No Hobbies - October 23, 2009

Blog Bargains

If you want to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email us and you will get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days. They sell quickly, so be sure to check it out regularly. (New releases are not included.)

Coming Up

Sunday, October 25^th, Author signing 3:00 – 4:30 and reading at 3:30

Spies Can’t Have Friends by Dr., Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull.

Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull spent her teenage years in Communist East Germany. In 1954, she crossed over to West-Berlin where she found employment as bilingual secretary. Three years later, she immigrated to the United States. She holds a Ph.D. degree in German Literature and lives with her husband in the Texas Hill Country. This is her first novel.

November 5^th, 7:00 – 9:00, Wine and Cheese Night,

What a great way to spend an evening: wine, cheese and books. Bring a friend or meet another book fan. Children will have books, puzzles and drawing available to keep them busy while you browse. Make it a night out!

Saturday, November 21^st, Author signing, 2:00 – 4:00

Seminole Bill, A Black Cowboy, 1860 is the eight book by Bert M. Wall. Bert came to Wimberley in 1948 when his family purchased a small place on the Blanco River on the Flite Acres road near the Little Arkansas Bridge. (love this area) His first published work was The Devil's Backbone (1985).  Since then he has published several books of Texas Hill Country ghost stories. One-fourth of Bert’s royalties go to the Central Texas Medical Clinic in San Marcos for designated charities.

www.bertmwall-author.com

Friday, November 27^th, Author signing 4:00 – 7:00,

Empty Bottle Moments by Clive Berkman, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up with a love of good food as he watched his mother teach cooking classes in their home. He was trained as a chef at Cassio College in London and became chef, manager, and part owner of one of the finest restaurants in Houston. The restaurant is one of only three in Texas to win Wine Spectator magazine’s Grand Award, and has achieved many other accolades, including the DiRoNa Award and Travel and Holiday magazine’s Dining Award. He has also owned and operated Créme de la Créme Catering and a special events company, True Concessions.

www.cookingwithclive.com

To Be Announced- Author signing and reading

The Texas Pistoleers by Ron Williamson tells the story of King Fisher and Ben Thompson in vivid detail and relates the historically accurate account of their deaths in an ambush in a San Antonio saloon in 1884. G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas with his wife, J.A., and trusty Chihuahua, “Shooter”. This is Ron’s first book. His second book, The Frontier Gambler, is set for release next year.

www.oldtimetexas.com

New Arrivals

Divine Comedy by Dante, illust. Leonard Baskin, 3 vol., first ed., 1969

Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, 1990

John O. Meusebach, A German Colonizer in Texas by Irene Marschall King, signed by author, 1967

Texas Under Many Flags by Wharton, first ed., 5 vol., 1930

Yankee in German America: The Hill Country by Vera Flach, signed second printing, 1974

Alluring San Antonio Through the Eyes of an Artist by Lillie May Hagner, signed first ed., 1940

The Damned Engineers by Janice Holt Giles, first ed., 1970

Newsletter - October 23, 2009

No Hobbies

Blog Bargains

If you want
to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email us and you will
get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a
detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to
you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days. They
sell quickly, so be sure to check it out regularly. (New releases are not
included.)

Coming Up

Sunday, October 25^th, Author
signing 3:00 – 4:30 and reading at 3:30

Spies Can’t Have Friends by Dr., Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull.

Elisabeth
Scheidker-Scull spent her teenage years in Communist East Germany. In 1954, she
crossed over to West-Berlin where she found employment as bilingual secretary.
Three years later, she immigrated to the United States. She holds a Ph.D.
degree in German Literature and lives with her husband in the Texas Hill
Country. This is her first novel.

November 5^th, 7:00 – 9:00,
Wine and Cheese Night,

What a
great way to spend an evening: wine, cheese and books. Bring a friend or meet
another book fan. Children will have books, puzzles and drawing available to
keep them busy while you browse. Make it a night out!

Saturday, November 21^st,
Author signing, 2:00 – 4:00

Seminole Bill, A Black Cowboy, 1860 is the eight book by Bert M. Wall. Bert
came to Wimberley in 1948 when his family purchased a small place on the Blanco River
on the Flite Acres road near the Little Arkansas Bridge. (love this area) His
first published work was The Devil's Backbone (1985).  Since then he has published several books of
Texas Hill Country ghost stories. One-fourth of Bert’s royalties go to the
Central Texas Medical Clinic in San
Marcos for designated charities.

www.bertmwall-author.com

Friday, November 27^th, Author
signing 4:00 – 7:00,

Empty Bottle Moments by Clive Berkman, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up with a love
of good food as he watched his mother teach cooking classes in their home. He
was trained as a chef at Cassio College in London and
became chef, manager, and part owner of one of the finest restaurants in Houston. The restaurant
is one of only three in Texas to win Wine
Spectator magazine’s Grand Award, and has achieved many other accolades,
including the DiRoNa Award and Travel and Holiday
magazine’s Dining Award. He has also owned and operated Créme de la Créme
Catering and a special events company, True Concessions.

www.cookingwithclive.com

To Be Announced- Author signing and
reading

The
Texas Pistoleers by Ron
Williamson tells the story of King Fisher and Ben Thompson in vivid detail and
relates the historically accurate account of their deaths in an ambush in a San Antonio saloon in 1884. G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas with his
wife, J.A., and trusty Chihuahua,
“Shooter”. This is Ron’s first book. His second book, The Frontier Gambler, is set for release next year.

www.oldtimetexas.com

New Arrivals

Divine Comedy by Dante, illust. Leonard Baskin, 3 vol., first ed., 1969

Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, 1990

John O. Meusebach, A German Colonizer in Texas by Irene Marschall King, signed by
author, 1967

Texas Under Many Flags by Wharton, first ed., 5 vol., 1930

Yankee in German America: The Hill Country by Vera Flach, signed second
printing, 1974

Alluring San Antonio Through the Eyes of an Artist by Lillie May Hagner, signed first
ed., 1940

The Damned Engineers by Janice Holt Giles, first ed., 1970

Newsletter

Rather Sweet

October 15^th, 4:00 to 7:00

Rebecca Rather will be here signing her fabulous new cookbook, Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style. WE will be THE first store to have her signing her new book! If you can’t make it to the signing, Rebecca can sign one (or a bunch) and we will hold it for you, or ship it to you. Pre-order by calling us at (830) 997-1535 or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com. Ummmm, can’t wait.

Book Marketing Workshop

October 22^nd, 6:30 – 8:00

Local author and expert book seller George Arnold will be here for a workshop for writers who want to be published and published authors who want to sell more of their books.  Seating is limited to 15 and there is a $30.00 registration fee.  George’s book BestSeller: Must-Read Author’s Guide to Successfully Selling Your Books is included.  Call the store to register (997-1535) or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com

Wine and Cheese Night

The next one will be November 5th, 7:00 - 9:00

Special Orders Are Baaaaack!

We will finally be able to order those books you want. We will place orders every Tuesday and they should arrive every Friday. That means the cut off for taking orders will be Monday at noon to get your book by that Friday. Of course, we will work with you if there are special circumstances.

Generally Hangin’ In

We cannot thank you enough for hanging in there with us during this crummy economic episode. Rumors of recovery keep whistling by and we keep reaching for them. Let’s hope the talking heads (newscasters and politicians) know what they are talking about. We hope the best for everyone; it has been tight for all. Our recovery would mean a return to our former self with new releases, full shelves and the happy register ding. What's that bumper sticker? 'Visualize Book Mania'?

Remember the Frequent Buyer program, too. For every $100.00 you spend, you get a $15.00 Gift Certificate. If you have not been in for a while, come back and see us, soon! Let’s hang in together.

New Arrivals

Hope Dies Last by Studs Terkel signed, 2003

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. We have a stack of 1920’s and ‘30s, some first editions, too many to list on the newsletter. I’ll send you a list of titles if you are interested, or go to the blog to see the stack.

Forgive My Grief - A Critical Review of the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Penn Jones Jr., vol 1,,signes first ed., 1966

Hope Dies Last by Studs Terkel, signed, 2003

Diary of a Writer by Dovstoievsky, 2 vols., 1949

Fabre’s Book of Insects by Mrs. Rodolf Stawell, illustrated by E. J. Detmold, revised ed., 1935

Alfred Striglitz Photographs and Writings by Sarah Greenaugh and Juan Hamilton, first ed., 1983

Ireland by Ludwig Bieler, first ed., 1963

The Iliad of Homer translated by Richard Lattimore, first ed., 1962

Nothing Fancy by Diana Kennedy, 2 vols., 1949

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, first ed., 1979

The Glorious Nosebleed by Edward Gorey, signed second printing, 1974

Newsletter

Say What?
September 23, 2009

Rather Sweet
October 15th, 4:00 to 7:00


Rebecca Rather will be here signing her fabulous new cookbook, Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style. WE will be THE first store to have her signing her new book! If you can’t make it to the signing, Rebecca can sign one (or a bunch) and we will hold it for you, or ship it to you. Pre-order by calling us at (830) 997-1535 or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com. Ummmm, can’t wait.

Book Marketing Workshop
October 22nd, 6:30 – 8:00

Local author and expert book seller George Arnold will be here for a workshop for writers who want to be published and published authors who want to sell more of their books. Seating is limited to 15 and there is a $30.00 registration fee. George’s book BestSeller: Must-Read Author’s Guide to Successfully Selling Your Books is included. Call the store to register (997-1535) or e-mail http://info@berkmanbooks.com

The Sale Continues! All books are 30% off with a $50 minimum.

Shop our ebay store! Auction and "buy it now" items are available.
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/berkman-books

New Arrivals

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first ed., reset, 1951

The Experience of Art Twentieth century Chinese paintings from the Shuisongshi Shanfang collection, Hugh Moss, 1983

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, first edition, modern library, 1938

Here We Go Again by Charles Whitfield Dickey, signed, first ed., 1951

Nimitz by E.B. Potter, signed by the author and Ladybird Johnson at the Nimitz dedication, November 11, 1983

Works of Shakespeare, 20 vol. limited ed., set

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult, first ed. 1994


Hiding on the Shelf

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein, 2nd ed., 1965 book club box set with The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King

Caesar’s Commentary’s on the Gallic War by Charles Anthon, 1840

Abraham Lincoln, the Man of the People by Norman Hapgood, 1903

The Great Kahn, by Dong Sung Kim, first ed., 1969

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, signed first ed., 1961


Literary Birthday - F. Scott Fitzgerald

American short-story writer and novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald was known for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the 1920s). With the glamorous Zelda Sayre, Fitzgerald embarked on a life of parties and money spending, which he depicted in such novels as The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) and The Great Gatsby (1925), a story of the loss of romantic illusions and an ironic comment on the connection between love and money. The work is widely considered Fitzgerald's finest.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St Paul, Minnesota of mixed Southern and Irish descent. He was given three names after the writer of The Star Spangled Banner, to whom he was distantly related. In 1913 Fitzgerald entered Princeton University. He left his studies in 1917 because of his poor academic records, and took up a commission in the US Army. His experiences during World War I were more peaceful than Hemingway's - he never saw action and even did not go to France.

Demobilized in 1919, Fitzgerald worked briefly in New York for an advertising agency. His first story, 'Babes in the Wood,' was published in The Smart Set. The turning point in his life was when he met Zelda Sayre, herself an aspiring writer, and married her in 1920. In the same year appeared Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise originally entitled 'The Romantic Egoist', which he had started while in the army. Its hero, Armory Blaine, studies in Princeton, serves in WW I in France. At the end of the story he finds that his own self-centeredness has been the cause of his unhappiness. The book gained success and gave Fitzgerald entrée to literary magazines, such as Scribner's and The Saturday Evening Post, which published his stories, among them 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.'

The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald's second novel, depicted Anthony Patch, who spends his grandfather's money in drinking, and in the end of the novel is declined with his wife both physically and spiritually. The work was less well received and in 1924 Fitzgerald moved to Europe. There he associated with such writers as Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.

During the next five years the Fitzgerald's traveled between Europe and America several times. To support his amusement-park life style with Zelda, he frequently interrupted his work on his novels to write short stories and brought high fees from the popular magazines. Fitzgerald's stormy relationship with Zelda Sayre (1900-48) is told in his novel The Crack Up (1945). For a few months in 1927, and then again in 1931 and 1932, Fitzgerald worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Between Tender is the Night, and The Crack Up Fitzgerald wrote little. In the middle thirties he was not the young man, who lived enchanted life.

Fitzgerald's alcoholism and Zelda's mental breakdown attracted wide publicity in the 1930s. He returned to Hollywood in 1937, where he met Sheilah Graham, a gossip columnist, with whom he lived for the rest of his life. Fitzgerald worked on various screenplays, but completed only one, ‘Three Comrades’ (1938), before he was fired because of his drinking. In a letter to his daughter from Hollywood in 1938 he revealed the "what I am doing here is the last tired effort of a man who once did something finer and better".

In 1939 Fitzgerald began a novel about Hollywood, The Last Tycoon, loosely based on the life of Irving Thalberg. Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940, in Hollywood, in Graham's apartment, before the book was finished. Zelda Sayre died in a hospital fire in 1948. Their unhappy circumstances, alcoholic, decadent life-style was basis Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night, which he revised repeatedly. His tortuous marriage was commented upon by Hemingway in A Moveable Feast (1964). In Tender is the Night a brilliant psychiatrist, Dick Diver, falls in love with a rich, beautiful mental patient, Nicole Warren. He marries her, and loses his idealism and potential for a great career, but Nicole, having battened on Dick's strength and love for ten years, emerges victorious.

Fitzgerald died in 1940 at the age of 44. That year, all of his books sold a total of 72 copies, with royalties of $13. Today, The Great Gatsby, alone, sells nearly 300,000 copies a year. (Source: Litweb.com)

“You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Say what?
Lucy and David