Probably a little silly to think anybody would be shopping the store from 10 to noon today … but fun to chat with those who did so from noon to 3pm. Now, back to bed with me.

From “Elegy in Joy,” by Muriel Rukeyser

I’m aching and tired, but resolved. To what in particular, I’m unsure. But generally. It’s been a helluva year, in particular and generally.

Goddamn, both of Molly Farrell's (researcher new to me!) books look fascinating: 1) Forthcoming: ebbooksellers.com/item/jox8MGW...

Maybe I should post a QR code to the publicly accessible fire dept report about the unknown cause of the fire. It long ago became a supremely boring question.

Following my provocation and prolonging (& ultimately confessing so) of a supremely dumb argument about bedsheets, K mused, “You can be difficult to deal with, but fortunately not impossible.”

One of the highlights of 2024 was getting this back on the shelf and in customers hands. Such a weird, wonderful book about art, depression, the South, religion … so much going on here. ebbooksellers.com/item/GZ_GoX8...

Wowza ... the new Albarrán Cabrera photography monograph looks terrific. Big fan made bigger right here.

I bought a beauty serum yesterday. Because this year is the one I’m gonna get beautiful!

You know it’s the holidays at the store by the sheer weight of baked goods and booze in the “break room” (which is but a table).

If you could but see my face when the author bio leads with so-and-so "is a visionary technologist and author."

I wanted to like "Sentimenal Value" more than I did. Maybe I just heard so many times, too many times, how great it was; where, in my eyes, it was "simply" (which is not so simple, admittedly) an adult film released in very childish times.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s Maintenance Art Manifesto.

I love watching my dog absolutely devour a big ass bone (his Xmas gift) and know that he could in a pinch just destroy me. Keeps me humble.

Now that A24 has decided to get in bed fully with B&N, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to fuck with them anymore. Bye, Sofia Coppola, I hardly knew ya.

I didn't start my annual tradition of listening to the entirety of Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger album until after 4pm, so I guess we're open a little later than advertised.

The enduring question since our move up the street: why the hell is cellphone service so bad at Claremont & College?

Co-signing this thread.

Not doing much in the way of gift exchange at my house this year, but the bookstore-life did provide us both a finished copy of the new Knausgaard (for her) and an ARC of the new Lisa Robertson (for me).

In a year without many "buzzy" books, the significant consolation is that it allowed more than enough space for very cool books w/ no buzz at all to shine.

Just discovered this recording, and am feeding it loudly into my veins. m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The bourbon is kicking in, so I’m posting in a flurry. I messed up an order today. I mess up orders not unregularly, but this one esp bugged me. I don’t mind saying no to people, but I don’t like disappointing people. & this person seemed esp disappointed by my bad communication.

Guy tried to out-Melville me today at the store. I don’t ever do this, but I had to flex the PhD dissertation.

I may delete this, but I’m mulling over whether I want to risk (so many things — my dwindling, my outsized, my wayward attention) and start a “what I’m reading” book group.

My brother in Christ, you’ve not gotten a plastic bag at a Bay Area bookstore in probably twenty years. Take your surprise elsewhere.

“I don’t trust most people trying to tell me a story.” — my reading profile in a single sentence today.

The thing that blows my mind about contemporary American discourse is not the sheer number of lies, but the fact that everybody demonstrably know they're lies and it apparently doesn't matter.

My customer service model during the holidays.

Makes sense, since PW often reads like it was written by a drunk chatbot.

This dude is a straight up villain.

I'm looking forward to this. ebbooksellers.com/item/SLzAqBF...

This looks cool. ebbooksellers.com/item/xeiGnN8...

I hope this works out for them. The means of doing so — charging more — doesn’t necessarily have to be acceptable to “everybody. “Enough,” though, is the trick, and it’s proven to be hard. www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

Was stuck in traffic today and discovered the band Lisbon band Maquina — turned my car into a loud industrial rock rave, which was not a bad thing.

The biggest of the Big 5 are so far behind in fulfilling orders I think this ballyhooed (even by me!) Dec 15 deadline to get orders in at stores is probably kind of ambitious.

Love this cover. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

I never get tired of how much Bay Area media attention is given to El Niño / La Niña … all of it saying repeatedly, “we don’t really know the effect of any of this.”

Ummm … slinging racial epithets and middle fingers at customers isn’t a “view.”

Yeah! That’s what this culture needs: more dullard narcissism! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Author while pitching their book to me, "You look skeptical about it." "Resting skeptical face, sorry."

Anthony J’s top 10 is a little “bro” heavy for my taste, but I appreciate what he brings to the table in the current landscape of smart comedians. Honestly, I think it’d be hilarious if he became the next ABA bookstore ambassador. youtu.be/tgzjzXBj6tw

Ahh … the ambient morning ache of a mid-December retail worker.

Rounding the corner to Dec 10, which means I get to break out my "Unfortunately, the only means of getting this is via the publisher -- Simon & Schuster -- and they are very bad at this sort of thing. Fortunately, it is the season of miracles, so we will try."

Sometimes posting screenshots from Twitter is good.

I promise you, no bookseller gives a shit how much cheaper you could get something online.

James Tate born 82 years tomorrow www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

Between COVID lockdown , culture commentators being hyper-online, and cynical far-right ideology there’s been such an annoyingly rampant suburbanizing of reporting & perspectives about what happens in cities.

This Pantone color of the year is giving real despair vibes, huh?

We got Weird Al out here singing Killing In The Name, the time for moderation is over

This people want you home at all times so they can serve you the same array of algorithm-fed bullshit, minus the discovery that comes from being out amongst others.