lemony snickett – Casey Poma

Hello everyone, how’s it going? Are you preparing yourself for California Bookstore Day, which’ll be happening this Saturday, May 3, 2014, at participating California Independent Bookstores? For those of you that don’t know, California Bookstore Day is a special day where more than 90 independent bookstores throughout the Golden State offer parties, author events, readings, and will have exclusive, limited items that are only available that day. My goodness. . .why you do this to me, universe?!

Concerning the items, I have never seen such an awesome array of exclusives. There’s a stencil, and some prints, and posters! Look at this cool poster of a Lemony Snicket quote, which’ll be both signed and dated:

I mean, seriously! All you have to lose is boredom! This would be perfect for any classroom. (Or just any room, for that matter,)

Check out these recipe cards from Michael Pollan, all put in a nice little commemorative box that commands you to “Cook!”:

Finally, I can eat what the guy who wrote The Omnivore’s Dilema is eating! (I don’t know if anyone else has ever said that before.) If you haven’t checked out Michael Pollan and heard his views on the food industry and how to eat healthy, then you most definitely should. [One tip that has always stuck with me is that when trying to eat healthy, only shop the perimeter of a grocery store. I never noticed it before, but everything you need is on the outer walls of the store: the butcher shop, dairy section, produce, the bakery, the cheap wine (I mean, what?). The middle of the store is home to all that processed food, that Cheez-It-Orange color and those soft, gummy things (what are gummies, anyway?).]

While these both look awesome, the coolest object has to be a limited, illustrated printing of the Neil Gaiman short story The Sleeper and The Spindle. I haven’t read all of Gaiman’s work, but everything I have read from him is simply outstanding. And sure, I’ll nab Ocean at the End of the Lane one of these days, but if The Sleeper and the Spindle is available only on that day, then I’ll be sure to be there first thing in the morning like it’s Black-Totally-Embarrassed-By-Fellow-Americans-Friday.

If you live in California, totally check out the website to find participating stores. If you don’t, see if there are similar events like this in your state, because it’s a pretty cool idea and destined to be a bunch of fun.

For those of you not in California or the U.S.A., let me make this post useful for you and, since I’ve already told you about how much I love Gaiman, watch one of my favorite speeches ever, delivered by him at the University of the Arts in 2012. (I might do a whole post about this speech in the future. It’s just so great.)