http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com An independent community bookstore specializing in literature & politics. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:21:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Scrubya creator Kavita Pillay is at it again with Soapbama: The Soap with Hope for the politically inclined bather. Inspired by Freud’s idea that "soap is the yardstick of civilization," Kavita has created a translucent soap (symbolic of transparency in government and other good things) scented with eucalyptus and spearmint. ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/07/22/the-audacity-of-soap/ "A room without books is like a body without a soul.”–CiceroWe 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 ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/07/20/a-comfy-chair-a-good-book/ 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 ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/07/07/travel-the-world-save-20/ “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 ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/07/06/94/ As a bookseller, one whose house is overflowing with books both read and (mostly) unread, I know I should stop acquiring even more reading material. Indeed, I sometimes wonder if I should radically downsize my collection. I read somewhere years ago (can’t remember where) that there are two kinds of ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/05/16/93/ Check out this great video of next week’s author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, then join us at the event. Cuz truth be told, he is a splendid writer. Perhaps it’s OK that bookselling thing was temporary (although Vertigo did experience an up tick in sales of Franz Fanon titles when Ta-Nehisi was ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/05/07/the-beautiful-struggle/ A university is a place where people pay high prices for goods which they then proceed to leave on the counter when they go out of the store.–Loren Eiseley http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/04/03/a-random-quote-2/ Our store is located a block or so from the campus of the University of Maryland, so we get quite a few students and academic types passing through.  Despair:Students overheard while buying books for classes: "Didn’t they make a movie of that (Toni Morrison’s Beloved)? Yeah, they did–I don’t need that ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2008/04/03/despair-hope/ Of course, booksellers loved The Golden Compass, which has its orgins in Milton, Blake and Kleist. But now it is a holiday season Hollywood release, a fantasy movie inspiring a good deal of controversy. Some might say that Christians have their C.S. Lewis, now the agnostics and the atheists have ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2007/12/15/87/ Does news of Dubya & Company’s antics leave you eager to take a shower? The founder of Scrubya soap agreed and took action. She’s brought us Scrubya Soap in 3 scents and now we can wash George W. away. Just lather liberally and repeat until November 2008. Choose from Cameliza ... http://vertigobooks.blogsome.com/2007/12/09/wash-george-w-away-with-scrubya/