OK, So I Lied

   It has really made me happy that I have heard from so many of you about thereallylittlebookstore's closing .  As the holidays approach I'd like to let you know which books are still in my inventory and available for purchase.
 
    Every one of you has asked me if the reason for slow sales was the Kindle,  and I must tell you that it isn't.  Those of you who  actually visited the book store know that I specialize in gift books, i.e. beautiful coffee table books, classic children's books, wacky books (Syrian Lingerie) and cookbooks & guides.  Whenever possible I make certain that they are hardcover - preferred for thoughtful gifts, and treasured tomes.  The absolute, number one reason that real books won't die is that you can pass them on, well read and well loved.
    I actually love the Kindle for children; start in Kindergarten and replace those ankle slashing wheeled bookbags with a slender tablet and use it until you graduate from college - how great is that?  Whole generations of children standing inches taller on both sides than previous generations!
  I think thereallylittlebookstore shut for lack of novelty. I believe the publishing industry has become cautious, and the books  I love have fallen victim.  It feels like there's a little pause just now to find the next hot thing, and any second we'll be thrilled and astonished at what we've discovered.

Here is the complete list of children's books that I have in storage;  if you see any you'd like to have, email me at cynthia.guest@gmail.com.  I will have to chat with you ex-website as this is a blog and as such is not allowed for commerce. I will publish a list of adult titles in the next few days.   Now read on to see the list of available books...

•  Children's Books
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• 2 Wind in the Willows                               $ 10.00
• 2 Magic & Conjuring                                    10.00
• 2 Museum of Lost Wonder                            10.00
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• TINTIN
• 1Tintin & Snowy Album 2                   $  9.00
• 1The Adventures of Tintin Vol.1                    10.00
• 1 Shooting Star                                                 9.00
• 2 Red Rackham's Treasure                                9.00
• 2 Tintin in Tibet                                               9.00
• 3 Black Island                                                   9.00
• 1 The Broken Ear                                             9.00
• 2 Land of Black Gold                                       9.00
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• EDWARD GOREY
• 3 The Hapless Child                                    $ 10.00
• 1 Donald Has A Difficulty                                5.00
• 1 Donald and the ....                                         5.00
• 1 Amphigorey Again (shelf wear)                     15.00
• 2 Cautionary Tales                                           10.00
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• DR. SEUSS
• 2 Bartholomew and the Oobleck                 $  10.00
• 1 To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street 10.00
• 3 Cat in the Hat, English/French                     8.00
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• 1 Asterix & Obelix's Birthday              $  10.00
• 4 Someday                                                       10.00
• 4 Pumpkin Moonshine                                   10.00
• 1 How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird              10.00
• 2 Poppy's Pants                                                 5.00
• 2 Katie No Pocket                                            10.00
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• 6 Cable Car and the Dragon (paper)                 5.00
• 1 The Princess and the Goblin                         9.00                         
• 2 Little Women                                                 5.00
• 2 Coraline                                                         7.00
• 2 The Mysterious Benedict Society                  10.00
• 1 Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma
• 2 Dancer's Book of Ballet Craft                       10.00
• 1 Starlight Goes to Town                                 15.00
• 1 Frog Girl                                                         7.00
• 1 T is for Tugboat                                             12.00
• 1 B is for Baseball
• 1 Lyle, Lyle Crocodile                                        10.00
• 1 Strega Nona                                                      9.00
• 1 Dot in Larryland                                             10.00
• 1 The Merry Chase                                             10.00
• 1 Guji Guji                                                           7.00
• 1 We Three Kings                                                14.00
• 1 The Retired Kid                                                  1.00
• 1 Thumbelina                                                       12.00
• 1 Terrible Troll Bird                                             10.00
• 2 Little 1                                                               10.00
• 1 Turtle's Penguin Day                                          10.00
• 1 Treasure Island                                                     5.00
• 2 Animal Folktales of America                                9.00
• 1 Lights on Broadway                                            15.00
• 1 This Little Bunny Can Bake                               10.00
• 1 Mother Mother I Feel Sick                                 10.00
• 1 Tomaso and the Missing Line                             10.00
• 2 A Balloon For A Blunderbuss                              7.00
• 1 John Patrick Norman Mc Henessey                     10.00
• 2 City By the Bay  paper                                           5.00
• 1 Wingnuts                                                              5.00
• 2 The Donut Chef                                                  10.00
• 1 My Little One                                                         5.00
• 1 Popville (pop-up)                                                   10.00
• 1 G is For One Gzonk                                              10.00                             
• 1 Drummer Hoff                                                        5.00
• 1 Lilie's Crossing                                                         5.00
• 1 Paddington Here And Now                                    10.00
• 2 Hands, Growing Up To Be An Artist                     10.00
• 1 Baby's First Word In Chinese (CD)                          5.00
• 3 Book of Gifts to Make                                              5.00
• 1 Monday                                                                   10.00
• 1 All Aboard                                                              10.00
• 2 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Pop Up                  15.00
• 2 IF                                                                             10.00
• 1 Once Upon a Time The End                                   10.00
• 6 The Big Snow (paper)                                                5.00
• 1 The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night                      15.00
• 1 Foxie                                                                        10.00                                          
• 2 How to Cook Children                                            10.00
• 1 City Across Time                                                      15.00
• 1 The Museum Book                                                   10.00
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• 2 Look Closer (my favorite art book for children)      10.00
• 3 The Thanksgiving Story (paper)                               5.00
• 4 The Shipwright's Trade                                           20.00
• 2 Constance & Tiny                                                    9.00
• 2 Constance and the Great Escape                              9.00
• 2 Charlotte Sometimes                                              10.00
• 2 Mistress Masham's Repose                                      10.00
• 2 The Backward Day                                                  10.00
• 1 Uncle Cleans Up                                                    10.00
• 3 Eloise                                                                      10.00
• 1 Eloise in Paris                                                         10.00
• 1 Fairy Tales From Hans Christian Anderson           10.00
• 3 Secret Garden                                                         10.00
• 2 Corgiville Fair                                                         10.00
• 1 Wave                                                                       10.00
• 1 Martin Pebble                                                         15.00
• 1 Big Rabbit's Bad Mood                                             7.00
• 1 Zin Zin A Violin                                                      20.00
• 1 Veronica                                                                   10.00
• 1 Mother Goose (Michael Hague)                               15.00
• 1 The Gingerbread Rabbit                                           5.00
• 2 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory                          10.00
• 2 The Rackety Packety House                                      10.00
• 2 The Small Adventures of Popeye and Elvis               10.00
• 2 The Book of Dragons                                                 7.00
• 1 Nicholas On Vacation                                               10.00
• 1 Mary Poppins in the Park                                           9.00
• This Is....                                                                       10.00
• 1 Texas, 1 Israel, 3 San Francisco, 2 Australia, 1 Rome
• contact me,     cynthia.guest@gmail.com
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Finis, Adios, Hasta la Vista

Happy Trails to You

With Sadness and a little Thrill for the next adventure, thereallylittlebookstore must say
goodbye.
I have loved chatting with you and sharing the enthusiasm we all have for a quirky, or deep, or entertaining volume and will truly miss our pleasant exchanges.

I am as yet undecided if I will continue to blog about books, but today I 'll tell you a little of my wish list for you.

Absolutely first pick is the new thriller from Thomas Perry, STRIP,  a timely title given the need for every tv show or movie to have a scene with a stripper pole, however that is not the only meaning in this provocative title.  It is for you to read to reveal the mystery.

Some of my favorite art books are the large volume of Japanese Prints published by The Art Institute of Chicago, then Lynn Davis and Sally Mann for exquisite, large format photographic prints.

The most recent picture book by Lynn Davis is called
Space Project and I'm delighted to say that Alden Richards, my husband's business partner, made the project possible.  And Dick helped too.  It is possible to open these books over and over and never lose the vitality of the first look.





 Next I would ask you to buy
The Chambers Dictionary.  An insouciant and raffish version of our go-to Book of Knowledge.

You can still buy the follow-on volumes to Mary Poppins if you hurry and they are 25% off at GFGT.  Not simply as good, but I believe better than the first one are  Mary Poppins in the Park, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins Opens the Door.  These are treasured childhood friends and I hope you'll acquaint yourself with them.

In the same category is The Little Princess, a tale of utterly alluring martyrdom able to heal every childhood injustice.

The original cataloguer of injustice, Edward Gorey, any volume, is your man.  Your dark, brooding, hairy man wearing plimsoles.




In conclusion, please visit the store before the shelves are empty. I'm planning to be there Tuesdays until the middle of July and would love to have a chat.  After July visit me through my website, www.cguestphoto.com.

                                             Til We Meet Again

Heeere's Daddy!

And here's another perplexing gift giving holiday.  We have already given Pops the socks, the tie, the sporting equipment, the GPS - maybe it's time to settle back in the barcalounger and read all about it. 

If he ever tries to trick the GPS (my husband does), I can assure you that Lost States will be a lasting pleasure.  He can ask it to find Texlahoma or Transylvania (between Indiana and Illinois) for a start and watch his passengers head for the hills to avoid that annoying voice  "turn back in 300 feet".  An excellent remedy for the back seat driver, and a perfect trip in the armchair.

Do you think it's time to get back the money invested in those clubs, bats and skates? 

Men With Balls is the primer to read.  From the inside flap: "This will be the very last book you ever read.  Because you, good sir, will know how to be a pro athlete.  And pro athletes don't need books.  Or strong family bonds.  Not when they have access to millions of dollars and scores of smoking hot chicks with questionable judgement."  There's something to be said for being Cynthia A-Rod.

Trouble getting out of the barcalounger?  Exercises for Gentlemen, 50 Exercises to Do With Your Suit On, could be just the ticket.  Taking tips from a more civilized time, these are useful and perspiration free.

                 HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL!

Close Your Eyes and Think of Spring

"A little Madness in the spring is wholesome even for the King."   Emily Dickinson

 A lovely book in a series of our favorite poets, you will find
Robert Frost and Langston Hughes along side Miss Dickinson.






 And now for Mother......

This really is the best garden diary ever. Humorous, intelligent and very English, you can (if you're like me and have a brown thumb) just read it and love it  OR DO WHAT HE SAYS and you won't regret it!  And Margaret Atwood says "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt".  so get digging.



"I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me, bang in the face."  Langston Hughes

Here is the definitive collection of photos and writings about the eternal beauty, Grace Kelly, which accompanies the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (April 2010).  She is a style icon for us all;  see her transformation from young actress to princess via her impeccable wardrobe. Sigh....

"An optimist is the human personification of spring", 
                                                                                                   Susan J. Bissonette
and what better proof of optimism than the desire to make a perfect macaroon.
When I smell the scent of this pastry jewel I am swept to Paris, la Durée, and the elegant older women with their tiny dogs and handsome escorts. 

 "Spring is when Life's alive in everything",
                                                                                          Christina Rossetti

IT'S ALMOST EASTER!

Where did the month go? 

If you're like me, your Olympics viewing schedule took precedence over everything! 

What could top watching Johnny Weir pirouette across the ice in a velvet corset? 
I'm confident that our beloved bedazzled ice king (queen?) would love B is for Bad Poetry as much as I do.  Among these literary gems are "Popeye, Hamlet & Sartre", "Despair, Party of One",  "Donner Party Review". So wrong it has to be right (kind of like those feathered cuffs on Lysacek).  Don your most garish reading glasses and get ready for to experience as much schadenfreude as when we watched the scarily-costumed ice dancer wipe out. 

When Ted Ligety is back in his neon ensembles and ready to train, he can carbo-load for the next big competition with delicious colcannon and oatcakes courtesy of the appetizing  The Country Cooking of Ireland.  With artisanal butters and cheeses culled from local markets, Ireland is the latest culinary hotspot.  Besides tempting recipes, you'll savor the beautiful illustrations and snippets of song and poetry from the Old Country.

We're charmed by Randall Jerrell's The Gingerbread Rabbit.  Nope, it's not about Shaun White.  Heartwarming illustrations, a crafty fox, and a devoted mother make this bunny tale as sweet as can be.  Just add the perfect tucking-in!







Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights is inspirational  - if we make the recipes will we look like the lovely Sophie Dahl?  With a grandfather like Roald Dahl (who loved food very much - see James and the Giant Peach), she has put her genes to yet another brilliant endeavor.

"I am Mr. Right! You are Miss Distinct Possibility. Your parents are Mr. & Mrs. Obscenely Rich. Your uncle is Mr. Expert Tax Lawyer. Your Cousin is Ms. Spare Apartment on a Caribbean Hideaway That She Rarely Uses. Your brother is Mr. Can Fix You Up a Fake Passport For a Small Fee. .."

"...Man, 51, Box no. 1407"

Just in, Sexually, I'm More of a Switzerland, the follow on to They Call Me Naughty Lola, created from the personal ads of The London Review of Books. 
Erudite, pretentious, hysterically funny, this is my cup of tea!


If you're not certain that  your love life is funny, then swing by for a copy of Love Stories , an anthology as alluring, moving, and intoxicating as its timeless theme.

While he's rubbing your feet,  share your heart from the cocoa room, an addictive, contemporary take on M&Ms:







And a last suggestion:

'nuff said.