Dad's Day on Sunday

..camping...fishing...building...war stories...history...biographies..sci fi....cooking...prize winners...romance??? We have it all. If you can't decide, grab a gift voucher for you Pa to show you think he's tops!

A + I purchased his Dad a cheesey mug that claims "World's #1 Dad!", + a georgous book entitled "Me + my Dad" which I hope will encourage Dadda to read to his little frog a tad more frequently!

GET READING!

It's that time of year again! Pop into the bookshop and grab a title off this years best list of books, and you will receive a free book!

Offer for all of September, or while stocks last. Go on, come in. at least for a chat...it's been so quiet! (bring coffee!)

seasons come and go...

This year has flown by and seasons have come and gone. Already it is spring again! Thank goodness this cold cold winter has passed and the blossoms and bulbs are now sprouting. One terrific event has occurred - our dam is full! To the brim! The rain has poured and poured which has meant more time for reading...

...To Kill a Mockingbird...alltime classic and what a reminder to us about the morals of humans and the kindness and patience that i hope to instill in my little Archie...

...The Children's Book..oh, i didnt finish it...such a long trial...fantastic recommendation for a reader who loves historical fiction, but waaaaayyy to much for my tired brain to cope with right now... ( and i detest not finishing a book!)

...Mammamia...hmmm well, waiting for the sections on motherhood. The magazine components are a tad light to keep me interested...

Recent reads....

Not much time for reading with a little bubbie to look after, and with two bookclubs to keep up with, my oh my, I'm feeling the need to read....
This year I have managed to slowly trawl through:
- The Carrie Diaries...yes, say no more
- Cloud Street, Tim Winton, love it!
- ...cripes, I cannot even remember...will have to go and look in the bookshelf.
Where did my memory go?

reading, the first to go... :(

Piles and piles of books beside my bed, more in the bookshop to devour, alas,
why is it that when you are tired, the first thing to cross off the list, is reading? Since Archie arrived in January Ive read one book, and oh, i miss it so!

We're back!!!!!

Has it been 8 months since our last blog? Deary me, where did last year go?

We might have an excuse! The newest addition to the Little Dog Bookshop...

INTRODUCING...(drumroll please....)..................

little Archie John

The sweetest little miracle of all. He too, fits in entirety, on a bookshelf, just like Wags the dog used to. Alas, one day Archie too will be too big - already he has grown and he is only 3 months old!!!

New Kate Knapp-isms! Oh bliss!

Two new boxes of bliss from Twigseeds artist Kate Knapp.

- Seeds of Truth (the first and original little box of inspiration)

- A little bird told me

- A Box of Birds

Winter.....

Winter continues....the customers are hiding by their fires at home...the trees outside are only just budding...my electricity bill rises each day as this cold weather continues....



Oh Spring! Where art thou, oh Spring?

Tickle & Mo!

Yesterday saw a very exciting delivery to my little shop – some wonderfully creative pieces by the new and upcoming talented Canberra based designer of the label Tickle & Mo. We are lucky enough to stock nine original pieces by this talented artist – 4 beautifully hand dyed silk rose brooches (dyes include herbal teas and a tasty shiraz!) and 5 crocheted vestibules. Three of these vestibules resemble crazy, coloured sea anemones, the another two, little pods. I cannot decide whether they are pieces of art or should be used for functional purposes (perfect to keep your pens in, or jewelry, or precious finds from treasure hunts in the bush…). Handmade with love, they range in price from $19.95 to $34.95 – the perfect price for an original pressie for you, or a friend.

how time flies....

The Little Dog is now 32kilograms and The Biggest Sook In The Entire World....

A totally addictive page turner!

Hello Avid Readers! Yesterday a dear friend of mine popped into the shop as I was importantly and busily immersed in “bookwork” (I had my accounts spread all over the counter but I was on a comfy chair reading a novel!). She inquired as to what I had my head buried in, and realised that she had already finished this crime/murder mystery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. On being asked how I liked the book, I replied that, at a hundred pages short of its ending, I was starting to feel disappointed because I thought I had figured out who the murderer was already. I shared my suspicions and her response was simply “hmmm”. Well, by the time I got home I was forgoing my usual afternoon garden watering and walk with the dogs – this book had me captured. I was intrigued and pleased at the same time, as crime fiction is outside of the genre I usually read in.

"Män som hatar kvinnor" (Swedish for "Men who hate women," renamed in the English translation as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is an award-winning novel by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson, the first in his "Millennium Trilogy". At his death in November 2004 he left three unpublished novels that made up the trilogy - it became a posthumous best-seller in Europe.

And so it goes: A middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, publishes the magazine Millennium in Stockholm. He is hired one day by Henrik Vanger, the aged former CEO of a group of companies owned by a wealthy dynasty, in order to chronicle the family history. His real mission, however, is to solve a cold case - the disappearance, some forty years previously, of Vanger's great-niece when she was sixteen. Blomkvist encounters "the old Miss Marple closed-room scenario with all the wealthy suspects marooned on the family estate on an island; a village we grow familiar with, full of hostile locals peering out from behind their curtains. The real main character of the story is Lisbeth Salander, an asocial punk who has been victimized by authorities throughout her whole life. By accident she meets Blomkvist and the unlikely couple become another classic detective pair where the hunters become the hunted.
An epic tale of serial murder and corporate trickery spanning several continents, the novel takes in complicated international financial fraud and the buried evil past of a wealthy Swedish industrial family. Through its main character, it also references classic forbears of the crime thriller genre - Astrid Lindgren, Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie and several other key figures in the history of the detective novel. As a journalist and magazine editor in Stockholm until his death, Larsson reveals a knowledge and enjoyment of both English and American crime fiction. He declared that he wrote his opus in the evening after work for his own pleasure.
A fantastic and gripping whodunnit. And did I guess the murderer correctly? Nope. All was revealed at 2.30am this morning at which time I was sick of not sleeping and had to find out what happened in the ending. Hopeless. The second in the trilogy is now sitting on the shop book shelf ready to be sold. My accounts are still spread across the counter. Hmmmm…. Life is full of tough decisions….

New Dan Brown novel to come!

Hello Avid Readers! Following world-wide speculation about the content of the eagerly awaited new novel from Dan Brown, we can finally reveal the book cover of The Lost Symbol. And you are the very first to see it. Arguably one of the most loved novels in recent years THE DA VINCI CODE was a word-of-mouth phenomenon, broke all sales records and remained at the #1 position in Australia for over 52 weeks. At 9.00am AEST on 15 September readers get the chance to escape again into the world of a new Dan Brown novel. Pre-orders are now being taken in the shop.
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In Bookclub at the moment we are reading ‘classics’, and I have just finished Breakfast at Tiffanies: A Short Novel and Three Stories, by Truman Capote. Goodness how I enjoyed these stories. Arguably the greatest writer of the 20th century, the only misfortune of Capote's work is that there is not more of it. In this somewhat peculiar collection of stories, Capote demonstrates his command of the written word. While one tale gives the book its title, another story shines even brighter in this collection. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a legendary work in the cinema, but while certainly more crude at times, the written version adds another intended dimension to the tale. In reality, Audrey Hepburn's potrayal was far too sanitized – it is no wonder the book was banned from libraries when it was first published, its content would have been quite controversial!

The additional three stories were beautifully executed, and though this collection is tied together with a loose theme, it is a sample of Capote's command over language. With vivid details and command of plot, the knowledgeable reader will not be disappointed in Capote. I’ve ordered more Capote to read, I loved this book so very much.

In the theme of classics, I then picked up Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, this one having slipped through during my high school education. In this brilliant coming-of-age novel, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old prep school adolescent relates his lonely, life-changing twenty-four hour stay in New York City as he experiences the phoniness of the adult world while attempting to deal with the death of his younger brother, an overwhelming compulsion to lie and troubling sexual experiences.

Salinger, whose characters are among the best and most developed in all of literature has captured the eternal angst of growing into adulthood in the person of Holden Caulfield. Anyone who has reached the age of sixteen will be able to identify with this unique and yet universal character, for Holden contains bits and pieces of all of us. It is for this very reason that The Catcher in the Rye has become one of the most beloved and enduring works in world literature.

Next? I’ll have the tissue box beside me as I embark upon Watership Down….

Rain and shine

It's been raining here in Yass for about 4 days! Out at my place, 10km's out of town, we've had a glorious 33ml so far, and on my early morning walks over the hills with my dogs, I watch the seeds sprouting, the sheep nibbling and the creek starting to trickle again.

This morning, for the first time since last week, a ray of soothing sunshine entered my cold little shop, so I quickly made myself a cuppa, grabbed my book and plonked down in it, to soak up the vitamins.

goodies for Mum to say thanks and I wuv you up to the end of the sky, and back, of course.....

• 
  

• books (of course!); candles; bangles; cards; writing paper and stationery sets; pencils; handbags; journals; address books; necklaces and brooches; belts; soft toys; cushions; massage oil; bath salts; photo albums; pencil cases; bookmarks; oil burners; wrapping papers... and more!

today's purchases!

last of the summer roses....

Still blooming this late in the year, but I am sad they are all nearly over. These roses are particularly fragrant, and just now for this first time, I witnessed a lady, bending over to smell them, with a smile on her face....

little dog artworks

Little Dog watching oncoming bushfire from atop the hill;

Little Dog wishing on a shooting star;

Little Dog about to get into trouble.

I can tell Autumn is here....

because last night our puppy mooches went straight to the couch to snuggle up, and this morning a cold wind is blowing my shop sign around and around and around....

Why I love mornings....

I have been reading about two girls who posted a photo each day on a blog they shared, a photo from their mornings: http://3191.visualblogging.com/ and it makes me wonder what I love about my mornings, which are surely, in Autumn especially, the most glorious time of my day.

I love it when the cardboard boxes and parcels arrive, ready to be opened, full of surprises...

For example yesterdays boxes were filled with the glorious ceramic tags and pencils from Kylie Johnson's Paper Boat Press, and who wrote "count me the stars". I love everything she makes. http://www.paperboatpress.com/

I love Suzanne Vega's "my name is Luca", playing loud on my stereo while I blog and drink steaming freshly brewed coffee...

I love seeing my favourite cookbook on the shelf each morning, it makes my insides squirm with a "mmmmmmm" knowing what is inside its pages....

reminders of certain smiles...

Sometimes things happen during a day,
and a memory returns
of someone who has gone but left behind
a legacy of something,
like a smile...

bit's n pieces...

Mosque balls from Turkey hang on the tree inside the window, and beautiful recycled wrapping paper fills the bookshelf behind the counter....

Fabulous new snippets from fabulous creative people!

Oh so glorious handbags ($120 - $160) and clutch purses (@$60) from Only Midge, and creative fun "things to do" packs from Seedling.

RAIN?????

It looked so promising too. Early this morning I became excited and wandered out in my jaamies with tea, to take a few snapshots from my verandah. Sadly, we got a pattering of just a few small, but gloriously wet droplets which I pranced around in with the dogs for a second or two before it blew over...

Inspiring local artists now in the little shop

I am very proud to write about a small yet talented collection of local authors and artists whose marvelous works are now stocked in this little shop. There is something for everyone in this collection, so if you are after a unique pressie or a fascinating read, pop in and have a squizz at:

Two beautifully illustrated books for mums by Stephanie Corkhill Hyles called “25 ways to awaken your birth power”, and “25 ways to joy and inner peace for mothers”. Written by Danette Watson. ($29.95)

The imaginative sculpture works of local artist Al Phemister. Currently small versions of his pears ($165 - currently SOLD but Al is making me another!) are available, and tea cup and saucer ($225) – the only place in town where Al shows his work. We are the lucky ones; we get to see them all day!

The wonderfully tactile ceramic necklaces and brooches from Spinning Earth Artist, Sophie Curlewis ($32.95) (I keep buying them all for my friends!). MAIL ORDERS ACCEPTED. Send us an email!

poems from the past

It's oh so quiet in the shop today, just a smattering of books have walked out the door. Sultry jazz plays on the stereo, vanilla bean melts burn away leaving a lingering yummy scent, and I'm reminded of another day not so long ago in the bookshop...

Moments in a day

Outside, it’s quiet and sunny.
A dusty ute drives by, working dogs bark.
My shop flag says “Books”,
It blows up and flips over its pole,
Twisted now.

Rain last Sunday, I remember.
Dead lambs scatter brown hills.
It’s August. Ugh. Wind.
I must take the chimes down,
They are adding to my sleepless nights.

“Emergency Sex” faces outwards,
A man, green woolen jumper with holes,
Wanders in, picks it up. Puts it down.
Wanders out.
Another fool fooled by that old adage.

I call it the town drop-in centre.
My friend brings me rosemary
To hang nearby.
It helps heavy shoulders deal with unsolicitored stories.
My shoulders. Their stories.

Old man whose wife died recently from cancer,
Today he tells me, daughter-in-law too last week.
He joined the men’s shed and is bringing me art
From Boorowa to sell.
I never remember his name.

Now, buds on the tree outside are gently swaying.
I sip tea and wonder if this is where I am to be planted.
They say, you should grow
Where you are planted, but a moment in a day
Can change everything.

furry friends in the kids room

Come into the children's bookroom and read amongst friends...!

Fabulous reads from January and February...

* Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

* The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

* The Uncommon Reader

* The Reader

* The Slap

* The Brooklyn Follies

* The Zookeeper's War

Back, and into 2009 though somewhat late!

Back from overseas, a highlight was visiting the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris!

And now into 2009, even though it's nearly March...

Things we at the LDB are looking forward to this year:

- orders from the trade shows arriving so we can unpack all those lovely snippets of wonderful creativity!

- opening the covers of newly arrived titles that we've been waiting for...

- discovering new stories to pass on and share

- the arrival of autumn and planting season beginning

- watching the joy on kids faces as they discover the children's reading room

- earthy discussions durng booksclub each month

- random surprise visits in the shop from friends and family (the kettle is constantly on the boil!)

A merry merry chrissy from us, to you....

May your stocking be filled with love,
happiness, peace and books,

May your holiday be filled with time to find a tree
by a river, blanket in hand, book in pocket,

May your books be filled with stories
that take you to wonderful, inspiring places.



Opening Hours for Jan/Feb 2009
Mondays: Closed
T- F: 10am - 4pm
Sat: 9am - 12.30pm
Sundays: Closed

Kate Knapp-isms

make me happy. My friend Ange and her little man Baxter were in the shop today, and we oohhhed and ahhhhhed over Kate Knapp's new book. Did she write it just for us? How did she know? We'd flip through the pages whilst chasing after little Bax and read Kate Knapp-isms to each other over a cuppa coffee.... here's one just to tempt your taste buds! (copies in store now - RUSH IN!!!!)