The independent bookstore has been through a lot in the past couple of decades. From the rise of large chain bookstores that operate on a business model akin to Wal-Mart, to the advent of online booksellers and the era of the e-reader, the introduction of all of these elements has brought alarmists calling the Death of the Independent Bookseller (much like the cyclical Death of the Novel argument that seems to shuffle its way into the literary conversation every decade or so).

Yet even with all these external forces threatening the vitality of community-based booksellers, the neighborhood bookstore survives. The reason is because customers have the ability to walk into a store and, after hearing the jingling bell attached to the door, be greeted by friendly, knowledgeable staff that are able to give recommendations and ideas on what to read far better than any computer-generated, statistically-based calculations could produce.

The New York Times recently profiled Partners & Crime, a Greenwich Village bookstore doing just that (read it here). Though we encounter situations similar to those chronicled in the article everyday, it’s always sweet to see examples elsewhere. There will always be a place for independent businesses, so long as people value relationships with others. Perhaps booksellers are better off than other businesses in this sense. Readers have such strong relationships to their books, why wouldn’t they want real people, who they know and can trust, with questions and recommendations?

If you are like us, you miss the broadsheet newspaper — full of investigative reporting, in-depth feature writing, book reviews, comics and big, beautiful pictures that threaten to swallow you whole. The always-innovative McSweeney’s Quarterly has produced a beautiful one-time newspaper. THE PANORAMA is full of both the glory that the news used to be delivered in and the creative swagger for which McSweeney’s is known. Initial printings sold out quickly, but The Raven has received copies!

The issue has ovver 150 contributors, including journalism, features, reviews, and fiction by the likes of Michael Chabon, Stephen King, Dave Eggers, Miranda July, Bob Porterfield and William T. Vollman. Featuring a 16 page comics section with contributions from Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware and others, 16 pages of sports, a 96 page section about books and a food section. ($16).

This past Thursday, author David Ohle participated in the Raven’s Big Tent Reading series. It was a real treat. Afterward, more than one audience member was overheard saying they thought they were going to pee their pants from laughter. Mr. Ohle recently released a book titled BOONS & THE CAMP, which is available at The Raven along with his cult classic MOTORMAN. Derek White at 5cense, who did the artwork for the book, also created trailers for BOONS & THE CAMP. Enjoy.

THE CAMP

BOONS

Kansas Reads is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library of Kansas that encourages all Kansans to read the same book and come together to discuss it. This year’s featured book is Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama.




From the Lawrence Public Library’s website:

Obama once said that his extended family is “like a little mini-United Nations. I’ve got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I’ve got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.” In Dreams from My Father, Obama introduces us to that family - his mother and grandparents from Kansas, his father and half-siblings in Kenya.

The book is also a coming of age story as Obama takes us along on his personal journey to form his own identity and find his place in the world. Written before he first ran for public office, the book offers a glimpse into the formation of the character of the man who would become our president, and the events that set him on a course of public service.

The Raven has copies of both DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE and the reader’s guide.

Many events revolving around the book will be held at the Lawrence Public Library, including book discussions and lectures.  These take place between February 1 and March 1, more info can be found at the library’s website.

With 2010 is finding its legs, it’s a good time to look back on some of the most celebrated literature of the previous year.  The 2009 award winners:

National Book Award

Fiction:  LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Column McCann

Non-fiction:  THE FIRST TYCOON: THE EPIC LIFE OF CORNELIUS VANDERBILT by T.J. Stiles

Young People’s Literature:  CLAUDETTE COLVIN:  TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE by Philip Hoose

Pulitzer Prize

Fiction: OLIVE KITTEREDGE by Elizabith Strout

General Nonfiction: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME  by Douglas A. Blackmon

Biography: AMERICAN LION by Jon Meacham

History: THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO by Annette Gordon-Reed

Poetry: THE SHADOW OF SIRIUS by W.S. Merwin

Drama: RUINED by Lynn Nottage

Man Booker Prize

WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel

National Book Critics Circle Awards

Fiction: 2666 by Roberto Bolano

Nonfiction: THE FOREVER WAR by Dexter Filkins

Biography: THE WORLD IS WHAT IT IS by Patrick French

Autobiography: MY FATHER’S PARADISE by Ariel Sabar

Poetry (co-winners): SLEEPING IT OFF IN RAPID CITY by August Kleinzahler and HALF OF THE WORLD IN LIGHT by Juan Felipe Herrera

Criticism: CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A READER’S HISTORY by Seth Lerer

Newberry Award

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

Caldecott Award

THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT by Beth Krommes