#book cellar

[bookjotter6865]

Barmouth Book Cellar

A secret book snuggery by the sea

“With a fine sea view in front, the mountains behind, the glorious estuary running eight miles [13 km] inland, and Cadair Idris within compass of a day’s walk, Barmouth can always hold its own against any rival.” William Wordsworth

Established in 1905, the Walter Lloyd Jones Showroom has conducted auctions and sold a range of antiques and bric-a-brac on Barmouth…

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[karenstensgaard]

San Antonio brings to mind BBQ, the Alamo, Tex-Mex, and Spurs basketball. But a short walk from the river downtown lies a remarkable blend of books and art housed inside a state-of-the-art ‘enchilada red’ library.

Mexican Modernist Central Library Built in 1995

Over nine-hundred hand-blown pieces of glass hang from a metal frame inside the library’s massive atrium. The Chihuly-designed multi-colored behemoth was a gift to celebrate the library’s 100th anniversary.

  Fiesta Tower by Dale Chihuly, Seattle-Based Artist

In the basement of the Central Library, stop by the Book Cellar with library books withdrawn from circulation, donated books, and some rare books for sale. Prices are as low as $1 with frequent promotions.

Volunteer Mom in the Library’s Book Cellar

Across the street from the library, consider visiting the historic Ursuline Convent dating from 1851. The limestone building houses a small museum and cafe open to the public. Art, shown in the hallways, is available for purchase. Ursuline is associated with the Southwest School of Arts also open to the public. Ursuline is near the Riverwalk and the central hub with boat rides and access to the Alamo.

Historic Ursuline Convent

Cafe Inside

                   Historic Ursuline Convent & Indoor Cafe 

Little known fact: Amazon named my hometown San Antonio the “most romantic city in the U.S.” based on purchases of romance books, movies, and other products. And while my novel isn’t a traditional romance, there are a few romantic liaisons.

For more information, check out the link to:  Karen’s Amazon Page

Libraries Round the World: San Antonio, Texas  San Antonio brings to mind BBQ, the Alamo, Tex-Mex, and Spurs basketball. But a short walk from the river downtown lies a remarkable blend of books and art housed inside a state-of-the-art 'enchilada red' library.

[askornaut]

Listen, there’s not a lot going on in my life rn, but there’s enough that i have a Laundry List of things I want to talk about. Here’s that list, so I can stay focused and you know what you’re in for. 

- How awesome my friends are

- the Book Cellar how I feel about it and what that means to me in conjunction with things I’ve been through in the past

-other sundry thoughts that float through my brain from time to time. 

No readmores, bc fuck you, basically. Ya wanna skip this post? Click the screen and then hit J. 

Friends:

My friends are so insanely cool? Copper helps me w/ sorting out who’s whose in the geek squad and thus who to go to with questions, they’ll answer questions for me if they can so I don’t have to approach new people, and they are just??? so incredibly ridiculously supportive and forgiving and kind??? I literally sent them a package at the wrong address and their response was essentially “well this Not Ideal but we’ll make do.” and that is??? so much calmer and nicer??? than I could ever be in that situation??? Copper is so good and kind and pure and I am so grateful every single day that i am lucky enough to know them, even if it has to be via the Internet. 

Sadie is also. just so ridiculously Good? w/ ppl like sadie + copper (artists/ skilled at all and good at it) i normally follow them and just. lay low. but Sadie contacted me about some kindhearted tags i wrote about her OCs and then i was just “well I’m on her Radar now, may as well make the most of it” so i started sending her “fanart” (a filthy meme) and messages and then we were friends? And after the meme, I followed other Geek Squad creators and then Copper followed me back and i found out we were the same age and could relate to each other on a buncha fronts and then??? friendship??? All because sades doodled a +/- throwaway comic about Citlal and raff having a simulated mother/child friendship relationship and i could relate to both sides of that so I just. articulated that? AND NOW MY LIFE IS 10000% IMPROVED FOR IT THANK YOU BASED SADIE

I have other friends on here , but i just. really wanted to gush abt those two. If we’re friends on here and you want me to sing your praises, please let me know and i’ll do so! All my friends, online or off, are A+ (meaning i have things like this I can say abt literally all of my friends), but I just wanted to highlight Copper and sadie rn. 

THE BOOK CELLAR

kay, if you’ve followed me/ my previous blog for a few years, you know that in middle school and early high school, I had the most fantastic happy place. It was called AGCC, and it was perfect for me. I was basically a camp counsellor for girls aged 6-13, and we made arts and crafts and talked about American girl dolls and reading for like. 3 hours at a time. It was fantastic, and then i came out as bi and I got banned. 

ouch.

I haven’t volunteered as a part of an organization, or almost at all, since. I hate to get sappy, but.. it was almost like a really bad breakup? It broke my heart that I’d lost something that i enjoyed so much and held so dear over something I can’t fucking control. 

Last april, I applied to volunteer for a bookstore run by local library as a sort of permanent fundraiser. It’s entirely volunteer-run and donation-supported, whether it be books, grocery bags, or an actual monetary donation. Last week, I had my very first shift there, and it was so good. It’s literally in a cellar, so it’s underground and very cool. It has so many books, for dirt cheap. There are even a few rare ones, and we sell them for around 30-40% off the price on Amazon! It’s quiet, everyone speaks in soft tones and is so nice,  there are regulars and there’s classical music playing softly in the bg most of the time, it is just so good. I actually asked the head scheduler if there was a maximum amount of time one could volunteer there in a month bc I have nothing else to do this summer on weekends p much so why not be there as much as possible? And it’s right across the street from the best baker y in town and i thought why not make this my new happy place? 

That is a huge marker of growth from AGCC. i didn’t think any volunteer job could make me as happy as AGCC once did- still don’t, honestly, but this time I think I’m okay there, even being queer. Like, I’m not gonna get banned for smoochin cute girls. And it’s.. pretty close, honestly. Pretty close to where I was at AGCC, which is more than I’ve gotten from a specific job since. 

I’m so proud of myself for this, and so excited for whatever this job holds/may bring! 

[askornaut]

Maybe something a little brighter to end the day? I’ll describe the fellow volunteers I met at my new thing- they’re all such nice people!!!!

Greg- A very nice man indeed! He’s on the shorter side, with a head of white, well-combed hair, and a soft, calm voice. He likes to spend his volunteer hours wandering the bookstore in search of errant and wayward books and straightening the shelves as needed. 

Marge- A rather squat woman with salt-n-pepper hair, she’s sweet as candy! She likes to travel the world and take her grandson with her so he doesn’t grow up prejudiced!!! She’s worked for the government for some thirty odd years, whether it be in the Air Force, the Secret Service or now at the VA! She’s a secretary, don’t worry! She’s better with people, so she likes register duty. 

Betsy- this woman is so frail-looking, so short- she can’t be more than 4′10″! i didn’t get to see much of her since she was on the afternoon shift, but she has GREAT BIG THICK squint-spectacles, as I call ‘em, and she’s from New York (City or state, i couldn’t say). She more of a sales-floor rep- she likes to wander the sales floor and help people find what they’re looking for/ sniff out good books to read herself! 

Bob- This man. I’m certain this man is the oldest volunteer there. He’s a globe-trotter like marge. He’s lived in Botswana, which was his favorite , among other places that i don’t remember. Mongolia was one of them, I believe. He’s a very, very , very kind old man, and he speaks more like i do naturally- that is to say, his speech pattern resemble pre-1950′s 20th century. My “natural” speech patterns resemble pre-1910s/ very early 20th century bc I learned interpersonal interactions via the WoO books, which were published from 1901-1913. he likes to stay behind the counter and research/sort/price the valuable/rare books we get in! 

There are many, many more, so I’ll reblog this post and add people as I meet them!! 

[mikethefanboy]

Book Beat! Unexpected Everything! Some terrific fiction for Mental Health Awareness month!

Book Beat! Unexpected Everything! Some terrific fiction for Mental Health Awareness month!

April through June are some really packed book months!  There are tons of book events, lots of authors on tour and some super huge book release dates. Over the next 2 weeks, there are some highly-anticipated titles and, yes, my wallet is definitely feeling it! Here are my quick takes to help you navigate the book stores without going broke! Also, May is Mental Health Awareness month (read all…

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[goreyesquelit]

We have most of our line-up locked up for our October 24th reading at the Book Cellar! Please join us for a ghastly night of peculiar stories, puzzling poems and other curiosities.  Currently, our readers include Mort Castle, Kate Duva, Kenneth Gerleve, Simone Muench, and Richard Thomas. We will see you there. Or we’ll see you in your dreams...

[bookcellar]

Great book trailer for the upcoming AIA Guide to Chicago Third Edition

[sowhotalksfirst]

I am now the proud owner of TWO signed John Green books thanks to the Book Cellar.

Totally worth the two hour (round trip) EL ride.

(plus the cashier was super attractive)