It’s official. On December 23rd, at roughly 3:30am Indian Standard Time, I will be landing in Delhi.
Starting on the 21st of December, just one day after exams, I’ll make my way to New York City to board a flight destined for Delhi, India (by way of Doha, Qatar). After spending two days there, I’ll take the bumpy hour-long flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. There, two days of temples, ancient Gods and Goddesses, and hopefully a Sherpa or two await (these are, of course, just my wildest fantasies of Nepal, which I’m sure are also wildly inaccurate, but I have some time to find out what to expect). From there, I’ll head back to Delhi for two packed days, dedicating an entire one to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Then I’ll be off to Shanghai, spending eight days wandering the glorious city, just winding down from the Shanghai Expo, before catching a flight back to my reality, Boston, Massachusetts. Continue Reading »
Family vacations are ripe with opportunity for hilarity. Just ask the Griswolds. And frankly, more so than each delicious meal you ate, the mishaps and adventures are what people want to hear about when you return home. And we want to hear about them, too!
Send us your funniest family story to be entered in our contest. The top three stories win a $25 gift certificate! E-mail the tales to events@gcb.com. Submissions will be accepted from now until June 10th. Winners will gleefully be notified by e-mail after the deadline.
Your hilarious pictures are also welcome, but please be sure to credit them to the photographer and give us permission to post them on our blog. Also, to be considered, please paste this disclaimer into the e-mail: “The Globe Corner Bookstore has authorization and permission to publish my story and the attached photographs.”
We look forward to reading your stories and laughing with you at your family follies.
Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is coming out May 25th and we’re as ready for it as you are. We will be opening early that Tuesday (7:30am) to provide eager readers with a chance to pick up the new hardback release before work and grab some breakfast delights from our “smorgasbord” at the same time! Stop in a chat about the book for a while and pick up your temporary dragon tattoos and Lonely Planet / GCB tote bag – free with the purchase of any Larsson book. Or, if you’re in a hurry, we’ll have everything in a tote for you, ready to go.
The book is a Staff Pick and will be 20% off its original price. Also, in honor of the Swedish writer, all books and maps on Sweden will be 15% off from the 25th through the end of the month. So stop in, grab some blueberry bread, discuss some books, and give yourself a dragon tattoo - all before nine o’clock! Check out our Events page for more information.
Lonely Planet recently held a contest to publicize the release of its new Discover series of guidebooks. Booksellers picked five books about a place of their choosing and briefly described why travelers should read their recommendations. And we’re pleased to announce (and brag!) that our very own staffer and blog favorite, Lisa, has won!
Ólöf Arnalds and Mugison played a few songs for a crowd who braved the elements on Saturday the 13th. For anyone who missed it, here’s a clip of Ólöf singing for us:
There are quite a few excellent memoirs about growing up in Zimbabwe packing our shelves, but The Last Resort is the first one I have ever described as “really funny.” The Last Resort quickly became a staff favorite (not just because the frog on the cover is really cute) because it is a fascinating read – I found it impossible to put down. Douglas Rogers, now a Brooklyn-based journalist and travel writer, grew up in Zimbabwe and his parents continue to run their backpacker’s lodge, Drifters, today. The problem was that after reading the book, I desperately wanted to know what happened next to his parents and Drifters. So I asked, and he responded with an update.
I am absurdly excited about the upcoming Viking Invasion of Boston. From March 11-17, Boston will be hosting A Taste of Iceland. This festival of Icelandic culture and entertainment is bringing Icelandic musicians, DJs, acclaimed chefs, and a film festival to various venues in and around Boston in celebration of all things Icelandic…and Icelandair’s non-stop service to Reykjavik. You can even enter a drawing to win a trip to Reykjavik! The full schedule of events can be found at the “Iceland Naturally” website.
Certain staff members of the Globe Corner have already expressed their love for all things Icelandic: from the delicious and addictive Skyr, Arnaldur Indridason’s Inspector Erlendur Series, and The Blue Lagoon (a geothermal spa) to the always interesting Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. We’re so excited about the festival that we’re taking 15% off all books about and maps of Iceland through March 17th. And as an extra bonus, Icelandic singer Ólöf Arnalds will be dropping by the store on Saturday, March 13th at 4:30 p.m. to play a few songs for us!
Where do bookstore workers always go when they’re on vacation? Other bookstores. So when the owners of The Globe Corner Bookstore attended The Hay Literary Festival in Cartageña de Indias, Colombia, Pat Carrier visited Ábaco Libros y Café. He was lucky enough to chat with an owner there and write an article about it for Publishers Weekly. Here is a snippet:
Abaco Libros bookmark
“A highlight of my attendance last year was observing the bustling energy of Ábaco Libros y Café, a small literary bookstore and cafe in the heart of the walled city of Cartageña. The store is near the Theater Heredia, the main venue of the festival—and not so coincidentally near the home of Gabriel García Márquez, the spiritual godfather of the Latin American literary world affectionately known here as Gabo. Throughout the festival weekend, the bookstore was packed with attendees rushing in to buy the next speaker’s books; and its cafe tables were filled with international press interviewing festival writers and drinking café con leche.
This year, I was determined to find out more about bookselling in Colombia. Interviewing one of the two business partners in Ábaco Libros seemed a good start. Néstor Rimoli kindly agreed to such an interview during one of their busiest weekends of the year. “
I will admit that here at the Globe, Chuck (we like to think we’re on a first name basis) has attained something akin to cult figure status. Smile is among the few books the entire staff has read – and loved. Hellholes is quickly following suit. For a staff who has blogged about *hearting* Chuck and even interviewed him, this is a very exciting moment. We hope you’ll join us and join the fan club!
Thomas Jefferson really liked wine. While living in France, he acquired a profound knowledge about wine and amassed an impressive collection of fine wines. Apparently, he didn’t drink all of it though, because in 1985 a Chateau Lafite Bordeaux from 1787 that supposedly belonged to President Jefferson sold for $156,000 at an auction. Benjamin Wallace doesn’t lead us on a journey to exotic lands in The Billionaire’s Vinegar, but guides us through a journey filled with decadent wine tastings through the world of collecting rare wines. Whether the the wines tasted were genuine or forgeries, well, you will have to read the book. However, if you want to find out more about Benjamin Wallace you can just continue reading.
1.Do you prefer aisle or window? (Please explain.)
Aisle. It’s bad enough to be compacted into a too-small seat in a too-small cabin, but at least in an aisle seat it’s possible to stretch out your legs, when the aisle’s clear, and easier to stand up and walk around the cabin.
2. Now for some general wine questions:
a) Red or white? Do you have a preference and why? Red *and* white (and pink, too, for that matter). It really depends on my mood, the weather, and what I’m eating.
It’s official. On December 23rd, at roughly 3:30am Indian Standard Time, I will be landing in Delhi.
