K to the FOG in the AM

I've got to keep this entry brief, because I'm up to my ears in holiday gift suggestions for the book lovers in all of our lives...

Tune in to KFOG tomorrow morning from 8:00am - 9:00am, when I will be sharing all the tomes I've deemed gift-worthy, during an extended holiday Morning Show appearance. No hints now, but know that my list will certainly knock your stockings off; so turn that dial to 104.5fm in The City or 97.7fm in the South Bay and crank-up the volume!

You can also stream the Morning Show live at http://www.kfog.com/ - just click the banner link that says, 'Listen Live', it's that easy.

And don't forget that Amazon = lump of coal.

Google eBooks are here!

Green Apple has taken another small step into the 21st century. Like some other independent bookstores, we've teamed up with Google to provide you with ebooks.

Nifty things about Google ebooks:

• they are cloud-based, so you can read your ebooks on any device, from your desktop or laptop to your IPhone or IPad. They even synch automatically as you read.
  
• they are "device-agnostic," meaning you can read them on any device (from the above screens to Sony's e-reader) EXCEPT the Kindle, but don't get us started there.
• while prices vary by publisher, Green Apple can match the prices of other sellers for most books from most publishers (Random House is the current big exception, alas).

So now you can read "e" editions of books and still support Green Apple. More info awaits you here.

We've just launched, and will soon be curating a fine selection of recommendations to get you started (this was my first ebook download). Meanwhile, please help us spread the word!

Cs

Like our September Book of the Month, December is filled with 'Cs.' Most prominently in my world is the vitamin C that I've been funneling down my throat for the last week in an attempt to fight off a vicious cold. 'The big C,' aka cancer, is the topic for our December Book of the Month, and of course there is the obvious Christmas, Chanukah, capitalism and all other such Cs that are American requisites we're consistently obliged and acknowledge this time of year. Cancer and crazy holiday-time obligations aside though, the most important C-word that comes to mind here at Green Apple is COMMUNITY. Henceforth I'd like to direct your attention to this link to the NCIBA, The Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, and to to ask you please keep in mind that if you can't get your books from us there is a whole mess of independent bookstores in the immediate area that are totally excited and eager for your business, that there is little reason to run to any corporate bookselling conglomerate if we happen to fail you. This is an important time of the year for all booksellers, especially the little guys.

A thing of beauty is a joy... at least until the next thing of beauty comes along

In the course of the next few weeks, we'll be unveiling some of the best books we read this year, but in the meantime, look at these beauties from Visual Editions.

Tristram Shandy has always deserved a design innovative enough to match its plot--and now one of the funnest, funniest, and singularly modern novels (which just so happens to have been written 250 years ago) has found its ideal form.


And while Leonardo's definition of sculpture as "taking away superfluous materials" may not hold true in the following case, Jonathan Safran Foer's sculptural reworking of Bruno Schulz's Street of Crocodiles, certainly proves that the book as an object is far from dead.

Both J.S.F.'s Tree of Codes and Tristram Shandy are, of course, in stock now.

December Events Round-Up

Even the scroogiest Scrooge would have to admit that the holiday season brings along with it nice things. Piney things are nice things. Books wrapped up in paper are nice things. Candles are nice things. But sometimes, especially in retail-world, don't you get tired of hearing about things? If so, then that's good, because this post is about experiences. Free experiences. Free experiences that sometimes include booze. That's right, even in the retail madness that is December, we've got some events going on, so mark your calendars for these shopping reprieves:

On December 8th, we'll be heading down the street to the Rockit Room with author Chris Gullibeau to hear more about his new book, The Art of Non-Conformity. Based on his popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to Wold Domination" The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. Topics include how to fight authority and win, graduate school vs. the blogosphere (did you know that the latter was an alternative to the former? I didn't, but look at me now), how to build your own small army (admit you're curious) and travel tips and tricks.

We're also looking forward to hosting local new writer Ethel Rohan on the 9th as she reads from her debut collection of short stories, Cut Through the Bone. Victor LaValle, author of The Big Machine says, “Cut Through the Bone is full of phantom limbs and phantom lives. These stories create a sense of loss in the reader, an ache, but thankfully they avoid dull cynicism. Instead, they bear witness to the difficulty of living for oneself while sacrificing for others... Ethel Rohan is one hell of a writer.” So come out to support a local talent with a searing new voice and enjoy some complimentary wine or perhaps some Irish whiskey (Rohan originally hails from Ireland).

Finally, on December 11th we're proudly welcoming Pulitzer Prize winner David Rohde and magazine editor Kristen Mulvihill, authors of a new memoir about Rohde's time in captivity in Pakistan, A Rope and a Prayer. Invited to an interview by a Taliban commander, New York Times reporter David Rohde was kidnapped in November 2008 and spirited to the tribal areas of Pakistan. They found that Pakistan's powerful military turned a blind eye to a sprawling Taliban ministate that trained suicide bombers, plotted terrorist attacks, and helped shelter Osama bin Laden. In New York, David's wife of two months, Kristen Mulvihill, his family, and the New York Times struggled to navigate the labyrinth of issues that confront the relatives of hostages. A Rope and a Prayer is the story of those seven months, what they revealed about American efforts in the region, and a story of love and a very human triumph. Don't miss what is sure to be a spell-binding, eye-opening firsthand account of this chilling story.