Weekly Specials, News & More
We’ve put together a couple of great collections in the bookstore this week. We received an awesome donation of art books recently. You’ll find art by Diego Rivera, Cezanne, Magritte, Gauguin, and many others. You’ll also find a bit of how to – art technique books and books on design and architecture.
The second special collection we put out is what we call “Hobbies and How to” this category consists of books on crafts, games, collectibles, home improvement, needlecraft, and photography. You’re sure to find something to inspire you here.
If local history interests you; if you enjoy reading about local people, architecture, ecology, and events, both past and present, you’ll want to take a look at our Michigan Books collection. Here are just a few of the books you’ll find in the store when we open on Wednesday:
• Kalamazoo: Nineteenth Century Homes in a Midwestern Village by Schmitt and Korab – Beautiful photographs that provide an inventory of historic homes in Kalamazoo
• The Events of October by Griffin - The story of a devastating murder on the campus of Kalamazoo College
• A 1000 Mile Walk on the Beach by Niewenhuis – One woman’s trek of the perimeter of Lake Michigan
• Cooper Trails and Iron Rails by Massie – A fascinating look at Michigan’s history
• Michigan Gardener’s Guide by Boland, Coit, and Hair – The what, where, when, how & why of Michigan gardening
Super Saturday Sidewalk Sale is this Saturday! I love this sale and this day in downtown Kalamazoo. There’s so much going on in Kzoo that day; the book sale, Do Dah Parade, Greek Fest, and so much more. The energy level is high and everywhere you look people are having a good time! Come enjoy the fun, stock up on books for 10¢ each or bring a grocery-size bag and fill it up for $2.00. When you buy books in the sale you get a coupon to use in the store. And don’t make the mistake of neglecting the store on Saturday, you’ll find all sorts of great deals inside too. If you read my blog or if you read this on Facebook, take a minute and say hi if you see me. I love to make those personal connections with other book lovers!
The Friends Super Saturday Sidewalk Sale is coming very soon. The sale takes place during June Jubilee Weekend on
Saturday, June 8. You can start gathering up your book bargains at 9:00 a.m. but you need to be done by 4:00 p.m. Prices have remained at our super low sale prices –books are 10¢ each or you can buy a bag full for $2.00. You may buy a grocery bag for $2.00 (while supplies last) and fill it up, or bring your own bags. There will be thousands of books available. Categories of books will include fiction, children’s books, science fiction, romance, and nonfiction. You will also be able to buy cds, videos, and audio books at these great low prices. Call us at 269-553-7820 with questions.
Come on down and see us this week. We put out lots of new stuff on Monday and Tuesday. If you’re here at noon on Wednesday you’ll get first pick of all the new books shelved this week. But we put out new books almost every day so any day is a good day to shop at the Friends Bookstore.
Our science-fiction BOGO continues this week – with new books added daily. We put out a lot of great science and nature this week and also have a $1.00 science and nature cart with lots of bargains on it. You’ll also find sale carts of military history and black studies, both marked 1/2 off.
Here are two sales to check out at the Friends Bookstore this week:
- Select Science Fiction is Buy One (for $1.00) and Get One Free
- Select Black Studies is ½ off our regular low prices
Good selection at great prices!
Also, we put out an exceptionally nice selection of art books this week. If you enjoy art books, hurry down, these always go fast.
Five Reasons You Should Buy Your Mom’s Mother’s Day Gift at the Friends:
1) Great low prices mean you can buy lots of books, DVDs, CDs, and/or audio books.
2) Great selection means you’re sure to find something your mom will like.
3) Gift Certificates are available, so you can let Mom enjoy choosing her own books.
4) Your mom will appreciate how thrifty and sensible you are.
5) Your mom will be proud and happy that you got her a great gift while supporting your local library!
Check out our pre-selected Mother’s Day books that are ½ off this week, but don’t limit yourself to our selection, there are many books throughout the store that will make wonderful gifts.
One of the things that keep people coming back again and again to the Friends Bookstore is the element of surprise. You never know what will be available from week to week. Each time you visit the store you will see something different; you might find a collectible vintage volume or a New York Times Best Seller. Here’s just a sample of the many hundreds of books put out this week:
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachael Joyce
• The Trials of Lenny Bruce – the Fall and Rise of an American Icon, with CD, by Collins & Skover
• The Striker by Clive Cussler
• The Plan of Chicago – Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City, by Carl Smith
• Netherlanders in America, A Study of Emigration and Settlement in the 19th and 20th Centuries in the United States of America by Jacob Van Hinte ( a hefty 1155 page tome)
• Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
• The Tin Ticket, The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women by Deborah J. Swiss
• The Kalamazoo County Polk Directory 2012
• 250 new children’s picture books!
SpringI’m shouting
I’m singing
I’m swinging through trees
I’m winging sky high
With the buzzing black bees.
I’m the sun
I’m the moon
I’m the dew on the rose.
I’m a rabbit
Whose habit
Is twitching his nose.
I’m lively
I’m lovely
I’m kicking my heels.
I’m crying “Come dance”
To the freshwater eels.
I’m racing through meadows
Without any coat
I’m a gamboling lamb
I’m a light leaping goat
I’m a bud
I’m a bloom
I’m a dove on a wing.
I’m running on rooftops
And welcoming spring!
- Karla Kuskin
This is the last full week of
National Poetry Month. We’ve been featuring poetry all month and we still have so many wonderful children’s poetry books available! I’m going to try and tempt you with a special sale this week,
Buy One and Get One Free! I think you’ll have a great time just paging through these books, and I know you’ll have fun reading them out loud!
We also have great special sales on trade fiction and mystery. Oh, and there’s a wonderful selection of poetry for grown-ups too.
We have two sales in the bookstore this week that I think you’ll want to check out. A large and varied selection of our
trade fiction is on sale– buy one for $1.00 and get one free.(If you’re curious by what I mean by trade fiction, read below) You will find lots of popular authors and recent titles. These are garage sale prices! Come in and stock up! The other sale is on select
short stories. We have a very nice selection of short stories for ½ off our regular prices, which makes most of these books 50¢ or $1.00.
If you haven’t visited us for a while, do it this week. In addition to all the great fiction we have books on everything from agriculture (gardening) to Zen Buddhism.
Paperback trade fiction is probably the most popular fiction that we sell in the bookstore. Occasionally someone will ask what exactly trade fiction is. Paperback books are published in three formats – mass market, trade and premium. Mass market paperbacks are the small paperbacks that usually sell for $7.99 new, premium paperbacks are the newest edition to the paperback family and are the same width as mass market paperbacks but about ¾” taller and sell for $9.99 new, and trade fiction are both wider and taller than both of the other formats and sell for $14.99 new. Trade fiction paperbacks are often referred to as book club books.