All posts by Emily Berg

Reader Meet Writer – Virtual Event with LEE SMITH

April 20, 2020
by Emily Berg

Let us deliver authors to your living room.

LEE SMITH – BLUE MARLIN [order here]
TOMORROW – TUESDAY APRIL 21st at 4PM EDT

The next author in the Okra Picks series is Lee Smith.  You may have read Smith’s earlier works: Dimestore: A Writer’s Life, The Last Girls, Fair and Tender Ladies, among others.

Lee Smith will be talking with us TUESDAY APRIL 21st at 4PM EDT  about her newest book Blue Marlin and answering your questions.  Lee is one of many authors we’ll be bringing into your living room.

Store Founder Judy Blume calls Blue Marlin “absolutely enchanting.” The book follows Jenny, an adventurous thirteen-year-old, down to Key West for a patched-up family vacation following the discovery of her father’s illicit affair.

To attend please RSVP here

You can also RSVP by emailing booksandbooks@tskw.org with the subject line “RSVP for Lee Smith”

Attendance is limited.

If you elect to attend, we will email you on Tuesday (the day of the event) morning with the link to attend this virtual event, plus the link to purchase books.  If you have already purchased the book through our website we will automatically send you the login information you need to join the event. If you ordered by phone please RSVP above.  

Happy Reading!

An Update from Judy – 4/9/20

April 8, 2020
by Emily Berg

Hello BookFriends,

Today I’m thinking of ideas for those of you at home with kids.  And the first thing that
comes to mind is puzzles, puzzles, puzzles!  We have jigsaw puzzles for all age groups.  The whole family can do this together.  Or not.  My family loves to do puzzles when we’re all together for the holidays. I’m not very good at it but I love watching them.  I remind myself it takes practice to get good at anything.

Also, what about art supplies?  A friend just told me she’s doing a small watercolor a day. I felt an immediate urge to do the same. Not that I have any training. The last time I studied watercolor was when I was fifteen and took a weekly class with my friend in “fashion illustration.”  What I remember most about that class was how we were told to draw the model’s feet.  Still, I could try.  I think it would be creatively satisfying. And I know where to go for my supplies. Hello, to our Art Supply Buyer- Emily!

The kids would probably like a set of thin markers with a sketch book.   And there’s a terrific paperback by Lynda Barry(one of my favorite comic writer/illustrators) on creating your own comics.  I know one teenager I’m getting Making Comics for. 

And that brings me to another idea –maybe the kids would be open to keeping a diary or journal of this strange time in their lives. They could Illustrate, too, of course. This could be just for them.  They don’t have to share unless they want to.  We have some pretty great blank books that would make a cool gift.  Not that they can’t do this with whatever supplies they have around the house, but, you know —

I just read an absolutely enchanting novella by Lee Smith. Lee is one of my favorite writers so I was intrigued when she told me it’s set in Key West, in the 50s, during the time that Operation Petticoat was filming here. The cast and crew were housed at the Blue Marlin Motel (yes, the one on Simonton Street) and in this gem of a story, so are 13 year old Jenny and her parents, who are trying to patch up their marriage. Great characters (never mind Tony Curtis and Cary Grant) perfect pitch, generous humor. The next time someone asks, Don’t you have a novel set in Key West? I’ll smile and hand them Blue Marlin. Pre-order now for delivery when it comes out in two weeks (4/21), just when you’ll really need it.  Once we can all get out and about again, I know Lee will come to Books & Books KW and share her stories of spending time here when she was Jenny’s age.

Stay well.
Love,

How Books & Books will continue to serve Key West (and beyond) at this time

April 4, 2020
by Emily Berg

To help slow the spread of COVID-19 to our staff volunteers and customers Books and Books at the Studios has made the difficult decision to close our doors to the public until further notice. 

Everyone needs books (and puzzles and art supplies) now more than ever! Here’s how we will continue to serve Key West: 

Place orders by phone-
Staff will be answering phone calls from 10am to 3pm daily to take orders for shipping and home delivery. 305-320-0208

Place orders online–
Our online store will remain open 24 hours a day for free shipping or home delivery.

Home delivery–
Orders placed by noon of in-stock items are eligible for delivery to your door by 4pm. As of now this extends just to the island of Key West but we hope to expand our delivery area soon. Click here for more information.

Signed and personalized Judy Blume books-
Judy will continue to personalize her books. Orders placed for signed Judy Blume books will be signed daily and are eligible for shipping and home delivery.

Purchase a gift card-

Not sure you need anything right now, but want to support us? Purchase a gift card and give it as a supportive sheltering-at-home gift or use it yourself in the future. Click here to purchase a gift card online or call the store 10am to 3pm daily.

An Update from Judy – 4/3/2020

April 2, 2020
by Emily Berg

Hello BookFriends,

It’s been a hard two weeks for me.  I miss being at the store SO much!  Store Manager Emily keeps us up to date, she drops off books for me to sign.  And Robin keeps us all informed via social media.  Here’s a confession — I’ve never been on Facebook! — I have a Facebook page for Judy the Writer but the real me has never used it personally.  I became a tweeter instead, though not so much these days.  But now I don’t want to miss any news of the store so George has set me up with a Facebook account so I can log on and see what the rest of you do.  How about those window displays!  Talk about turning the store inside-out.  It’s a new way to browse and find the books you may want to read.  I had a weird dream about those windows last night..

I’m thinking of fun reads for kids. I just read an interview with Gene Luen Yang, very popular with middle graders and young teens, whose latest book is Dragon Hoops.  For any young person interested in basketball, or any sport, this could be the right book for this time. Something Yang said in that interview stuck with me:   “Reading fiction is a great way of building empathy.  Graphic novels should be part of every reader’s book diet.”  Not the whole diet, to be sure, but part of it.  The book also examines the history of basketball, including the role of Senda Berenson, who introduced the sport to women.  As a summer camper (and small) I enjoyed the game though in those days we played with Girls’ Rules. You were either a forward or a guard. Because of my height I was always a guard, never a forward.  The only time I got to shoot baskets was during practice. Yang admits he was terrible at sports and especially at basketball.  

I have a couple of ideas for the grownups too. Three novels I recently read and enjoyed – Dear Edward took me out of myself and away from my problems, Separation Anxiety was exactly what I needed for a change of pace, funny and charming, and I’m still thinking of Lily King’s Writers and Lovers.  I’d like to read that one again for the first time. I can’t stop thinking about it. There’s also a new book by Lee Smith coming soon. More on that next time.

These are my ideas for today.  Stay tuned for more. We’re always looking for ideas that might help you help us.  Any thoughts, please let us know.  Our loyal staff is at the store 10-3pm, 7 days a week, to help you shop by phone or online.    

Stay well
Love,

A Note from Judy Blume

March 15, 2020
by Emily Berg

Hi Friends,

What a strange, crazy, scary week!  I’m thankful for the books that have helped me through it.  Being at the store is my favorite place, my happy place, and when my son called Thursday night and gave me and George #$%& (in a loving way, of course) we knew he was right.  Although we think of ourselves as kids, we’re in that most vulnerable age group.  So we’re “social distancing” and staying out of the store for now.  And if that isn’t a crazy expression I don’t know what is.

We were hoping the store could remain open but with everything changing so fast, we’re going along with The Studios and closing at least until April 2, to protect our staff and you, our customers.  BUT, and this is a big But, we’re going to be open for you to shop by phone or online. Full info at BooksandBooksKW.com 

You don’t even have to leave your house.  If you live in Key West, call or order online before noon and we’ll deliver your books or art supplies before 4pm, free of charge.  No, it won’t be me in my purple Jeep (George just liked that photo).  I don’t even have that Jeep
anymore.  The package can be left on your doorstep.  No interaction necessary.  AND I’m still signing and personalizing books.  I’ve done a few bags of them in the last two days.  Our staff will be working from 10am-3pm, to take your calls, orders, questions.  And we’re hoping to come up with even more ways to keep in touch.

I just read about a bookstore that’s asking patrons to send a surprise gift of a book (s) to someone who may be isolated.  We’ll gift wrap and enclose a card if that appeals to you.  We appreciate your understanding and your loyalty.  Indie bookstores all over the country are doing what they can to be there for you.

Oh – in case you’re wondering, I just finished Dear Edward a novel by Ann Napolitano.   It’s a wonderful story that took me away from my own problems.  And last night I watched the first episode of the limited HBO series based on Philip Roth’s great novel, The Plot Against America. Some of you know that’s one of my favorite books.  You might want to read it before you watch the series, or read along with it.  Tomorrow night I’ll be watching the first episode of Little Fires Everywhere on HULU.  Also a limited series, it’s based on Celeste Ng’s bestseller, another terrific book to read right now.

Stay well!

A *VIRTUAL* EVENING WITH EMMA STRAUB & JUDY BLUME

March 11, 2020
by Emily Berg

Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present…
A *VIRTUAL* EVENING WITH EMMA STRAUB AND JUDY BLUME
To celebrate the publication of All Adults Here

Monday, May 18, 7pm ON CROWDCAST

REGISTER FOR THE LIVESTREAM HERE

A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family–as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers.

When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she’d been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence?

Astrid’s youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid’s thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most.

In All Adults Here, Emma Straub’s unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Emma Straub is from New York City. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Vacationers and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published by Tin House, The Paris Review Daily, Time, Slate, and the New York Times, and she is a staff writer for Rookie. Straub lives with her husband in Brooklyn, where she also works as a bookseller.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE MODERATOR:

Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Blubber; and the five book series about the irrepressible Fudge. She has also written four novels for adults, In the Unlikely Event, Summer Sisters, Smart Women, and Wifey, all of them New York Times bestsellers. Four years ago Blume and her husband, George Cooper, longing for a bookstore in Key West where they live, founded the independent, non-profit Books & Books @ The Studios.  “After 50 years of writing, I’m enjoying meeting so many readers and introducing them to some of my favorite authors.”

A Small Town by Thomas Perry

December 17, 2019
by Emily Berg

From the New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry, “who can be depended upon to deliver high-voltage shocks” (Stephen King), comes a new thriller about an ingenuous jailbreak and the manhunt it unleashes.

In A Small Town, twelve conspirators meticulously plan to throw open all the gates to the prison that contains them, so that more than a thousand convicts may escape and pour into the nearby small town. The newly freed prisoners rape, murder, and destroy the town–burning down homes and businesses. An immense search ensues, but the twelve who plotted it all get away.

After two years, all efforts by the local and federal police agencies have been in vain. The mayor and city attorney meet, and Leah Hawkins, a six-foot, two-inch former star basketball player and resident good cop, is placed on sabbatical so that she can tour the country learning advanced police procedures. The sabbatical is merely a ruse, however, as her real job is to track the infamous twelve. And kill them.

Leah’s mission takes her across the country, from Florida to New York, from California to an anti-government settlement deep in the Ozarks. Soon, the surviving fugitives realize what she is up to, and a race to kill or be killed ensues. Full of exhilarating twists and surprisingly resonant, A Small Townwill sweep readers along on Leah’s quest for vengeance.

About the Author

Thomas Perry is the bestselling author of over twenty novels, including the critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series, Forty Thieves, and The Butcher’s Boy, which won the Edgar Award. He lives in Southern California.

Summer Art Contest Winners – Bookmarks are in

November 11, 2019
by Emily Berg

Update: The limited edition bookmarks featuring the winners of the Summer Art Contest are now available in store, free with purchase. Come and get them while they last!

Congratulations again to all the winners and thanks to everyone who entered and voted.

There were many talented artists who submitted art for the Summer Art Contest this year. Thank you to all of the artists who participated in this years’ Summer Art Contest and to all who voted.

The following canvases will be featured on limited edition bookmarks:
“Untitled” by Dreya Ramos
“Key Weird #2” by Kevin Assam
“Deep Blue” by Brooke Dore
Check out all of the amazing entries!

SCS: Black Canary Ignite Order

November 2, 2019
by Emily Berg

SIGSBEE STUDENT ORDER
BLACK CANARY: IGNITE by MEG CABOT

Please include the Sigsbee student’s name in the comment section.
Choose “Pick-Up” as deliver option for school delivery.
Place online orders by Monday, November 11th at 10am for school delivery.

The Body: A Guide for Occupants, by Bill Bryson

October 18, 2019
by Emily Berg

Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body. As addictive as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best, a must-read owner’s manual for everybody.

Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body–how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, “We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted.” The Body will cure that indifference with generous doses of wondrous, compulsively readable facts and information.  

Author: BILL BRYSON’s bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and A Short History of Nearly Everything (which won the Aventis Prize in Britain and the Descartes Prize, the European Union’s highest literary award). He was chancellor of Durham University, England’s third oldest university, from 2005 to 2011, and is an honorary fellow of Britain’s Royal Society.