry, the reader is able to explore his own beliefs and their resultant effects. This is a book of contemplation and hope."
NAPRA ReView, New Year, 1996
Bibliographic Details
ISBN: 0533108950
Publisher: Vantage Press
Publication Date: 1994
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Edition: 1st Edition

A quick search of online sellers over at Bookfinder show that we've got the best price on this one, and an interesting one it is.

Grateful Dead Comix

2008-04-08T20:14:00.010-06:00

Our hippie roots are showing again. Here's the latest addition to our Online Oddities page over on the website:

OUR PRICE: $25.00

Grateful Dead Comix, Jeff Tamarkin, Editor

Description: Wonderful slice of nostalgia and a must for the complete Deadhead's collection. The cover shows a bit of shelfwear, but otherwise it's in very good shape. Introduction by Jerry Garcia. Bookseller Inventory # 03020702
Bibliographic Details -
ISBN: 1562829718
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: Original wraps (softcover)
Book Condition: Very Good
Edition: 1st Edition

The back view is fairly comprehensive as to the book's contents: