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What's going on at WORD?
 Rachel at Six Word Memoirs  Jedediah Berry reading   

Top: 1/5. Rachel Fershleiser and a packed basement for the launch of
It All Changed In An Instant: More Six Word Memoirs. Picture from Guest of a Guest.
Bottom: 1/26. Jedediah Berry reads at the paperback launch of his debut novel

The Manual of Detection. Picture from Jennifer Macchiarelli.
See pictures from all 2010 events on our Flickr page.

Happy February! How much fun is all this wind chill and 5pm sunsets, huh?!

Oh, you're right, it's not fun at at all. We must have gotten confused because of how many awesome events we have in here. We've got books so good that you'll want an excuse to stay in and read them. We've got SHELVES of books that good.

Boy Who Couldn't Sleep coverIn fact, as of last week, you can keep an eye on all the new books we're excited about, thanks to a new weekly collaboration with popular blog Largehearted Boy. You can read last week's post here, where we feature books like The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep And Never Had To, the re-issue of children's classic Five Children and It, and the paperback release of We'll Always Have Paris, a collection of Ray Bradbury stories. So add it to your bookmarks and let us know what you think (and note that all the links take you to our website where you can purchase them from us with just a few clicks).

So we have new books, we have a bunch of great upcoming events, we have a book club, we have a runners group, but what about the kids? Well, we've started doing a monthly kids' craft and book event. (You can see pictures from January's Sandra Boynton and sock puppet event here.) This month we're also, after many requests, starting a weekly storytime! We're partnering with The Gym Park at 81 Oak Street to provide a storytime session in a spacious location every Monday morning at 10:30am, starting next Monday, 2/8. Click on the link to their site for all the details. And just to make February even more fun, we have an AMAZING deal on Dr. Seuss books all month---but you have to scroll down to The Last WORD to find out what it is. (Trust us, it's worth scrolling.)

Also added to our calendar after a number of requests: a writers' group. Dean Strober, a Greenpointer who is among other things the executive director of the Orchard Project (an artist retreat in upstate New York), will be hosting a regular group to aid in the development of new work. Local writers are invited to gather to present excerpts from works-in-progress for healthy feedback and discussion every Monday from 6-8pm. Open to writers of all genres (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's lit, plays, screenplays, etc.) in any stage of development. $5 donations requested. Any questions? Email Dean at [email protected].

A final note for all you foursquare users out there: starting today, whoever is the mayor of WORD gets 10% off. So make sure you're checking in when you're here!
This month at WORD


From Eat When You Feel Sad to The Art of Eating In, we've got a nice collection of new titles that will be featured at WORD author events in February.
Sandwiched between these two, you'll find much more,
including one fun vintage Valentine-themed event!


Eat When You Feel SadTuesday, February 9, 7:30 pm:
Launch Party for Eat When You Feel Sad
Melville House launch party for Zachary German's Eat When You Feel Sad, hosted by Tao Lin. Zachary German's Eat When You Feel Sad has been praised by Dennis Cooper as "...nimble, catwalking, archeological, surface dwelling, emotionally unpaved prose...a thing of total wonder and my favorite drug, language-based or otherwise." Facebook RSVP.


Venus in the KitchenThursday, February 11, 7:30 pm:
Cocktail Party for Vintage Cookbook Venus in the Kitchen
We've partnered with Jessica Reed of Time Table to host a special cocktail party featuring aphrodisiac food and drink from the 1952 book, Venus in the Kitchen: Or Love's Cookery Book. Come single or with a sweetie and spend some time sampling love potions of the early 50's. Feel free to dress the part, though modern-day attire is just fine. There will be Fritters of Elderflower, Marmalade of Carnations, and Lovage, on the Rocks - you don't want to miss this! We suggest reserving your spot in advance by buying the $5 online here or in the store ahead of time. Facebook RSVP.
 

                                Common Pornography     Everything Here Is the Best

Friday, February 19, 7:30 pm:

Harper Perennial Night with Kevin Sampsell and Justin Taylor
We'll celebrate the release of two new Harper Perennial titles with reading/Q&A, and some wine (of course!). Kevin Sampsell, Portland indie bookseller, will read from his new memoir, A Common Pornography, and Brooklyn author Justin Taylor will read from his debut story collection Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever.
Facebook RSVP.

                      Underminer        I Don't Care About Your Band      Four Letter Word cover

Tuesday, February 23, 7:30 pm:
Heartbreak Hilarity at WORD

Julie Klausner, author of the new memoir, I Don't Care About Your Band, will host a night of funny stories about love gone bad, also featuring Rachel Shukert, author of Have You No Shame? and Mike Albo, author of The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life. Hilarity will ensue. Facebook RSVP.

Art of Eating InThursday, February 25, 7:30 pm:
Reading, Discussion and Treats from The Art of Eating In
A reading and discussion with Not Eating Out in New York foodie blogger Cathy Erway, author of the new book The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. (Fair warning: don't click that blog link if you are hungry, because you will end up licking your computer screen.) Though you might not follow Erway's lead and give up restaurants (even takeout!) for two years, you might be inspired to cut your weekly deli sandwiches from five to three. Delicious treats will be served! Facebook RSVP.

Klutz Hand ArtSaturday, February 27, 10:30 am:

Let's Get Handy!: Klutz Crafting Hour for Kids
Join us for a morning of fun handy crafts for kids - we'll make thumbprint animals, people & things and create hand art with pompoms, googly eyes, crayons and glue. We'll provide the materials, plus there will be healthy refreshments and more. Bring the whole family for a fun morning at the bookstore! Sign up here to reserve your spot - tickets are $5 and include all the crafting supplies plus snacks and refreshments too.

Oh, and don't forget: We'll do Bananagrams in the Basement again on Saturday Feb. 20 at 3 pm. Yes, more tasty banana-flavored goodies will be served! (Facebook RSVP here.) Also, the new WORD running group meets outside the store every Sunday morning at 10 am. Plenty to keep you busy....so see you soon!

All events are free unless otherwise noted and open to the public.
You can keep up with our latest event news by looking at our events page.
We don't require an RSVP, though we appreciate them from Facebook users!
If you can't make it to an event, we are always happy to take an order via phone (718 383 0096) or email ([email protected]) for a signed book from an event. We're happy to ship books as well.
Book Club
RumspringaOur book club pick for February is Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish by Tom Shachtman. This book follows several Amish teenagers as they go through their period of rumspringa, or "running around." As a matter of tradition, at sixteen, before they are formally baptized into the church, all Amish teens are given the opportunity to experiment with behavior normally forbidden by the church. When they're done, they then decide whether to return to the fold or leave permanently. Remarkably (to us), the vast majority choose to become Amish, but this tradition has become more and more troublesome for Amish communities due to modern problems like meth and AIDS. In this fantastic book, Shachtman manages both to respect the traditions of the Amish but avoid treating them as infallible saints. This is a book that manages to be even more provocative and interesting than its cover.

WORD book club will discuss Rumspringa Wednesday, March 3 at 7:30pm and Saturday, March 7 at noon. The book will be 10% off online and in-store all month. Remember, anybody can join in---just read the book and show up to the meeting that best fits your schedule!
WORD January bestsellers
Here's what everyone was buying in January:

1. The Group by Mary McCarthy
2. The Melting Season by Jami Attenberg
3. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
4. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
5. It All Changed In An Instant edited by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser
6. Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell
7. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
8. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009 edited by Dave Eggers
9. People Are Unappealing: Even Me by Sara Barron
10. The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth, Chris Pape, and Margaret Morton
The Last WORD
Horton Hears A Who  500 Hats  The Lorax  The Cat in the Hat
All month: buy two Seuss, get the third free.

Yep! You don't even need a codeword this month. Just buy two of any of Seuss books in the store (including the Seuss beginning readers, his classics, and board books) and get a third of lesser or equal value free. That is it. Can be used as many times as you want, but it's in-store only, so come on in and check out our packed Seuss display.
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WORD
126 Franklin St Brooklyn NY 11222
718.383.0096
www.wordbrooklyn.com