Guess who came by RWB today? Steve Toltz, writer of A Fraction of the Whole which was longlisted last year for the Man Booker Prize! Always some sort of excitement going on at RWB.

A number of authors have been passing through RWB lately. And while I don't always have my camera with me to record their presence, I did manage a few photos. Darin Strauss, author of More Than It Hurts You, Chang and Eng and The Real McCoy stopped by with his family to browse our shelves.





And yet another was Dr. Shireen Lewis, author of Race Culture and Identity. She is also the founder of SisterMentors, an organization that promotes education among women and girls of color.

One of my favorite things to do is to visit local flea markets. It doesn't matter where I go, I always try to visit them. I think its the prospect of finding that special something that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else that makes me go. Soemtimes I'll come away empty handed after rummaging through piles of junk, but when I do strike gold, it makes my day! I've often wondered if there was a book specifically on markets in France, and it occured to me that I could check quite easily here at RWB. A bit of searching and I found Sandy Price's book The Flea Markets of France. A few clicks and the books were ordered. When I did get them, I took my copy home and literally read it that night. It is a beautiful little book packed with detailed information on markets all over France and gorgeous pictures. It made me want to visit some places that I would never have thought of. Needless to say I earmarked lots of pages.
Imagine my surprise when I got a call last week from the author herself! She was in town visiting her son and she wondered if we had copies of her book. Of course we had them! She came in yesterday, after some visiting some markets over the weekend and she very graciously agreed to answer some of my questions and to make recommendations. So there you have it, Sandy Price with her lovely book....

Today we had a wonderful surprise when Anita Lobel walked in RWB. It was so nice to meet such a lovely person whose books we enjoy so much. Even better was the news that she has new books out, and we even got copies! And that she is currently working on another one.

Check out the photo with RWB's Aldridge Hansberry who is herself a great musician!

Watch out for the full list of events coming up in June!

Just before the Ascension weekend, we had two authors visit us at the RWB. Marilyn Hacker stopped by, as excited as we are about the upcoming bilingual reading with Marie Etienne on the 8th of June. Her new book, a wonderful translation of Marie Etienne's poems has just won two prestigious awards, the Robert Fagles Award and the Pen Award for Poetry in Translation. It will certainly be a treat to have such talented poets at the RWB.
The other author who stopped by was the always charming Jonathon Green author of the Chambers Slang Dictionary. He is acknowledged as the English speaking world's leading expert on slang! His book is funny and indispensable and we always look forward to his visits...

Un avant gout for June

We had a wonderful surprise this morning when the lovely Cole Swensen stopped by at the RWB. And we are very pleased to announce that she will be doing a poetry reading along with Ms. Jorie Graham and Ms. Stacy Dorris at the RWB on the 7th of June at 630 PM. The poets will be reading from the book American Hybrid whose introduction and selection of poems are by Cole Swensen.

I can't tell you how excited we are about this upcoming poetry event at RWB!

Two lovely authors + events

We had the pleasure of having two lovely authors stop by recently at the RWB.

Carol Bruneau who hails from Nova Scotia has written critically acclaimed short story collections and novels, one of which, Purple for Sky (published in the US as "A Purple Thread for Sky"), won the 2001 Thomas Radall Atlantic Fiction Award as well as Dartmouth Book Award. Her latest novel is Glass Voices about a woman who survives the Halifax explosion of 1917. It was certainly nice to make her acquaintance and we look forward to seeing her again!

Our other visitor was RWB favorite Cara Black who is currently in town to do several events for her newest novel Murder in the Latin Quarter. She stopped by to say hello and later on set up a cosy little interview at the back of the store. Her newest novel brings Aimee Leduc for the first time on the Left Bank. As with the other Leduc novels, this new one is sure to be a good read!

Before I close this post, just a quick reminder for everyone. We have two events this week..

15 May 2009 6PM--book launch of Prof. Thornton's Advertising, Subjectivity and the 19th Century Novel

16 May 2009 3PM--reading by Carol Fisher Saller from her new book The Subversive Copy Editor

Hope to see you all soon!

A mystery writer unmasked

One of RWB's consistent best seller is the Victor Legris series written by Claude Izner. No sooner do we lay them out in our French fiction table do they get snapped up by our readers, eager to read the next adventure. They are mystery novels set in the late 19th century in different parts of Paris. The 4th and latest novel translated from the French is The Marais Assasin. I don't know if its a well known fact already but Claude Izner is actually the nom de plume of the two sisters who co-write these hugely successful books. They are boquinistes by trade. Last Thursday, we had a pleasant surprise when one half of the duo stopped by at RWB. Laurence Lefevre is a quiet unassuming looking woman and it was a real pleasure to meet with at least one of those responsible for Victor Legris. In fact English audiences have a way to go because while the latest one we have is the fth, the series is actually well on its 8th book and the sisters are currently working on the 9th! We are looking forward to more books from Claude Izner!

Mondays, being the beginning of the week are often a bit quieter for us than the rest of the week. Sometimes though, we'll get a visit that considerably brightens our morning! The special visitor this morning was the charming Lynn S. Meskill whose new book Ben Jonson and Envy has just been published by Cambridge.

And if you're wondering what the fuss is all about, her new book is being hotly touted as "tackling a previously overlooked, but vital aspect of Jonson's poetics."And if you think that's only for academics, consider this--the book in fact, illuminates the way in which the literary is or seems to be informed by popular culture! How can you resist that?

Our week was considerably brightened by two authors who passed by RWB. First to visit was Judith Adler Hellman whose book The World of Mexican Migrants was named outstanding academic title of 2008 by Choic, magazine of the American Library Association. Judith is a friendly and interesting person and we are very much looking forward to doing an event with her before she leaves our shores.

We very nearly didn't recognize our next author. In fact, it wasn't till nearly the end when we realized it, and he 'fessed up to being Horatio Clare, author of Running for the Hills. His book has received wide praise for being beautifully written and with an eye for the wild landscape of Wales.

Who will come a -visiting next, I wonder?

On Paris Guide books

Today was a blessedly beautiful day, blue skies and relatively mild weather. Finally. It was certainly a welcome relief. So we threw open our doors and who should walk in but Heather Stimmler-Hall who's just published her own unique guide to Paris. Her book is called Naughty Paris Guide and it is chock full of insider tips about this fabulous city of ours, albeit with an empahsis on its sexy side. As Heather puts it, "there were a lot of people asking her about these details". So for all you ladies out there, if you've ever wondered where to buy those corsets (leather or otherwise) and lingerie that add that va-va voom touch to your wardrobe, or wondered where a fabulous woman may hang out and maybe meet the love of her life, this is the book for you. Champagne and roses not included.

Another Paris guide book to look forward to is the one by Ami Sioux a talented photographer who was in RWB today. Her idea behind her guide books is highly original and wonderfully interesting. The idea is to ask 50 different people to draw a map of their favorite place and she goes out to take a photo of each place. It sounds simple but the result is a unique guide to what makes a city so special to the people who live in it. As she puts it, "its not about the latest or trendiest cafe". To get an idea of what her Paris book will be like, check out the first one on Reykjavik http://scintillalimited.com/





Here's a page on Reykjavik...
For more of Ami's work, check out http://www.amisioux.com/

Also in the store today were Jobic and Emilie Le Masson. If you guys aren't yet aware of it, we are carrying Hill, Jobic's awesome first CD. In my completely unbiased opinion, this is a great CD and one you should be listening to. If you have the chance to hear Jobic play, you should definitely do so. For more information on his concerts, check out his website http://jobic.lemasson.free.fr/

Christmas lights notwithstanding, our December has been considerably brightened by some recent author visits. RWB's great favorite Jay Cantor is in town for the holidays with his lovely family and so it was inevitable that he would pay a visit at your favorite bookstore in the Marais. He is the author of Krazy Kat, The Death of Che Guevarra and Great Neck (which you see pictured here) as well as two books of essays (The Space Between: Literature and Politics and On Giving Birth to One's Own Mother). He is also a professor of creative writing at Tufts University.

Another author who dropped by for a visit was David Burke, whose book Writers in Paris is a nice addition to our shelves on all things French related.

On Monday, we had the pleasure of Prof. Richard Wilson's company at the RWB. He is a professor at the Cardiff University and a leading expert on Shakespeare. To wit, he has written

Shakespeare in French Theory: King of Shadows, Secret Shakespeare: Studies in theatre, religion and resistance and Will Power: Essays on Shakespearean authority. His books are a welcome addition to our Shakespeare shelf and he is as charming as he is erudite. One other plus, he can be counted on for a rhyming couplet as he exits!

We had a little avant-gout this afternoon when Beverley Bie Brahic stopped by at RWB. She is excited, as we are, about the upcoming poetry reading (on the 25th of November) with Jonathan Regier and Elizabeth Haukass. Needless to say, we are all looking forward to our evening of poetry!

He walked in today, quiet as you please but with an affable smile. "I didn't realize there was an english bookstore here" were his initial words and I was happy to tell him that RWB was on its 8th year. He browsed carefully and finally, confessed almost shyly that we had his books. His newest books in fact! And so I made my acquaintance with Andrew Miller, whose latest novel One Morning Like A Bird, we received recently. This is his fifth book and this time it is set in Tokyo in the 1940s. It has received favorable reviews thanks to his meticulous attention to detail and the way he captured beautifully the mood and atmosphere of those times in far away Japan. It was certainly a pleasure to meet the nice man behind One Morning Like a Bird.

Author visit and other things...

Last Friday, RWB had a lovely visit from Orel Protepescu the charming author of Two Sticks. Being THE children's bookstore in Paris, she stopped by to show us her book. Two Sticks is the story of Maybelle, a spirited young girl who uses her Two Sticks to rattle, click and clack her way out of a peculiar situation. Its a book as charming and lively as the author and it was wonderful to meet Orel. We are looking forward to her next children's book!

Being in the bookstore biz, we couldn't help but cackle when we found the Black Book Shop..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIvnz73Zsws

And finally, remember when Stephen Clark came out with his newest book Dial M for Merde? It seems that people will believe anything, which I think, is the reason why he was obliged to come up with his own stint over at You Tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILPyRZurJJE

A Merde Encounter

Penelope always says that sooner or later all authors come through our doors. Our recent author visitor was none other than Stephen Clarke whose new book Dial M for Merde is hot off the press! In this latest installment, Paul West becomes embroiled in a plot to kill no less than the new French President. It sounds like good rollicking fun and fans are sure to enjoy the latest in the hugely successful Merde series. Get your signed copy while you can at the RWB!

Here's Stephen with another one of his books...

A lovely afternoon surprise

Today the weather proved to be all gray and rainy. Not the cheeriest of times, even if I am surrounded by my most favorite things in the world. Things perked up considerably when the lovely Kristin Espinasse walked into RWB. She is the author of Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France. She came in quietly with her uncle and aunt in tow and introduced herself rather shyly. After we excitedly realized who she was (and which book she wrote) we were more than happy to tell her that her book was quite a success in the store with us constantly ordering and re-ordering the book in order to keep up with the demand. She very nicely agreed to sign the remaining copies of her book!
Her book actually evolved from her very successful blog (French-Word-A Day) which in turn came about because of her move to France to marry her husband and raise a family. It was when her children started learning French that she rediscovered the beauty of the language all over again. The blog is designed to share her experiences in settling down in the South of France. What makes it unique from other blogs is her use of one French word at a time as a starting point of her stories.
I’m happy to say that the book is a charming and well written one and after having met Kristin, it is clear that it is but a reflection of this lovely person.

Sara Paretsky

I think there’s nothing quite like the thrill of meeting an author. Meeting someone in the flesh whose words you’ve read and followed has to be one of the more memorable things to happen to someone. It is something I can never be blasé about no matter how many I’ve met, or may meet in the future. Well today, Sara Paretsky stopped by the Red Wheelbarrow to sign copies of her new book Bleeding Kansas. She breezed in a little before lunch and started chatting away animatedly while signing her books. She is such a lively character full of interesting anecdotes. We were really pleased to learn that she loves Cara Black (whose new book Murder in the Rue Paradis is now in the store!).
Fans of her V.I. Warshawski detective series might be surprised to know that her new novel is actually quite different. It is a tale of three families from Kaw River Valley in Kansas whose lives are changed radically when Gina Haring, a lesbian Wiccan arrives in town. Critics have called her new novel, gripping with a kind of vibrant storytelling that we’ve all come to expect from Sara Paretsky. Get your signed copies now at the RWB.

P.S. Just in case you were wondering when Warshawski is coming back…she’s due to release her new novel in 2009.

Authors galore

One of the (many)perks of working at a bookstore is meeting the different authors we carry. Today must have been an especially lucky day as we had the pleasure of the visit of two different authors. In the morning, we had a visit from Kathleen Duey. She is the author of numerous books for younger readers and today she came in to sign copies of her new book Skin Hunger. Since its publication, Skin Hunger has been reaping critical praise and was National Book Award Finalist. Its been on our collective reading list since it arrived in store and the newly minted dedication from Ms. Duey just about sealed the deal. Its definitely on top of the pile now. In fact, its the program for the evening.

Later in the afternoon, after the morning excitement had died down, we got a visit from Bryce Corbett whose book A Town like Paris has just been published. He too, came by for a chat and to sign his lovely book. It was really interesting to meet the Aussie who left a London job for an altogether new life in Paris.

Both Skin Hunger and A Town Like Paris are now available at the Red Wheelbarrow. Watch out for future reviews of both books!