Do You Feel the Love?

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and we've got some goodies for you! Nothing says "you rock my world" like a wonderful new book, or a Broadway Books Gift Certificate (in our humble opinion). At least we love to give and get books. And if you add a little yummy organic chocolate (check out our new flavors: ginger rose dark chocolate and pink peppercorn milk chocolate) to your package, all the better! If you really want to score some love points, stop by one of our neighbors along NE Broadway to add some champagne, or flowers, or maybe even a little bling to your gift of books. We're here for you, right up til the final minute! Come on in so we can share a little love with you. Happy Valentine's to you all!

Papa!

Don't forget--tomorrow is Father's Day. And what better way to celebrate (and honor) your dad's supreme awesomeness than with a book. Does your dad like edgy fiction, perhaps? Maybe he would like Chuck Palahniuk's new book, Pygmy. Is he a golfer? A chef? A couch potato? A walker? A runner? A gardener? A kid at heart? A writer? A mountain climber? A ballet dancer? A fly fisherman? A bird watcher? Or, maybe all of the above? We've got the book for him, and you'll be promoted to favorite kid status. It's win-win. Feel free to ask for suggestions if you feel overwhelmed by all the amazing titles we have here at the store.

Have a Great Weekend!

Looks like it's going to be a gorgeous Memorial Weekend in Portland, for you to celebrate and commemorate as you wish. As you're out and about, taking advantage of this fantastic weather, how about getting your Father's Day shopping done? And don't forget about any grads in your life. We've got tables full of ideas for both Dads and grads, so come by and see us. We're open all weekend! Today we'll be open from 10 to 7, and Sunday and Memorial Day we'll be open noon to 5. Your support means the world to us!

Gifts for Mom

Don't forget Mom! Sunday is Mother's Day, and you don't want to let it slip by. We've got Mother's Day cards and lots of wonderful book recommendations for you. And if Mom likes games, you might want to consider giving her Bananagrams -- it's great fun! As always, we're happy to gift wrap the items you buy here -- no charge! Maybe you want to add some extra color to your book gift for Mom -- think about heading up the street to Broadway Floral to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers to go with the book. Local Broadway Floral, owned by Doug and Janice Fick, offers lots of gorgeous fresh cut flowers, among their other items, that you can put together yourself or have them arrange for you. The store has been in business for more than one hundred years and has been in its present location since 1928. It was bought by Doug's parents in 1970. Come see us, and then go see them!

One of my favorite "mom" signs is the one on the wall at Bill's Tavern in Cannon Beach that says "Don't forget a six-pack for Mom!" If you don't think a six-pack is the right gift for Mom this year, think books!

Got a Wee Bit of Time for the Irish?

Next week is St. Patrick's Day! While the usual response is to don something green and perhaps knock back a pint or two, this year consider adding a little literary Irishness to your St. Paddy's celebration. We've got a table full of ideas to help you accomplish that goal. How about tackling James Joyce's Ulysses (again?) -- better start early, as we've got The Complete and Unabridged Text, as Corrected and Reset in 1961. Or how about the Booker-Prize-winning novel The Sea, by John Banville?

Perhaps you'd prefer to toast the green with some nonfiction instead. Holt has recently reissued the memoir by Nuala O'Faolain, Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman, with a new foreward by Frank McCourt. Ms. O'Faolain died of cancer in May 2008, not long after conducting a radio interview that shocked listeners with her acceptance of her fate. This is a beautiful exploration of a remarkable life.

Or maybe you'd rather dip into At the Edge of Ireland: Seasons on the Beara Peninsula, by David Yeadon -- an intrepid wanderer's celebration of a magical, unspoiled, and unforgettable Eire, described by one reviewer as "as lively as a limerick!" Perhaps it's just the facts you're after, in which case we can offer you guides -- from Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, or Rick Steves -- to the land of leprechauns and limericks. And of course we have St Patrick's Day cards for you.

A holiday message from James:

The holidays are upon us once again. Certainly, in different stages of my life, I would have phrased that differently: It’s almost Christmas! (for my childhood); It’s almost ski season! (high school); This semester is almost over! (college). But this holiday season, I look at the calendar and no other word choice seems appropriate. The month of December has come like a lion out of the brush upon me, a stupid gazelle drinking lazily from the water.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the holidays. I love snow and decorations and the general good cheer that everyone seems to have about them as the end of the year approaches. And I love presents, both giving and receiving, though I am finally reaching a stage in life where this aspect is more about the giving. As a child, the old adage “it’s the thought that counts” might ring true, but as one enters adulthood, giving a gift takes on new, important meanings.

I think that, from one adult to another, somehow gifts have become a process of explaining how much you know about someone. And, as a book lover/bookstore employee/bookstore website columnist, it should come as no shock that I often buy and give books as gifts. Most of the time, selecting the right book is not a problem. For example, I’m going to buy my dad Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson because my dad is very much into scuba diving and the family is going on a scuba diving trip for the holidays. I think I will buy my mother a few P.D. James mystery novels and An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear (the newest Maisie Dobbs mystery) because that is what she likes to read on airplanes and on beaches while my dad scuba dives. My teenage brother likes Garfield books and episode guides to the Simpsons, so that is what he will get.

But there are many friends in my life that don’t read a lot, or I don’t know what they read or what they have already read. They are the ones that make this holiday season – and every holiday season – seem to rush up out of nowhere. I can never seem to get the right gift until, suddenly, its only two days before Christmas. This is where calendars come in. Everyone needs a calendar, and luckily Broadway Books has a tremendous selection.

But I am thinking of taking a different angle this year. It might be a little unorthodox, but I think magazines will solve all my problems this gift giving season. Magazines are great because often, if you get the right one, it’s like three or four books bound together. The New Yorker, for example, has humorous pieces, cartoons, short fiction, and pieces about interesting things/events in the world. I like the Believer because it has interviews with all types of artists, authors, thinkers, and generally amazing people. Their advice column, answered each month by a new guest, is great. And their pieces are quirky/humorous most of the time.

Magazines work great as gifts for people like me – those with poor attention spans. The variety of content is also a great way to ensure that the recipient is going to like something inside, which isn’t always guaranteed for a book. And, typically magazines are less expensive than books, which is nice for those budget conscious gift-givers like myself.

So, when you’re browsing in Broadway Books for that perfect gift, stop by the magazine rack for a minute. If you buy one, we’ll even wrap it up for you!