I know that books can be intimidating, okay? Although a lot of people in their twenties are still working through Kurt Vonnegut’s oeuvre and picking up Anna Karenina to prepare for the movie release, we also want to laugh really, really hard. That’s why we watch television.

But what happens when season 2 of Girls doesn’t begin until January 13? Enter: Davy Rothbart’s essay collection My Heart Is An Idiot. (Could the title be truer?) This is a collection of stories that are fitted to the short attention span of sitcom-watchers, to read during the commercial breaks, and to read while heating up a frozen pizza. I know this from experience. They are, as blurbist Susan Orlean says, “utterly engaging.”

What’s brilliant about these autobiographical stories is that they maintain a lovely balance between ridiculously confessional and self-deprecating. The writer is literally naked walking around Manhattan for the greater part of one essay. There are moments when his intentions to be alone with a girl at the expense of a friend are loathsome, but delicate and human. And a lazy habit of peeing in bottles, rather than walking to the bathroom, facilitates this great and telling moment with his ex-girlfriend, who is saying goodbye before moving across the country with her new boyfriend:

Sarah marveled at the collection of pee-filled bottles I’d amassed. “It’s absolutely incredible,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” She sniffed the air. “I can’t believe they don’t smell.” I was ashamed, but also sort of proud, and fascinated with them myself. The range of pee color, in itself, was striking—dark, hornet gold, to pale yellow, to nearly clear. “There must be fifty bottles here,” said Sarah.

“There’s more behind the TV stand,” I confessed.

Sarah said, “Let’s count.” We tallied them up. There were ninety-nine. Sarah began to sing, “Ninety-nine bottles of pee on your wall, ninety-nine bottles of pee…” She trailed off. “I can’t believe I’m leaving you,” she said.

I picked up the song, and continued on, sadly: “Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of pee…”

People have, in the history of the world, complained that almost all books are written about writers, who are boring and narcissistic people. Here you have a person who seems to have been pulled into writing by means of carrying around too many quirky stories, too many intrinsically American experiences, too much truth about it all.

Interestingly, these stories take place in almost every region of the country except the South. Lucky for you, the Found magazine 10^th anniversary tour will bring Davy and Peter Rothbart for a signing, reading, and music on Thursday, December 6 at 5:30 here at Lemuria.

My Heart Is An Idiot by Davy Rothbart, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2012, $25.00.

See all the tour stops this December.

Visit Jackson Free Press for Kathleen Mitchell’s interview with the author.

by Whitney

They say the best things come in small boxes. I just think, the best things come in boxes. Take, for example, Chris Ware’s new graphic novel, Building Stories.

Included in the New York Times list of the best books of 2012, this novel is actually a box full of little books and pamphlets that can be read in any order. They all tell the story of a Chicago house–the residents that live there, the bee that pollinates its flowers, the house itself, and the lives that have begun and ended there.

This is a comic for the existentialist.

Chris Ware’s illustrations are simple (maybe you saw them in the NYTimes book review a couple months ago) and have been described as “potatoes with legs” but they are strikingly descriptive. Plus, let me again remind you, it’s a box (think Monopoly gameboard size) full of intricately designed books–the construction of the book alone is a work of art.

Building Stories by Chris Ware, Pantheon Books, 2012

One of the great things about shopping at Lemuria during the holidays is that the staff reads various types of books.  You will walk in and see the books that we are working on as a store like The Racketeers by John Grisham, A Daring Life by Carolyn Brown (which I did read and loved) and My Bookstore by various authors (Barry Moser wrote an essay about Lemuria) but I can guarantee that each one of us has a list of books that is different from one another as the day is long!

I built a spinner near the Front Desk that has the books I recommend from 2012 but here is a sampling ( they are not in particular order):

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

If you haven’t read this I am not sure what is taking you so long and it is a must give for Christmas! Here is a link to a blog I wrote earlier this year.  I hope Jay Sones sees this one!

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The Absent One by Jussi Adler- Olsen

This is the sequel to my favorite mystery of 2011, The Keeper of Lost Causes.  Yes, he is a Scandinavian author but while the books are a little dark the author has come up with some fantastic murder and there is also a touch of comic relief.  I will keep reading this series until the end which I hope is not anytime soon.  His third book, A Conspiracy of Faith, will be available in May 2013 so right now is the perfect time to start this mystery series! I wrote a blog on this one too. Jussi Adler-Olsen is an author I would love to have come to Lemuria for a signing one day!  Fingers crossed!

Criminal by Karin Slaughter

This is a long time favorite of mine.  This is a southern slice and dice series set in Georgia.  I do recommend starting this series at the beginning with BlindSlighted (which we do have in paperback) but if are already into Karin Slaughter make sure you have picked this one up!

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 The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

If you like to read fiction that is based on real life people like Loving Frank and The Paris Wife then you will not want to miss The Chaperone.  I loved this book so much that I practically forced Anna Booth to read it and guess what…she loved it too!  Here is the blog she wrote earlier this year!

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The Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields

I just finished A Study in Revenge, the sequel to The Truth of All Things, which comes out in January. So this is the perfect time to check out this new series. If you like period mysteries  with a little twist of the occult then this series is what you are looking for! Kieran Shields is one of my debut author finds of 2012.

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These are just a few of the books that I absolutely loved in 2012.  Frankly, I could sit in the booth all day and post all the books on the spinner to the blog, but come on…it will be tons more fun if you swing by Lemuria and let me show them to you. The spinner is full of  ’em!  We can talk books and you can tell me what you think I shouldn’t miss from 2012!  I love it when someone ‘sells’ me a book!  If you can’t come in please comment below and let me know what your “Don’t Miss of 2012” are!!

Happy Holidays to Y’all!

Oh, I have already started reading for 2013 and it is gonna be a great year!

How long have you worked at Lemuria?

About five years.

When did you start really collecting books? (Is it a collection, or more of a hoard?)

When I was in high school, I read books, but I wasn’t a book nerd. In college I was an English literature major, so I read books, but I didn’t collect books. I just bought books I liked. We didn’t have a good bookstore where I grew up; we just had a Walden books. If I had grown up with Lemuria, I probably would have a book hoarding problem.

What do you look for in a good book?

I read for many different reasons, as I think all people do. Sometimes I read for the poetry or the lyricism of the writing. I read for escape or just a good story. I read to learn about other people and why they do the things they do. I read for information; about real people who have actually lived their lives.

What book do you think is the best-kept secret?

The Prime of Life. It’s a memoir by Simone Debouveoir. It’s one of my favorite books.

 How long have you been reading?

I’ve never been a non-stop reader. I like to read, but I don’t read obsessively. I’m usually not sitting down and reading a book all day long.

How do you organize your books? (Do you?)

When I lived by myself, I had no organization to my books. That was before I worked at Lemuria–being single and not working at Lemuria led to zero book organization. But since I live with my sweetheart now, it is much more complicated. I keep the most precious, valuable, collectable books in my room on 2 bookcases. But I am seriously running out of room.

In the music room, we have beautiful built-in bookshelves that have lots of my sweetheart’s really old books. And in the living room, I put a lot of non-fiction. I need more bookshelves. I have sent out distress calls to family members, and nobody has answered. I even asked for bookshelves for my birthday, but everyone has forgotten that I asked for them. I have gotten desperate. There are books all over the desk, all over the bedside table, all of the buffet in the kitchen. They are everywhere. I need a book makeover.

 Is there a system to how you choose what to read next/the order you read books in?

Lemuria is the system.

 What book have you liked most that came out this year?

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

 What are you reading right now?

Shout her Lovely Name by Natalie Serber

Stray Decoroum by George Singleton

om Love by George Minot

Thomas Jefferson by Jon Meacham

The Orphan Masters Son by Adam Johnson (I’m rereading it for book club)

When do you read?

I like to read before I go to bed.That’s my preferred time, but my sweetheart distracts me, and reminds me that reading is not a social activity. So I try to also read in the morning before he’s awake.

Is there an author you would like to meet?

There isn’t a particular author I am pining to meet, however, I do like meeting the authors that come to Lemuria. I enjoy the surprise; you have no idea what kind of person they are going to be. You could love their books, and not like the author, or the reverse. You never know what to expect when that author walks in the door.

 Do you have a favorite author that you have already met?

There are so many that I’ve really loved meeting. In fact, I always have an author-crush-of-the-moment (ACOTM). My ACOTM is George Singleton. I’ve also had a crush on Karl Marlantes, Audrey Niffenegger (she floated when she walked. She floated through the bookstore, and she was a true book lover). I’m sure there are more authors, but there are so many I can’t name them all.

Are you a one-at-a-time reader, or are you reading many books at once?

Before Lemuria, I rarely read more than one book at a time, but now I always read more than one book at a time. I read maybe 5 books at a time.

What do you look for in a good bookstore?

A good literature selection. I like old books, so if I’m going around to bookstores, I look for books specially from the periods of 1875-1930. When I started collecting books from that period, I didn’t realize it was the golden age of book art. Now when I go to bookstores, I look for books from that period.

How long have you worked at Lemuria?

I’m going on 13 years.

How long have you been reading?

Since I was born. I came out of the womb reading.

My original Very Hungry Caterpillar has fallen apart and is now held together in a Ziploc bag. I had a Maggie and Her Chickens I really liked and a book on farm animals. I still have all of them.

When did you start really collecting books?

When I started working here. But I’ve really quit collecting, now. I buy first editions sometimes, but I just really don’t have room. I just buy books by authors I like.

What do you look for in a good book?

A good story. It just has to be a good story. It has to be interesting. If the story isn’t any good, there’s no point in reading it. Sometimes you can have a book with excellent writing and is very literary, but the story sucks. Who would want to read that just because it’s literary? I hate the word literary.

What book do you think is the best-kept secret?

I don’t keep any of my stuff a secret. I let people know about books I like.

How do you organize your books? Do you?

I don’t. I don’t need to find them once I’ve read them. I do not reread; I don’t have enough time. I have to keep reading new books. The most organization I have is a to-read bookcase. But it is as damn full as the rest of them. My side of the room is a wreck.

Is there a system to how you choose what to read next?

I usually try to read books before the date it’s coming out on. But sometimes I just need to read a good murder.

What book have you liked most that came out this year?

The next one I’m going to read. That’s usually my answer.

Are you a one-at-a-time reader, or are you reading many books at once?

One, because that’s the way I like it.

What are you reading right now?’

I just finished something last night; I think it’s called Swimming at Night. I liked it. It isn’t coming out until 2013. I just started this other book called, Trial of Fallen Angels by James Kimmel. It’s coming out in November, but I’m not the far into it yet.

When do you read?

I read at night and on Sundays I get up and read.

What do you look for in a good bookstore?

Well I don’t really go to any. The first thing I do when I go in a bookstore is talk to staff. A good bookstore has people in there who think. You can make anything look good, it’s about more than that.

What are your bookstore pet peeves?

That could be a long list. If I walk in a bookstore in the North, I don’t like it if they don’t have much Southern fiction.

Top 5 favorite books in your library right now:

I don’t have an all time top 5; it changes as I read. The only thing I could probably tell you , as far as my collection goes, are what I consider to be my most valuable books. But that doesn’t mean that they are my favorite books that I have read, there’s a difference.