The Readers for our Frank McCourt Tribute
Our evening of reading the works of Frank McCourt was a wonderful tribute to the man we truly miss. Special thanks to our volunteer readers Marsha & Beverly. Below are readers: Honorary Irish-Roberta Rubin, Bill McGrane, Marguerite O'Connor, Mary Joyce DiCola, Helen Gallagher and Carol LaChapelle with Marguerite O'Connor.
Wine Tasting with Top Chef Fabio Viviani
Fabio Viviani, executive chef for Cafe Firenze, is best known as the fan favorite from last season's hit show Top Chef. As part of his national book signing tour, he will be signing his new cookbook, The Cafe Firenze Cookbook. We are teaming up with Terlato Vineyards to offer a wine tasting in the store for this event. Join us on July 30 at 5:00 p.m. to meet the chef and sample some wines.
Wine Tasting and Book Signing
Concurrent with Fabio Viviani's signing, Anthony Terlato, chairman of Terlato Wines International of Lake Bluff, will serve Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, a wine that has been on the wine list at Café Firenze for many years. The chairman of the prestigious Terlato Wine Group will also be signing Taste: A Life in Wine, his book recounting his 50-year love affair with wine and the pursuit of perfection in a glass.
A Tribute to Frank McCourt
Remembering
Frank McCourt
Aug. 30, 1930 – July 19, 2009
Join us at the store for a special reading of
selections from Mr. McCourt’s books on
Monday, July 27, 2009, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Friends of The Book Stall (with deep Irish roots)will read from Frank McCourt’s memoirs Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, and Teacher Man.
We at The Book Stall recall few visiting authors as personally as we do
Frank McCourt. Our newsletter of September-October 1996 carried this probably little-noticed calendar item:
Wed., Sept. 25
Frank McCourt
Angela’s Ashes
Reading and signing at Cullen’s Bar,
3741 N. Southport, Chicago
Little did we know at the time of the signing—three weeks after the book’s publication––that Angela’s Ashes would become one of The Book Stall’s major bestsellers of the decade. By the time he came to sign ‘Tis, at the North Shore Country Day School, in November 1999, the book was already a #1 bestseller—and the event attracted more than 500 McCourt fans! Then six years later, he spent a Saturday afternoon at the store, on November 19, 2005, reading from and signing Teacher Man. His last visit was in November 2007, when he signed his children’s book, Angela and the Baby Jesus, along with its illustrator Loren Long.
Over the years, we missed no opportunity to connect with Mr. McCourt. Once, after the phenomenal success of Angela’s Ashes and upon its paperback publication, Roberta was determined to “borrow” him from his Chicagoland book tour and have him do an impromptu signing at the The Book Stall. Off we went, out to a far suburban Sam’s Club, where he was signing books in the tire section of the store. He was most gracious.
Frank McCourt, we will miss you. Thank you for your friendship.
Be sure to join us for this unique event: Monday, July 27, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Irish readers so far will include:
Helen Gallagher
Carol LaChapelle
Bill McGrane
Marguerite O'Connor
and more.
Just added: Stephen Carter reading 8/3
UPDATE: The first 75 people to buy a book at this event will receive a free t-shirt!
Mark it on your calendars: novelist Stephen Carter will be in the store at 7:00 p.m. on August 3rd signing his books and reading from his latest novel, Jericho's Fall.
Mark it on your calendars: novelist Stephen Carter will be in the store at 7:00 p.m. on August 3rd signing his books and reading from his latest novel, Jericho's Fall.
Jericho's Fall tells the story of Jericho Ainsley, a former Secretary of Defense, NSA advisor, and CIA director, who harbors a dangerous secret. Carter, author of the best-selling novels The Emperor of Ocean Park, Palace Council, and New England White, is also a law professor at Yale and the author of several books on law and society. Carter has many fans on the Book Stall staff who would be happy to talk to you about his work. We hope you'll join us for this event!
Green City Market Annual Chef's BBQ
Join us tonigt in Lincoln Park for Green City Market's Annual Chef's BBQ. We'll be selling Low and Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue by Gary Wiviott and Colleen Rush. Individual tickets are sold out, but a limited number of VIP tickets are still available.
Even if you can't make it tonight, be sure to check out the Green City Market. It is the only year-round farmer's market in Chicago, and it's a great place to find fresh produce and support local farmers.
Speaking of shopping locally and living sustainably, we are now selling reusable shopping bags with the Book Stall logo. It's sure to become one of the summer's hottest fashion accessories, and it's only $4.99!
Even if you can't make it tonight, be sure to check out the Green City Market. It is the only year-round farmer's market in Chicago, and it's a great place to find fresh produce and support local farmers.
Speaking of shopping locally and living sustainably, we are now selling reusable shopping bags with the Book Stall logo. It's sure to become one of the summer's hottest fashion accessories, and it's only $4.99!
There's still time to sign up for tomorrow 7/15 @ 7 p.m.
Call the store to sign-up for this free workshop if you're getting ready to publish a book, or want powerful marketing strategies to keep your book selling well.
Indie Week 2009
The 9th Annual Independents Week is drawing to a close, but you still have a few days to show your support for the store. Here's how it works:
"Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kans., and my3books.com, a book blog recently launched by Abraham Associates publishers rep John Mesjak, are teaming together to celebrate independent bookstores with a contest in which all participants “pay it forward.” Independent bookstore patrons, publishers, sales reps, booksellers, book reviewers, authors, or -- as the co-sponsors declare in their press release announcing this contest -- “anyone who is an open champion of independent booksellers” may nominate their favorite independent bookstore for one of five prizes – an autographed set of the four books in Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling Twilight series.
Anyone nominating their favorite bookstore for these prizes must tweet the name of the bookstore and an explanation for why it’s their favorite bookstore to either @RainyDay or @mesjak, with the hashtag RDB714. Entries must be received by midnight, July 14, and will be judged on three criteria: 'fervor of support, how they might "pay it forward," and overall spirit.'"
-from Publisher's Weekly, 7/7/09
We'd love it if you'd tweet for us!
-Peter
"Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kans., and my3books.com, a book blog recently launched by Abraham Associates publishers rep John Mesjak, are teaming together to celebrate independent bookstores with a contest in which all participants “pay it forward.” Independent bookstore patrons, publishers, sales reps, booksellers, book reviewers, authors, or -- as the co-sponsors declare in their press release announcing this contest -- “anyone who is an open champion of independent booksellers” may nominate their favorite independent bookstore for one of five prizes – an autographed set of the four books in Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling Twilight series.
Anyone nominating their favorite bookstore for these prizes must tweet the name of the bookstore and an explanation for why it’s their favorite bookstore to either @RainyDay or @mesjak, with the hashtag RDB714. Entries must be received by midnight, July 14, and will be judged on three criteria: 'fervor of support, how they might "pay it forward," and overall spirit.'"
-from Publisher's Weekly, 7/7/09
We'd love it if you'd tweet for us!
-Peter
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels integrate images and text to create a whole new way to read. Mark Siegel, editorial director of First Second Books, has illustrated and created numerous graphic novels and will share his experiences with us on Monday, July 13, from 12:30 - 2. 
Mark will explain what graphic novels are, who is reading them, and why they are relevant. We'd love to know which graphic novels you're reading, please leave your comments here!
Tracy Segal
Mark will explain what graphic novels are, who is reading them, and why they are relevant. We'd love to know which graphic novels you're reading, please leave your comments here!Tracy Segal
Forthcoming Paul Auster novel
Paul Auster's new novel Invisible (available 11/09) is both formally innovative and engrossing. Auster manages to spin a gripping narrative while conducting daring experiments in narrative perspective and profoundly exploring issues of memory and self-construction. Keep it on your radar--we'll tell you more closer to the release date. Comment here with your thoughts on Paul Auster's work!
Peter
Peter
Roberta tells all ...
Roberta Rubin's Secrets to Success
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
by Liz Logan, www.makeitbetter.net
Owning an independent bookstore is a lot like being a mom. It never gets easy. If it's not one problem, it's another. These days, it's Amazon and its Kindle, and Costco.
The challenging nature of her job as owner of Winnetka's The Book Stall at Chestnut Court—a gig she's had for 27 years—is part of what makes Roberta Rubin such a superhero. She hasn't just weathered storms; she problem-solved with such gusto that she gained a national reputation as the best in her field.
How does she do it? We tease out the qualities that got Roberta to the top.
She loves her work.
"I love a good book. I just get so excited," the 71-year-old Glencoe resident says.
Nowadays it's "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese (Knopf, 2009), a novel about a medical family caught up in the turmoil of Ethiopia. "It's about living, it's about values, it's about beautiful writing," she says. "I didn't want to see it end."
Recommendations like this one keep her customers coming back. One of her favorite things is when someone grabs her arm and says, "I loved that book."
She brings her community together.
Roberta is "queen of the book group" as a brilliant selling tool, says Carl Lennerts, vice president of marketing at HarperCollins. She started hosting book groups in the early '90s, bringing together stay-at-home moms who loved to read well before Oprah's book club launched in 1996.
The Book Stall now holds a book group every week. And this fall the store will host its second annual symposium for local book clubs—and event that drew a crowd of 115 last year.
And as for author events, she's not the queen, but "one of the princesses," Lennerts says. Along with other independent bookstores, she started hosting authors in the '80s, and lobbied New York publishers to include Chicago on book tours.
Now, Chicago is an essential destination for authors, thanks in large part to Roberta. This year The Book Stall has hosted Alexander McCall Smith, Jane Hamilton and Julianne Moore (reading her children's book), to name a few.
She never lets people forget her face.
Roberta travels faithfully to New York three times a year—twice to visit with publishers, many of whom have become her dear friends, and again for the national convention Book Expo America. In turn, publishers visit her, too.
"She's a wonderful ambassador of independent bookselling to the whole of New York City publishing," Lennerts says. "She's a cultural force."
She looks at the big picture.
Roberta recognizes that the village of Winnetka keeps her business alive. She's served on the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce for many years, and is about to become president for the second time. Her long résumé also includes board member for the Great Lakes Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers Association.
"She's very important in the community with the other retailers, and bringing business to Winnetka and keeping things local," says Joan DeMayo, senior vice president of children's sales at Random House. "She's very active in making sure that Winnetka is a place that people want to continue to shop."
She's not afraid of new things.
The store is taking its inventory digital these days, with the help of Roberta's son John Rubin. His company, Above the Treeline, has created software that tracks books sales, data that can then be sold to publishers.
She speaks her mind.
The printed page is here to stay, according to Roberta. "I'm not so sure that reading a book on the Kindle, or even listening to it on tape, can give you the same satisfaction as fondling the book, hugging the book, and giving it to someone else," she says.
She lives her work.
"Roberta will go to a dinner party and come back saying, 'I sold these books, we better order them,'" says Mary Joyce DiCola, a Book Stall buyer who has worked with Roberta for almost 15 years.
Her glass is half full.
"I'm an optimist, for better or for worse," she says.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
by Liz Logan, www.makeitbetter.net
Owning an independent bookstore is a lot like being a mom. It never gets easy. If it's not one problem, it's another. These days, it's Amazon and its Kindle, and Costco.
The challenging nature of her job as owner of Winnetka's The Book Stall at Chestnut Court—a gig she's had for 27 years—is part of what makes Roberta Rubin such a superhero. She hasn't just weathered storms; she problem-solved with such gusto that she gained a national reputation as the best in her field.
How does she do it? We tease out the qualities that got Roberta to the top.
She loves her work.
"I love a good book. I just get so excited," the 71-year-old Glencoe resident says.
Nowadays it's "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese (Knopf, 2009), a novel about a medical family caught up in the turmoil of Ethiopia. "It's about living, it's about values, it's about beautiful writing," she says. "I didn't want to see it end."
Recommendations like this one keep her customers coming back. One of her favorite things is when someone grabs her arm and says, "I loved that book."
She brings her community together.
Roberta is "queen of the book group" as a brilliant selling tool, says Carl Lennerts, vice president of marketing at HarperCollins. She started hosting book groups in the early '90s, bringing together stay-at-home moms who loved to read well before Oprah's book club launched in 1996.
The Book Stall now holds a book group every week. And this fall the store will host its second annual symposium for local book clubs—and event that drew a crowd of 115 last year.
And as for author events, she's not the queen, but "one of the princesses," Lennerts says. Along with other independent bookstores, she started hosting authors in the '80s, and lobbied New York publishers to include Chicago on book tours.
Now, Chicago is an essential destination for authors, thanks in large part to Roberta. This year The Book Stall has hosted Alexander McCall Smith, Jane Hamilton and Julianne Moore (reading her children's book), to name a few.
She never lets people forget her face.
Roberta travels faithfully to New York three times a year—twice to visit with publishers, many of whom have become her dear friends, and again for the national convention Book Expo America. In turn, publishers visit her, too.
"She's a wonderful ambassador of independent bookselling to the whole of New York City publishing," Lennerts says. "She's a cultural force."
She looks at the big picture.
Roberta recognizes that the village of Winnetka keeps her business alive. She's served on the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce for many years, and is about to become president for the second time. Her long résumé also includes board member for the Great Lakes Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers Association.
"She's very important in the community with the other retailers, and bringing business to Winnetka and keeping things local," says Joan DeMayo, senior vice president of children's sales at Random House. "She's very active in making sure that Winnetka is a place that people want to continue to shop."
She's not afraid of new things.
The store is taking its inventory digital these days, with the help of Roberta's son John Rubin. His company, Above the Treeline, has created software that tracks books sales, data that can then be sold to publishers.
She speaks her mind.
The printed page is here to stay, according to Roberta. "I'm not so sure that reading a book on the Kindle, or even listening to it on tape, can give you the same satisfaction as fondling the book, hugging the book, and giving it to someone else," she says.
She lives her work.
"Roberta will go to a dinner party and come back saying, 'I sold these books, we better order them,'" says Mary Joyce DiCola, a Book Stall buyer who has worked with Roberta for almost 15 years.
Her glass is half full.
"I'm an optimist, for better or for worse," she says.
"The Art of Racing in the Rain"
Meet author Garth Stein at the Book Stall as he signs and reads from The Art of Racing in the Rain.
Thursday, July 16 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope. It is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life, . . as only a dog could tell it.
Thursday, July 16 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope. It is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life, . . as only a dog could tell it.
Publishing Workshop coming up July 15th
The Book Stall of Chestnut Court in Winnetka receives many requests for advice and assistance on getting published, so we've created an evening presentation to answer questions and share what's new in the book world.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:00 p.m. at the store (811 Elm, Winnetka, IL)
Publishing is a whole new game today, and the internet makes it possible for authors to self-publish and gain an audience for their work. Learn the differences between full self-publishing and print-on-demand, find out what book stores expect of self-published authors, and go home with the information you need to build an author's platform, for book marketing success.
Presented by Helen Gallagher, author of Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way. Please call the store to register at 847-446-8880, and call or email Helen@cclarity.com with questions on the workshop at 847-998-6240.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:00 p.m. at the store (811 Elm, Winnetka, IL)
Publishing is a whole new game today, and the internet makes it possible for authors to self-publish and gain an audience for their work. Learn the differences between full self-publishing and print-on-demand, find out what book stores expect of self-published authors, and go home with the information you need to build an author's platform, for book marketing success.
Presented by Helen Gallagher, author of Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way. Please call the store to register at 847-446-8880, and call or email Helen@cclarity.com with questions on the workshop at 847-998-6240.
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