Playing the game of telephone

FYI: We just discovered a nice big leak in our ceiling that, other than conveniently ruining a nice big stack of books, also seems to have somehow knocked our phones out. If you call us right now, you'll hear the phone ringing, but we won't.

Seeing as how it's the weekend, we're not sure when they'll all be put right. Hopefully soon! Fingers crossed and all that.

In the meantime, please email us at info@foodforthoughtbooks.com. Semaphore &/or signal fires from the north side of the Holyoke range will also be accepted.

Apologies for the inconvenience. You know we want to talk to you! And we will again soon!

Buffalo Street Books becoming a Co-op

Interesting article about a Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca switching over to a co-op model. This is a possible direction Food For Thought Books might be taking.

What do folks think of such a possibility? Leave us your thoughts in the comments or email us at info@foodforthoughtbooks.com

Buffalo Street Books gets new hope
$110,000 bolsters community buyout idea
by Liz Lawyer

A grassroots effort to form a community buyout of the floundering Buffalo Street Books has taken off, owner Gary Weissbrot said Friday.

Weissbrot announced last week the store would close by the end of March.

On Wednesday, Buffalo Street Books employee Bob Proehl floated the idea to the public of buying the store and operating it as a community cooperative. On Friday afternoon, more than $110,000 had been advanced by community members interested in owning a share in the store, which is a tenant at DeWitt Mall.

"It's been a tsunami," Weissbrot said. "It's very real, very interesting."

Proehl set a goal of $200,000 to buy the bookstore in a message posted on Facebook and in an e-mail forward. In his plan, he suggested dividing that cost into $250 shares. Then, he put a call out for true independent bookstore fans to walk the walk.

"There's always a lot of talk in this town of how supportive Ithaca is of its artists or artist community," Proehl said Friday. "A lot of times, that rhetoric leaves me scratching my chin a little bit. But what we see now is a community that's really stepping up to the plate and living up to its reputation. As far as my attitude toward this community right now, it's a total turnaround from two weeks ago." ... read more

Also definitely worth reading is Bob Proehl's original proposal to the community.

The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism

Read & join the Valley-wide discussion of The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism. This hard-hitting work of investigative research exposes the environmental consequences of US military practices.

Author Barry Sanders will be speaking twice in the Pioneer Valley:

• February 9th at 7:30pm
  Neilson Browsing Room, Smith College Library
  
  
• February 10th from 12:30-2:00pm
  Sloan Theater, Greenfield Community College

For more information, call Beth Adams (413) 522-7505

Update: Both of these speaking events have been postponed until April. Please call the number above for more information.

Calendars on sale!

Calendars are now all 50% off!
We still have some good ones in stock so come on by & grab one before they disappear!

The Case of the Homophobic Duct Tape

Want to know something weird? For the past few weeks, someone has been coming by & covering two flyers in our window with duct tape. Check it:


see more pictures on our Flickr page

The flyers are for Pride and Color, a blog for GLBTQ Racial and Ethnic minorities in the Five College Community.

Obviously, someone finds the image of two men kissing (!) or of two women lying next to each other (!!) to be so offensive they feel moved to blot it out. At the same time, it's such a strangely futile way to go about it (duct tape is, after all, easily removable). Are they just doing this for themselves? Or do they think they're doing a service to the community somehow - some sort of self-appointed morality officer? It's hard to know what someone gets out of such a strange act.

In any case, the flyers had been up for awhile and we were going to take them down to put up some newer ones, but as long as this keeps happening, I think we'll just keep leaving them up.

Did You Read That Thing?

Rise Up Singing Sing-along!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Rise Up Singing Sing-along Fundraiser yesterday night.

We sang alot of songs, raised a bunch of money and had a wonderful time. We hope you did too. It was just another reminder of what a caring and supportive community we have at Food For Thought Books. We know that we're going to make it through this rough economic patch with all of you on our side!

Ten OTHER Things Martin Luther King Said

Google eBooks at Food For Thought Books

Food For Thought Books is now selling Google eBooks.

Yes, its' true: via a partnership between the American Booksellers Association and Google, Food For Thought Books now offers you one of the largest ebook collections available with Google eBooks. From New York Times bestsellers to old favorites, shop for your next ebook and begin reading on just about any device.

With Google eBooks, you can now:

Read seamlessly on any device
Google eBooks stores your library safely in the digital cloud, so you can read anywhere you go, using just about any device with an Internet connection. Google eBooks is compatible with most web browsers, Android phones, iPhone, iPad, and many eReaders.

As you read, your page positions are saved across all the devices so you can pick up reading where you last left off. That means you can start reading on your PC, continue on your laptop, and carry on reading on your smartphone.

Explore thousands of titles instantly
Discover your next ebook among thousands of titles in every imaginable category. From bestsellers to classics, top fiction to up-and-coming authors, all ebooks now offer instant availability and free preview before you buy. Google eBooks allows you to enjoy unlimited storage of books in the digital cloud.

Access your library anytime, anywhere
Support your local bookstore and shop with us, or at any of the Google eBooks retail locations. All your ebooks are stored wirelessly in one place, so you can access your library from one account anytime, anywhere.

Search for Google eBook editions on our main website >>>

Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War

Come check out local scholar Dayo Gore's new book Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War.

"With the exception of a few iconic moments such as Rosa Parks’s 1955 refusal to move to the back of a Montgomery bus, we hear little about what black women activists did prior to 1960. Perhaps this gap is due to the severe repression that radicals of any color in America faced as early as the 1930s, and into the Red Scare of the 1950s. To be radical, and black and a woman was to be forced to the margins and consequently, these women’s stories have been deeply buried and all but forgotten by the general public and historians alike.

In this exciting work of historical recovery, Dayo F. Gore unearths and examines a dynamic, extended community of black radical women during the early Cold War, including established Communist Party activists such as Claudia Jones, artists and writers such as Beulah Richardson, and lesser-known organizers such as Vicki Garvin and Thelma Dale. These women were part of a black left that laid much of the groundwork for both the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and later strains of black radicalism. Radicalism at the Crossroads offers a sustained and in-depth analysis of the political thought and activism of black women radicals during the Cold War period and adds a new dimension to our understanding of this tumultuous and violent time in United States history."

Food For Thought Books in the news

Check out this article on Food For Thought Books in the Valley Advocate!

It's particularly nice to know that, in a Valley known for its leftward leanings, there are businesses that employ progressive ideas not as mere ideals but as working methods. The Valley's worker-owned, democratically run co-ops include Collective Copies, Pelham Auto, Ronin Tech Collective, Northampton's often-seen bicycle stalwarts Pedal People, and more.

One of the best-known is Amherst's not-for-profit Food for Thought Books, which specializes in "radical and progressive media." The bookstore also hosts plenty of author appearances. It's remarkable, in a bad economic climate and in a time when the fate of books and bookstores is less than clear, for any small bookstore to stay on the scene. Food for Thought, which has sustained itself since 1976, seemed to have achieved institution status, but even indie bookstores that have succeeded over the long haul are in danger these days. ...read more

Sweaty Buttons at Food For Thought Books!

Stop by this Sunday for a free afternoon concert of rootsy goodness courtesy of our good friends: the fabulous Sweaty Buttons!

Update: Here's a nice little video from the concert.