This is Green Apple Books Part II

A few months ago, a former Green Appler (whose name I can't recall right now) posted a nice selection of photos from around the store. I thought it captured the spirit of the store very well, and so have decided to reprise his efforts. I have focused on those items that have been, at some point during Green Apple's 42 year history, tacked or taped to the wall and then forgotten. Some of these items have price tags, but they don't seem be creating a lot of interest.


Ike died in 1969, and this newspaper has been hanging in this spot since at leat 1987, when I started working here.

Liberty Magazine from Sept. 1938 with an article by Babe Ruth on Why I Must be Wacky to be a Dodger. Only $20. That's a San Francisco Examiner from around the time of the moon landing, It's probably been
up there just about as long.

The sticker on this one says "They don't get much nicer than this." $50 and it's yours.

Pablo Neruda reading at Glide Church in 1973. That's pretty cool.....

Overheard at the register

I was just passing the front register at the main store, when I heard a customer ask our clerk, "How long has Green Apple been here?"

"Since 1967," she proudly answered.

"Oh, wow - Far Out!!!"

Yes. . . far out, indeed.

More store history

The old store photos drew a warm response last week, so here are two more photos. They're from the same batch as last week's. Since Mergatroid (our gnome) is dated 1976, my best guess for these photos is the mid-1970s. I see no sign of the 1980s in the hair, film, books, or glasses of these pics.

The first one shows what is now the back left corner of the main floor before the mezzanine was put it in or the second floor opened to the public; note the nice natural light coming from the back of the store. Also, I think we still have that folding table.


The second one is from the front of the store.


On a final note, in last week's historical post, there's an older awning visible in the exterior shot. If you look under our current awning, you can still see the remains, albeit tattered, of the original awning.

Oh, and we love what the Richmond Blog did with our midlife crisis here.

September's Book of the Month...

At a time when the U.S. is in a raucous debate over Health Care, there are a few people who are looking to help those with no drinkable water, hospitals, food or schools.

People like Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, the subject of Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winning book Mountains Beyond Mountains. Just as a new, expanded edition of Mountains Beyond Mountains is released with updates on the progress of PIH, so is Tracy Kidder's new book Strength in What Remains another inspirational story.

We at Green Apple guarantee that you will love this book, or your money back.

If you loved Mountains Beyond Mountains, here is another truly inspirational, heart-wrenching account of one man trying to overcome everything that stands in his way--everyone who would like to see him fail, if not dead--to help others in need.

Strength in What Remains is the story of Deogratias, a man from a small village in Burundi, one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Despite this, Deo was attending medical school when Civil War and genocide broke out in Burundi and neighboring Rwanda. I think Kidder puts it best:

When I first heard Deo’s story, I had one simple thought: I would not have survived. I hoped in part to reproduce that feeling in recounting what seems to me a rich tale: an adventure story, a survival story, an immigrant’s story, a story of despair and determination, of evil and kindness.

Kidder (described by the Baltimore Sun as a "master of the non-fiction narrative") has accomplished what he set out to do. He deftly and masterfully describes Deo's terrifying run through fields and jungles, barely surviving his escape to New York. When he lands in America, he doesn't speak English and knows no one. Deo pushes on, delivering groceries and living in Central Park.

Deo's is a truly terrifying & powerful story, of what the human body & spirit can withstand. He now is helping the country that he left with Village Health Works whose motto is, "Where there is health, there is hope."

I don't really know how to end this other than saying that I think both Mountains Beyond Mountains & Strength in What Remains should be required reading for everyone. It would make us all a little more humble, a little kinder, and a little more considerate to those around us and those less fortunate than us.