Signing 12/3: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Bestselling author Jeff Kinney will be at the Little Book House on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 from 10:45am to noon to sign Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Kinney has also written a sequel to the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, as well as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, which kids can create themselves.

All three Diary of a Wimpy Kid titles are currently available at the Little Book House. The fourth book in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw will be out in January 2009 and is available for preorder.

The novels, told from main character Greg's point of view, are told through cartoons. They chronicle the everyday adventures of an average kid growing up. With school, his older brother Roderick, and his parents, Greg certainly has his hands full! A signed copy would make a great holiday gift.

We hope you'll join us in welcoming Jeff Kinney to the Little Book House. We're excited to have him, and we hope you are, too! We'll see you on December 3rd!

Signing 12/18: Diners of New York by Michael Engle

Looking for a great Christmas gift, either for yourself or someone else? On Thursday, December 18th, 2008, at 7pm, local author Michael Engle will be signing copies of his new book, Diners of New York. Diner fans and New York residents can all rejoice. This book is great!

Spanning Long Island to the Great Lakes, Diners of New York covers the entirety of the Empire state. Organized by region, it features maps, descriptions, photographs, contact information, and bits of history. It even includes a section on diner manufacturers and styles!

Published by Stackpole Books, Diners of New York is available at the Book House in paperback for $19.95.

This book is truly a treasure for anyone interested in diners (and who isn't?). We hope you'll join us in welcoming Michael Engle to the Book House on December 18th!

Signing 11/22: Confusion on the Farm by L.D. Campbell

On Saturday, November 22nd, 2008, from 1-2pm, local children's author L.D. Campbell will be at the Little Book House to sign her book Confusion on the Farm. The book is now available in paperback for $12.95.

The book is the first in L.D. Campbell's First Readers Collection. When Farmer Bill wakes up sick and can't feed the animals on his farm, a hungry fox decides to step in and "feed" them. Chaos ensues, as a confused dog tries to help the animals escape. Farmer Bill gets out of bed at the last minute to save the day. The story contains enough repetition for children to help read the story, yet enough action to keep them interested. Alexander Florence's illustrations provide a fun and colorful accompaniment to Campbell's text.

The About the Author section of Confusion on the Farm explains that Campbell is a science teacher who recognizes the importance of reading. She began writing books as a gift for her daughters.

We hope you will join us in welcoming L.D. Campbell to the Little Book House on November 22nd!

Signing 11/22: Lincoln's Veteran Volunteers Win the War by D. Reid Ross

We've just learned that D. Reid Ross will be at the Book House on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 4:30 for a signing. Ross's new book, which is of great local interest, is entitled Lincoln's Veteran Volunteers Win the War: The Hudson Valley's Ross Brothers and the Union's Fight for Emancipation (whew!).

We have very little information about the book, which is due out from SUNY Press just before our event. Our database states simply that the book "Chronicles the Civil War experiences of four brothers from New York's Hudson Valley." SUNY Press has a slightly longer description on their website, here.

Stay tuned! We'll post more information as we get it. We hope to see you on November 22nd to welcome D. Reid Ross to the Book House!

New Local Interest Calendars

Over the past few days, some of our new local interest calendars have arrived! Here are a few about the Capital District that benefit local organizations:

2009 Quadricentennial Commemorative Calendar
This calendar is made up of beautiful photographs from all around the Capital District and was put out to commemorate Albany's 400th year! It is available at the Book House for $20.00, with all proceeds going to the Downtown Albany BID. The organization's mission, as stated on the back of the calendar, is "to restore, promote and maintain the character and viability of downtown Albany and improve the quality of life and overall image for those who live in, work in and visit the Capital City." If you'd like to support the Downtown Albany BID and have a great calendar, stop in today and pick one up!

Into the Kitchen 2009: Recipes from our Favorite Capital District Chefs
Each page of this scrumptious calendar features a recipe from a local chef next to a mouthwatering photograph of the finished product. Recipes cover everything from soup to main course to dessert. Yum! Even better, the proceeds from the calendar sales benefit Food Pantries for the Capital District. At just $12.95, this calendar is a great way to support a worthy cause, plus get a calendar and cookbook in one for yourself!

2009 Cutest Pets Photo Contest Calendar
Animal lovers will adore this collection of cute local pets put together by the Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society. It features photographs of contest-winning Capital District pets, including a variety of dogs and one adorable cat. The calendar is available for $12.00, and proceeds go directly back to the Humane Society so that they can continue the great work they do.

Other Local Favorites
We also have many local favorites in stock, including the Guilderland Historical Society, Vermont Life, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Mountain Club, Lake George Vistas, and Hudson River calendars!

New Newsletters Are Here!

We've recently added more newsletter options for Book House customers! In addition to our main newsletter, News from the Store, you can now sign up for seven other lists, depending on what information you'd like to receive.

Like to stay up-to-date on which authors are in town for signings? You have four list options, depending on your location(s) of choice:

Events at Book House: Receive invitations to signings and other events being held at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza

Events at Little Book House: Receive invitations to signings and other events being held at the Little Book House

Events at Market Block Books: Receive invitations to signings and other events being held at Market Block Books in Troy

Special & Offsite events: Receive invitations to offsite events, such as the SUNY Writers Institute author series or Children's Literature Connection events, where the Book House will be selling books

Are you in a book group, or would you like to be? Check out these two lists:

Book Groups this Month: Looking for suggestions or just curious what other book groups are reading? Find out through this list created just for our many book groups.

Official Store Book Group: Over the years, we've started and stopped book groups officially run by the store. We're thinking of starting one up through the Book House in January. Want to stay up to date? Sign up for this list.

Like to hear about books that have been in the media recently?

Check out the Books on the Air newsletter to hear about a selection every week.

If you're interested in signing up for any of these new newsletters, or if you'd like to sign up for News from the Store, check out our website here. We hope you enjoy our new selection of newsletters!

Signing 11/19: Blown to Bits by Harry Lewis

On Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 7pm, former Dean of Harvard Harry Lewis will be signing and discussing a book he recently co-authored, Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion. The book provides a way for us to understand the digitization of our lives that happens constantly, whether we realize it's going on or not.

From the inside of the book's jacket:

"Every day, billions of photographs, news stories, songs, X-rays, TV shows, phone calls, and emails are being scattered around the world as sequences of zeroes and ones: bits. We can't escape this explosion of digital information and few of us want to--the benefits are too seductive....But the same engineering marvels are shattering centuries-old assumptions about privacy, identity, free expression, and personal control as more and more details of our lives are captured as digital data....This book is a wake-up call to the human consequences of the digital explosion."

Also from the book's jacket, Reed Hundt, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has this to say:

"If you want to understand the future before it happens, you'll love this book. If you want to change the future before it happens to you, this book is required reading."

The book was published in June of 2008 by Addison-Wesley Professional and is available in hardcover for $25.95.

We're looking forward to a fascinating, informative, and lively discussion. We hope you'll join us on November 19th in welcoming Harry Lewis!