Eric Simmons Books

2009-03-07T05:58:00.002-05:00

Returned ... from una piacevole vacanza and my books are back online.

2009-02-23T06:50:00.002-05:00

Winter break ... my books and I are taking our winter break somewhat later than usual this year ... we'll be back shortly. Senza Giacca E Cravatta sort of sets the tone ... Nino D'Angelo sings ... maybe you might take a break from your book search to enjoy.

2008-08-14T09:48:00.002-04:00

Living with the Kindle: After using my Kindle for the last three months or so, I can say that I am happy to own one ... and that it will be a long time before the demise of the book. The Kindle has stimulated and enhanced my reading by providing a radically different means for access and manipulating of reading material but it will not replace my book collection any time soon.

I've bought ten Kindle titles from Amazon, downloaded about thirty more from ManyBooks and FeedBooks, sent myself an additional ten or so PDF documents from my PC, actually bought a couple of real books from Amazon and borrowed about twenty more titles through my local library during the last three months.

The Kindle is great for reading fast moving fiction (Max Brand, Sarah Waters, Dennis Lehane, Frank Baum, Stephenie Meyer, Robert E. Howard), ok for more serious reading without too many pictures (White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters by Robert Schlesinger) not so good for plays (Romeo and Juliet), and ok (God and Empire by John Dominic Crossan) to painful (Paul: In Fresh Perspective by N. T. Wright) for more scholarly works ... even with the Kindle full text search feature I find flipping to and fro through the pages is so much easier with a book.

My most significant complaint is that I cannot share copies of titles with the Kindle in the same way as I can with books ... there is something much more rewarding with passing someone a copy of a book you have enjoyed that is not duplicated by merely suggesting that they should read a particular book ... reading my daughter's battered copy of Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz was a very different experience than downloading a copy to my Kindle would have been.

The Kindle web browser is primitive but perfectly serviceable for reading my email at Yahoo, my Google Reader feeds, checking the local weather from Weather Underground, searching for info at Wikipedia, and searching for as well as downloading more titles from Amazon, ManyBooks and FeedBooks .

One last comment ... the screen contrast is less than that of the typical book so that reading out on the deck while the light fades in the evening is not so easy as it is with a book.

Learn more about the Kindle ...

2008-04-26T11:35:00.002-04:00

Consider the Kindle: Yes ... I have one. After reading a few days ago on Boy Genius Report that Kindle was "back in stock" I ordered one for myself ... and now that it's loaded with first six Oz books (I've been wanting to reread these for some time), Max Brand (one of my father's favorite authors that I thought I'd try), Pickwick Papers (my favorite Dicken's), Romeo and Juliet (my first purchase), Princess of Mars, Best of Robert E. Howard, Walden (of course), Paul: In Fresh Perspective, Patience of the Spider and more ... I'm wondering if I'll have time for anything else this spring ... hah ... just kidding ... I'm sure I can find time to ship out book orders.

Learn more about the Kindle ...

2008-02-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

Browsing with Authority: Now that I'm no longer restricted by dialup speeds I'm discovering people like Taylor Mali ... teacher, poet, comedian.

2008-02-03T10:36:00.000-05:00

Road Trip ... not me but Jess and Jesse. I'll be here wearing my Go Hike A Mountain Northeast Tour 2007 t-shirt, sorting books, watching Black Books Series 3, Bones, Folyes War, and Jeremy Brett, as well as chatting with elders while the Jesses are roaming through nearly every state east of the Mississippi logging miles, chewing Ramen, drinking Gatorade and, most important, climbing high points. And of course I'll be following their progress at gohikeamountain.com .

2007-12-27T18:00:00.000-05:00

A Holiday Reunion and some fun this Christmas with guys I haven't seen for quite a few years.

2007-12-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Happy holidays ... my books and I are taking our winter break earlier than usual this year ... we'll return at the end of the month. Tutti pace e bene.

2007-11-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

2007 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair runs from Friday November 16 through Sunday November 18 at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. I'm thinking I'll be driving up to take a look around. Read more about the book fair ...

2007-08-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

Suggestions: Looking for Nevada Barr? Wolf Kahn? Frank Sinatra? Try my expanded suggestion links at the top of the menu to the right or look here.

2007-02-13T08:40:00.000-05:00

Black Books: It's just the type of book shop I'd love to find ... well not really .... but this comedy series from BBC does remind me of some shops I've visited and I'm sure I've met Bernard, Manny and Fran somewhere ... that's right ... you know exactly who I mean ... ha ... just kidding ... no one I know is quite this zany. Two short seasons of the three completed at this time are available on DVD. Learn more about Black Books - The Complete First and Second Series

2006-12-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

Wolfe Kahn, Billy Collins, and Merrily Watkins ... if you're looking for a book of outstanding contemporary paintings, playful elegant poetry or paranormal Anglicans you need only explore the Book Suggestions I have made available from the menu on the right of this page. If these aren't exactly what you're after, there are some other suggestions in Art, Poetry and Clerical Mysteries as well. Give a look now ...

2006-11-14T07:54:00.000-05:00

The 2006 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair runs from Friday November 17 through Sunday November 19 at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. The Book Fair website says, "Over 120 rare book dealers from the United States, England, Germany and The Netherlands are expected to exhibit and sell rare, collectible and antiquarian books, modern first editions, manuscripts, autographs, maps, atlases, and a plethora of other literary ephemera. Fine and decorative prints will also be featured. The seasoned and beginning collector alike, bibliophiles, memorabilia and ephemera enthusiasts, and sports fans will delight in the vast selection of the written word in all its many intriguing forms and facets.." Well all right then ... how could I not drive up and take a look around. Specific dates and times for the 2006 Fair are: Friday, November 17 (preview) 5:00 – 9:00 PM, Saturday, November 18, 12:00 noon – 6:00 PM, and Sunday, November 19, 12:00 noon – 5:00 PM. Ticket prices are $15.00 for Friday night preview (good for entire weekend), and $8.00 each for Saturday and Sunday. Read more about the book fair ...

2006-09-20T08:32:00.000-04:00

Patrick Swayze, drums, and 20 foot tall puppets dancing in the dark along the river. We're frisked and back from our latest adventure. Some fun and some good books to soon be added to my inventory.

2006-09-12T13:12:00.000-04:00

Busy, busy, busy ... time for a vacation ...

All the birds have flown up and gone;
A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.
We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I.
Li Po

... back soon.

2006-08-30T20:31:00.000-04:00

Simmons Brothers Motion Picture Company ... silent films, cult films, animation, documentaries, movies from the golden era of Hollywood, obscure titles and even movies made by local New Bedford area filmmakers ... a video store that answers the long-held hopes of genuine movie buffs, cinephiles, and lovers of film history living in the SouthCoast ... who could ask for more? And who are these guys anyway? Visit Simmons Brothers and learn more now ...

2006-05-17T11:14:00.000-04:00

Austin. Baked, bewitched and back. No bats (though we did have a room with a great view of the bridge which they live under and fly out from each evening) and no snakes (though we did spend a few hours sauntering about the woods which hide the houses of folks living life small just east of the city).

2006-05-10T06:51:00.000-04:00

My books and I are taking a short spring break to escape the damp and cool as described below ... we will return soon.

Rest of Today - Rain with areas of drizzle and fog this morning... then a chance of rain this afternoon. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight - Cloudy with a chance of rain with areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Lows in the upper 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Thursday - Cloudy. A chance of rain with areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Thursday Night - Cloudy. A chance of rain with areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Lows in the upper 40s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Friday - Rain likely. Areas of fog. Highs in the mid 50s. East winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Friday Night and Saturday - Rain likely. Areas of fog. Lows around 50. Highs in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Saturday Night - Cloudy with a chance of rain with areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Sunday - Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain with areas of drizzle in the morning...then a chance of rain in the afternoon. Areas of fog in the morning. Highs in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Sunday Night and Monday - Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Lows in the mid 40s. Highs around 60.

Monday Night - Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain. Lows in the upper 40s.

Tuesday - Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Highs around 60.

'Nuff said ... we're gone.

2006-04-05T08:58:00.000-04:00

Spring sale items that I'm offering reduced prices on can be found using the button below. There is nice selection ranging from poetry to mountain climbing, and mystery to baseball ... take a look. And speaking of baseball I think I'll go take a nap so there's a reasonable chance that I can recover from last night and be awake to listen to the game(s) tonight.

2006-03-24T12:43:00.000-05:00

One thing leads to another ... I started with the best intentions ... I was going to poke through a few of the book boxes around here and catalog some items for a Spring sale. Instead I got distracted by the many paintings leaning against the base of just about every wall in my apartment and I ended up taking some photographs, putting together an online gallery of sorts, setting my easel and oils near the window looking out on the river and painting clouds. Next week ... I’ll get to those boxes of books next week ... well maybe.

2006-02-02T09:28:00.000-05:00

Winter is the new Spring ... and rain is the new snow. At this time of year I should be hunkered down, safely secured from ice and snow, feeding the fish and cataloging books, but with weather forcasts that read "rain ... patchy fog ... breezy with highs around 50" that's just not happening. Hard to imagine how anyone would care that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and now knows that "winter" will last another six weeks. I'm thinking I'll take a ride down the Cape to look for my shadow ... and some signed first editions.

2006-01-07T12:04:00.000-05:00

Several days later ... after laughing and singing along with the raucous dueling pianos at Crocodile Rock, wandering in short sleeves through the serene sculpture garden at Brookgreen, driving around in circles to get to La Belle Amie Vineyard, swimming with the sharks and surviving the sinking of the Titanic at Ripley's Aquarium, a great breakfast at Carolyn's and some excellent tomato bisque soup at the San Francisco Oven I'm back and my books are as well.

2005-12-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

Happy holidays to all ... my books and I are taking a short early winter break and will return soon.

2005-11-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

What exactly do "Shoeless" Joe's bat, Harry Potter books and the first snow of the season have in common? You didn't ask but the answer is ... they were all in Boston last weekend ... the first two inside at the Antiquarian Book Fair and the last out in the streets. Sure I enjoyed wandering through the books but it was almost as much fun in the snow ... the Barbequed Duck Quesadillas and Bass Ale at Dillon's just up the street from the Hynes Center weren't bad either. Read more about the book fair ...

2005-10-29T08:09:00.000-04:00

The 2005 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair runs from Friday October 28 through Sunday October 30, 2005, at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. And of course there is the Comic Book Show, a two-day collectors event in Nashua, NH on Saturday and Sunday this same weekend at the Nashua Northeastern Blvd Holiday Inn. Hmmmm ... there was a time when I might have gone to both but I'm thinking this time I'll just do the books. Read more about the book fair or about the comic show.