RIP DAN O'BANNON

We don't talk about film on the blog much, and being that Green Apple houses a formidable selection of movies, I'd like to touch on some Hollywood news today.

This Christmas, as great as it was for me, was overshadowed by an insurmountable loss. On Christmas day I learned that, on December 17th 2009, Dan O'Bannon was taken from this world by Crohn's disease. For those not familiar with the man, O'Bannon was the brains behind the scripts of some of the best sci-fi & horror films of the last forty years. He is the man who penned Alien, Lifeforce, Return of the Living Dead, Total Recall, Screamers, the two best (and in my opinion only watchable) animated shorts featured in the 1981 Heavy Metal movie, and a lot more. He worked with both John Carpenter and George Lucas at different points in their careers, collaborating to create some of the most visually stunning special effects of the seventies.

So for what it is, goodbye Dan. I wish word hadn't come to me so late. You were a true brutalitarian and your efforts to make quality films will be greatly missed. It's time to revisit your work.

Just In Case Our Word Wasn't Good Enough...

Yes, Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s Running Away was our November Book of the Month, fully guaranteed, and 16 of you bought it in November...

Of course we had our Book of the Month Video that went with it...

Today's New York Times Book Review, might be a good indicator that you really, really, should read this book.

See, I'm not the only one who loved this book!

So come on in and experience this awesome book from Dalkey Archive.

You should also check out this other article in the New York Times about books in translation and Open Letter Books.

Dave Eggers Stops By!

Christmas came early for us here at Green Apple-- Dave Eggers, the busiest man in literature, came by for a visit. He graciously signed all of his latest works, and when he overheard us telling a customer that we were sold out of the McSweeney's Panorama, he ran to his car and came back with a box full! Of course, those sold out in minutes.

Pete took artistic license with the photo, going for a "day for night" feel. We assure you that our bookstore is not this dark.

So if you're looking for unique holiday gift ideas at the last minute, give us a call: 415.387.2272! We'll put a copy aside for you.

Too busy to blog

It is with meta excitement that I now blog about being too busy to blog. Thank you, book-loving people of San Francisco, for a robust holiday shopping season.


Oh, and here's the line for the new bike rack I showed you last week. Yoinks! The lines in our store are shorter and move quickly, I assure you. Peace.

When We Let You Down

People get a little wiggy around the holiday season. It's the truth. What are ya' gonna' do? When you're desperate to find that perfect gift for that special someone/thing (I mention 'thing' because yes, someone did ask me for a recommendation on a book for their dog once), it's easy to temporarily forgive the sins of our many crummy corporate competitors and turn to them for an answer. They've got a hell of a lot more money and power and to blow tracking down whatever it is that you may need- but friends! Friends! I'm asking ya' pretty please on bent knees not to falter! The culture of reading that a corporation offers is bankrupt of character. So here's the deal. If you can't find what you're looking for at Green Apple, I am happy to give you a list of independent bookstores in San Francisco that will be thrilled to accept your business. That way we won't see so many book stores going the way of Black Oak and Stacey's (or at least not as soon), and you don't have to feed Moloch.

AARDVARK BOOKS

Neighborhood: Castro
227 Church St
(between Market St & 15th St)
San Francisco, CA 94114

(415) 552-6733

PHOENIX BOOKS

Neighborhood: Noe Valley
3957 24th St
(between Sanchez St & Noe St)
San Francisco, CA 94114

(415) 821-3477

ADOBE BOOKS

Neighborhood: Mission
3166 16th Street
(at Albion St)
San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 864-3936

DOG EARED BOOKS
Neighborhood: Mission

900 Valencia St
(between 20th St & Liberty St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 282-1901

RED HILL BOOKS

Neighborhood: Bernal Heights
401 Cortland Avenue
(between Bennington St & Wool St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 648-5331

THE GREAT OVERLAND BOOK COMPANY
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset

345 Judah St
(between 8th Ave & 9th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122

(415) 664-0126

BOUND TOGETHER BOOKS

Neighborhood: Haight-Ashbury
1369 Haight St
(between Central Ave & Masonic Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94117

(415) 431-8355

(and of course we all know...)
CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE
Neighborhoods: Nob Hill, North Beach/Telegraph Hill
261 Columbus Ave
at Broadway
(between Jack Kerouac Aly & Saroyan Pl)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Now, this is all just off the top of my head. I know I'm forgetting plenty. So if another good shop comes to mind let us know. Happy Holidays to the good kids, & if you've been bad, well, watch your butt. It's getting cold and Krampus is out there...

Bestsellers and....not

'Tis the season for everyone and their book review section to list their best books of the year. I thought I would run down what's hot this holiday season, and a few things we thought we'd be selling better than we are. To begin, the single bestselling item at Green Apple since Thanksgiving is (drumroll)- finger monsters! Yeah, we're a bookstore, but people have a hard time resisting these little guys at a buck a pop. The next bestselling item is...Mad Libs! Holy cow, I thought we had a serious literary venture going here. Our remainder buyer bought a huge assortment of Mad Libs, and we're moving them out by the armload at just $1.98 each. OK, let's get serious now. The bestselling book in the store, even though we were out of it until the middle of the month, is R. Crumb's awesome Book of Genesis. We've got a bunch in stock right now, but it's going fast. The other bestselling books, in descending order, are The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, National Book Award winner Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Alice Munro's new collection of stories Too Much Happiness, and Ad Hoc at Home, which unfortunately is about to be out of stock for a while. Our current Book of the Month, Bicycle Diaries, is next on the list, and to complete the list is a book off our staff favorites display, Art & Fear. Our new and very functional website lists inventory as of last midnight, and you can order a book to be picked up in the store. Technology actually making your life easier for once.

Now for some books that we had high hopes for, but our customers don't seem to share our enthusiasm. Topping that list is James Ellroy's magnum opus, Blood's a Rover. Not sure why folks aren't putting this one under their tree. Another book we had high hopes for is Justice, which seems like a perfect dad book. Lastly, all of the folks who bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies don't seem to be as enthusiastic for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, at least not at Green Apple (I have noticed it on nation bestseller lists).

Sign here, and here, and here, and here, etc. . .

It's been said that a book is a present that you can open again and again. Cheesy, yes - but true. Obviously, I think that a book is just about the best gift you could possibly give or receive, but not all books are equal.

Indeed, Green Apple Books stocks plenty of new releases that would suit the stockings of passionate readers galore, but the difference between, "Oh neat, I've been curious about this tome" and "OMFG, I'm never letting this out of my sight!!!" may be as simple as the swipe of a pen. Enter the Signed Copy.

On a quick walk past our Main Store displays this afternoon, I spotted stacks of signed copies from some of literature's brightest lights: Jonathan Safran Foer, Sherman Alexie, Lorrie Moore, Michael Connelly and Paul Madonna, just to name a few. And there's no buyer premium here - these are all selling for the list price at most, and some are even discounted 20%. Throw in free gift wrapping (shhhh...), curbside delivery and maybe some Synthetic Owl Puke, and the lucky ones on your list will think you most considerate and unique!

And that doesn't even include some of the rare signed gems that we keep behind glass: Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Nixon and more than 10 by Bukowski. Plus, I think that we've still got the Signed Limited of Crumb's Book of Genesis for the really nice (or naughtiest) one on your list, as well.

Of course, stock of these unique items is limited to quantity on hand, and may change in the time it took me to write this (it's pretty busy these days...) so come by early - we are opening at 9:00AM through December 24th. Or give us a call. We're here to help - it's what we love!