"A room without books is like a body without a soul.”–Cicero

We agree. However, we have heard about folks who view books as "clutter." If you have the misfortune to live with someone like this and they are not swayed by the Cicero quote, perhaps you can repurpose your paperbacks. Artist David Karoff has this chair on display at Myopic Books in Providence, RI. It is made of recyled mass market paperbacks, drilled through and placed on a rebar frame. And it is probably not so comfy.

But then again, perhaps you can make a case for book shopping as a Magical Mystery Hunt of sorts. All of these treasures and oddments have been found in used books: "thousands of dollars, a Christmas card signed by Frank Baum, a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card, a marriage certificate from 1879, a baby’s tooth, a diamond ring and a handwritten poem by Irish writer Katharine Tynan Hickson." Read more.

Save 20% on select literature in translation through August 3. If gas prices are keeping you home, do some armchair traveling this summer.

Since Vertigo opened in 1991 we’ve carried a strong selection of international literature in translation. So, we were on board right away when a small group of publishers and booksellers came together four years ago to jointly promote literature in translation. Luckily, the reading world has started to take notice. This past year was especially strong and we have a tempting display of books for you. Stop in soon.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” –Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities

There are some quotes that are always worth revisiting. Years ago customers and staff helped us choose quotes for a selection of bookmarks. But is there a literary quote you feel strongly enough about to have tattooed? Share your favorite quotes with us, maybe it is time to do the bookmarks again.