Next week is going to be a lot of fun at Lemuria – we have events for everyone and every reader. If you haven’t been to one of our events before and one of these sounds interesting then please come – they are really fun and easy-going.

Bringing Adam Home by Les Standiford and Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews

Monday, March 21 starting at 5:00.

I think people often think of Lemuria as a literary store or a store that features fiction – this is not always the case. Bringing Adam Home is great piece of non-fiction about the Adam Walsh case. Les is a great old friend to Lemuria who came here frequently when he was writing his Deal series in the 90’s. Non-fiction is not new for Les, but this new book is a new direction. The true story of the Adam Walsh story is compelling on its own – a sad story for any parent, but because it is also the back story for America’s Most Wanted it has an added dimension in our culture. This will be a great reading for people interested in law enforcement or for anyone who followed the tv show or remembers the case from the 80s.

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht

Wednesday, March 23 starting at 5:00

Now this one is a literary event for sure. For those of you who like to be up on the hottest thing this is it. Téa has been all over the media for the past few weeks and Téa was named one of  The New Yorker’s 20 under 40. The book is ambitious and great and this is a guaranteed great event. Come by Wednesday night – you’ll regret it if you miss this one.

Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress

Thursday, March 24 starting at 5:00

Looking for a good laugh? Mark is great friend of the store and the author of  Crazy in Alabama, Gone for Good, and One Mississippi. This will be a guaranteed entertaining event. Mark always has funny and interesting stories to tell. He spent a good chunk of his childhood in Clinton, Mississippi, so we consider him a hometown boy even though he lives in Alabama now. Georgia Bottoms is the story of a Southern woman who has lost her family fortune – her solution? discreetly “entertaining” a few of the gentlemen in town.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Friday, March 25 starting at 5:00

Another great literary event. Another of the 20 under 40 authors. Swamplandia! has been on the NYT bestseller list for the past couple of weeks, but Karen has been hot ever since the publication of her book of short stories St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves was published five years ago. If you’re interested in Southern authors who promise to be around for a while then this is the one for you.

Every Day by the Sun: A Memoir of the Faulkner’s of Mississippi by Dean Faulkner Wells

Saturday, March 26 at noon.

Finally after a week full of great events we have a real treat. If you don’t already know, Dean Wells father was William Faulkner’s youngest brother. Sadly Dean’s father died in a plane crash just before she was born. Every Day in the Sun is Dean’s memoir of growing up almost as a daughter to William Faulkner. This is a fascinating and passionate memoir and a really special event for Mississippians.

Real physical books will continue to exist, if for no other reason, is that reading a physical book is practicing an art form.

The experience of holding a book, feeling its physicality and being hypnotized by its contents. The opening to read, closing to ponder and opening again to continue. Underlining, turning the pages down, personal code-marking important phrases and interpreting with your own reflections on the white space. Reaching the last page, then closing with the snap of accomplishment or just holding caught up in the meditation of afterthought and reflection, then maybe reviewing the dust jacket commentary.

Reading a book is transformative, it can be passing time or it can be a much more fulfilling experience. It’s special time with yourself. It’s a synapse of author’s ideas projecting into the reader’s thoughts. It’s fun and in many ways, creative. A wonderful reading experience is like looking at a painting and reaping the benefits of the transference of artist to viewer. The creativity of reading enhances and transforms our lives to a place beyond words. With such an abundance of exceptional benefits, I ask how could these experiences vanish?

I’m not naive enough to say books will exist forever, as change is always in motion. But for the foreseeable future I don’t believe e-books will replace the aesthetic experience of reading a physical book.

All believe we have to eat, some believe we have to read. Eating and reading are enjoyable needs and pleasures. Our value system helps us decide how we want to fulfill these needs. Our choices are reflected in our experiences.

Finishing a book is special. It becomes part of your life as it rests on your bookshelf. It watches you as you live around it. It’s always waiting to be held and remembered. Just like a fine painting or photograph in your house. It’s there to reflect upon. Its memories are part of your life and reflection is active and motivating.

The romance of a physical reading experience, time and place, and with whom are all apart of your own painting created while reading a book. The book’s aesthetic influence on your present is adapted from the past.

For me good beverage over a meal won’t cease to exist, neither will my experience of a good physical book. When conversation at the dinner table is interrupted with a dash to the bookcase to bring out a keepsake to share with a companion in a giving gesture, life is real. This is all about the art of our lives. The art of sharing ideas and joys celebrated in friendship.

I feel running to get your reading gismo to reflect yourself in the sharing experience rings creatively hollow.

The Bookstore Key Series on Changes in the Book Industry

Finding “Deep Time” in a Bookstore (March 8th) Reading The New Rules of Retail by Lewis & Dart (March 3) The Future Price of the Physical Book (Feb 18) Borders Declares Bankruptcy (Feb 16) How Great Things Happen at Lemuria (Feb 8th) The Jackson Area Book Market (Jan 25) What’s in Store for Local Bookselling Markets? (Jan 18) Selling Books Is a People Business (Jan 14) A Shift in Southern Bookselling? (Jan 13) The Changing Book Industry (Jan 11)

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The last public signing at Lemuria, The Chamber in 1994: “You want me to do what?”

Back in November, we started a series of interview questions with John Grisham. He had just been here to privately sign a great number of copies of The Confession. Instead of us coming up with the questions, he agreed to write and answer his own questions as we did not want to ask the same questions everybody else was asking him.

This last part of the series answers a question many people wonder about.

What was your weirdest experience at Lemuria?

John Grisham: There are two. A young mother asked me to autograph her baby’s diaper. I did, and I’ve never believed it was fresh. And a very strange lady once asked me to autograph a book to Delores, her best friend, who had died the week before. I did so quickly.

And your most surprising experience?

John Grisham: Years ago, before  I dreamed of getting published, and before Lemuria moved to Banner Hall, I was leaving the store one day and recognized Eudora Welty as she was entering. I stopped her, introduced myself, offered some drivel about how much I enjoyed her work. She was grateful. I still regret the intrusion.

Now for some more fun–We also started a contest in November with this question:

How many books has John Grisham signed for Lemuria bookstore since his debut novel, A Time to Kill?

We promised you a prize pot for the guess that is closest to the actual number as calculated by John Grisham. It includes:

A uniquely signed first edition of The Confession

A signed poster for The Confession

A bottle of Cathead Vodka

A signed first edition of The King of Torts

(And, now John Evans has added these items, after having time to rummage through storage for more Grisham treats.)

A limited signed edition of The Chamber.

A signed first edition of The Painted House

A signed first edition of The Bleachers

A signed first edition of The Runaway Jury

The winner will be announced Friday, March 18th.

Click here to add your guess. (One guess per person please.)

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Here’s a recap of the John Grisham Interview Series.

Part 2: Mississippi Politics

Part 3: Book Collecting

Part 4: What’s next?

A couple years ago, my wife purchased this book at a local church book sale for $5. The lovely binding and cover design caught her eye, and she discovered that it was a volume of poetry from a set by Sir Walter Scott published in 1822. She has recently done some preliminary research on the book, but after reading Lisa’s blog about the books she’s discovered, I thought a little more in-depth research would be worthwhile.

The Arch. Constable and Co. Edinburgh publisher, who printed this eight volume set in 1822, was founded by Archibald Constable in 1795 as part of his antiquarian bookstore in Edinburgh. In addition to publishing Sir Walter Scott, Arch. Constable and Co. also published works by Bram Stoker, Henry James, George Bernard Shaw, Herman Melville, and numerous others. The publishing house continues over 200 years later as Constable & Robinson.

Volume VI contains Scott’s narrative poem Rokeby in its entirety, along with lengthy notes following the poem explaining each section. The inclusion of these notes was fortunate, as Rokeby is considered to be among Scott’s most difficult works. It is set during the English Civil War, and characters tend toward allegorical embodiments of abstract emotions and concepts.

This particular volume became doubly interesting when my wife noticed what appears to be a previous owner’s label on the front endpaper, which reads, “Major Geo. Gun, Munro, of Poynstfield.” It’s somewhat difficult to pinpoint who exactly this is, given the number of Munro’s (and even the number of George Gunn Munro’s) in Scottish history, but if we narrow it down somewhat by time period (around the publication date of the book), the best match seems to be Major George Gunn Munro (1788-1852), who was the fourth laird of Poyntsfield (also spelled Poyntzfield, located in Scotland near Jemimaville, Highland).

Now, what’s curious is that the label appears to be typewritten. Typewriters were not commercially available until about 1870, so it seems unlikely that Major Munro typed the label himself. It is possible that someone of his social status (and likely considerably-sized personal library) had labels printed professionally; it is also possible (and maybe more likely) that at some later point in history, perhaps when his library was being transferred or donated, books were labeled to record original ownership.

If one were to come across the complete eight volume set, it would be worth somewhere between $200 and $400, depending on condition. A single volume like my wife found seems to be worth between $20 and $30 based on recent market prices.

Books have many purposes. Yes, to some degree each book is created to convey some story or information to the reader. But they live on as investments, as reminders, as references, as tokens, and in this case, as a record of a writer, a publisher, and an owner.

I’m quite particular about cookbooks, so when I found this one, I was thrilled!

Power Foods contains 150 delicious recipes with 38 of the healthiest ingredients. When flipping through a cookbook, pictures are very important to me. With a picture for each recipe, they got this format right. There’s nothing worse for me than flipping through a book with 1,000 recipes and no pictures. Especially if the font is illegible blue and yellow curly Q!

Power Foods also educates on the benefits of these power foods (chick peas, kale, smoothies, nuts, beans) and how to use them to feel great.

I’ll take the challenge and POWER UP!

Check out this great idea: Lentil, Carrot, and Lemon Soup with Fresh Dill. The fiber in lentils helps to lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. French green lentils cook more quickly and retain a firmer texture than the more common brown ones.

Here is the recipe to try it for yourself:

1.5 cups of French green lentils

4 carrots, peeled and sliced .5 inch thick (1.5 cups)

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

.5 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill, for garnish

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine lentils with carrots, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches (about 6 cups), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper and more salt, as desired. Add about 2 tablespoons chopped dill to each bowl just before serving. Per serving info: 261 calories; 0 mg cholesterol; 49.2 g carbohydrates; 15.9 g protein; 538 mg sodium; 12.6 g fiber.

I also liked this idea for Savory Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and many, many more recipes.

Power Foods by the Editors of Whole Living Magazine, forward by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2010)

-Peyton