Am I Crazy? Not Freezing Indoors (with John and Yoko)

 It's a cold, snowy, blowy January Friday, with below-zero temperatures that should creep up to 3 above later this afternoon. I layered up. My car started. My driveway was plowed yesterday. I made it to Northport and will be here until 3 p.m. and plan to be here on Saturday, also, 11-3. 

Latest used books to come to my shop feature a collection of books by and about John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Read them for nostalgia if you remember, for history if you're too young to know already. See my other blog for more rambling narrative.

Don't worry -- I've got you covered.

 

Is time pressuring you? Don't stress out. I'll be here Monday (today), Tuesday, Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with wrapping paper, scissors and tape on hand. 👍

Here and Now

 

I'll lead off today with Todd Goddard's long-anticipated Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer's Life. Yes, it's here, and yes, it's fascinating, whether or not you ever met Jim Harrison in person. 

So there is my front table, with a new arrangement, featuring Harrison and a couple of his buddies. I also have other Harrison books in stock, both new paperback novels and older signed hardcovers. 

Next --

By popular demand, I have stocked Joyce Vance's timely new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual For Keeping Our Democracy. In her introduction she writes, 

Putting these words down on paper makes me feel hopeful. I have always gained strength from being in community....

For any kind of writer, even the solitary blogger sitting alone in a room, putting down words is a way to connect. I can begin a morning feeling quite blue, begin writing, and after a while find I have written myself out of the funk and into a mood of gratitude, hope, and anticipation, so Vance's sentence about “putting words down on paper” struck a chord with me.

Another recent request was for Jill Lepore's We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, so here it is.

Now, for a complete change of focus, look out! Dav Pilkey's new book is here! And you know Dav Pilkey is a phenomenon. No other word for it.

Dogs? Did someone say dogs? Here is This Dog Will Change Your Life, by Elias Weiss Friedman, the “Dogist.” Doesn't every dog change the life of the person lucky enough to share life with that dog? That is the beauty and the wonder of dogs.

From biography to serious politics to goofy stories to dogs, you never know what you will find at Dog Ears Books on any given day. It's always potluck. But treasures always await, that much is certain, so stop in soon.  

Are you an explorer?

 

In addition to the usual new postcards and a box of old $1 postcards, I also have a small collection of other vintage cards in the $2-6 range. The two Orson Peck cards above, $5 each, show unpaved road leading from Traverse City up along West Bay into Leelanau County (top) and then east and north along East Bay, and I don't imagine these cards will be here long.

Jigsaw puzzles of 500 and 1000 pieces have been in stock all winter, but now is the time for the trillium puzzle, and you'll want to stretch out this beautiful time of year when we get some rainy days.

Always, of course, lots and lots of books -- new, used, classics, unusual -- they are the reason for our being. Additions to store stock arrive constantly, and next week will bring a wonderful new surprise, so stay tuned and/or drop in. 

You don't have to have a specific title in mind to visit a bookstore. In fact, it's much better if you come with an open mind and a willingness to explore, because often you don't know what you want until you and it find each other. 

Reminder: Poet Fleda Brown will be here to read from her new chapbook, Doctor of the World, and to answer questions and generally visit with audience at noon on Friday, May 23. This will be a casual (free) event, so feel free to bring a sack lunch. Hope to see you here!

Plan for Spring Break: Winging It

 

Spring break for Northport school is March 24 through the 28. It's usually a very quiet week in the village. Since, however, I decided not to travel away from home myself, I'll be in and out of the bookstore. I'll be in on Monday, normally a day the shop is closed, since I expect a UPS delivery. Tuesday, closed. Wednesday through Saturday I'll probably come in around noon or 1 p.m. and stay until 3 or 4. Maybe. We'll see!!!

 

In other words, I'll be winging it for the week of 3.24-3/29. Maybe people from other places on spring break will wander up to Northport. Hope to see some of you!

P.S. 3/26: It's here! Fleda Brown's new chapbook arrived today! That was worth being here for!

BOOKSTORE PLAN for the week of Feb. 24 – March 1, 2025

Dog Ears Books will be OPEN on Monday (usually, in winter, a day we’re closed), from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

CLOSED on Tuesday (probably!)

 

OPEN Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

OPEN Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

OPEN Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., BUT NOT TAKING CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDS OR APPLE PAY OR ANY OF THAT. IT WILL BE A CASH-ONLY DAY. We welcome your support of local business on a day we hope you will be joining the boycott of big box stores, online shopping, and credit card use. CASH IN LOCAL BUSINESSES! THANK YOU!!!

 

OPEN Saturday, March 1, from 11 a.m. until perhaps as late as 5 p.m., depending on weather and whether or not people are shopping in Northport.

Into the New Year's Second Month

Reminder: Dog Ears Books in Northport, Michigan, is open four days a week this winter, Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Reminder: you can order audio
books through Libro.fm and choose Dog Ears Books as your bookstore on the Libro.fm site, and we will earn a little something from each audiobook you buy that way. It will help us get through the winter. Thank you!

 

Blog note 1: My main blog, Books in Northport, the one I post to most frequently, has been around since September of 2007. It has always been free and will be free as long as it survives. I make my living as a bookseller, not as a blogger. Neither will I be moving to a Substack account, although many professional writers and independent journalists are there now, and I encourage you to follow a few, upgrading to a paid subscription if you can afford it, especially those whose work is crucial to giving us real news, e.g., Dan Rather, Heather Cox Richardson, and others. The importance of these sources will increase sooner than you might imagine.

 

Blog note 2: Call Books in Northport a “labor of love” or call me a graphomaniac – however you want to characterize it and/or me, I’ve stuck to this project for over 17 years. Some of you have been with me from the beginning, while others are brand-new readers, but I appreciate every single one of you, however long you have been reading. My morale this year, however, could use a little extra support (I’ll be trying to provide support for the morale of my readers, too), so I encourage you to (1) sign on as a follower, (2) comment on posts, and (3) send links to your family and friends for posts you find particularly meaningful. There is no financial advantage to me in this, only personal satisfaction.

If you haven't seen the latest post yet, because I just put it up a few minutes ago, check it out now! Thank you!

 

They are HERE NOW!!!

 

Canvas book bags commemorating our over 30 years in business (30 in July 2023, so over 200 dog years, my friends) are available now at the bookstore in Northport. They are $12 each, plus sales tax, so $12.72 per bag. 

I am very happy to have the bags in time for this coming Monday's Earth Day, as they are in keeping with the 2024 Earth Day theme, "Planet vs. Plastics." They will be equally appropriate on Saturday, April 27, Independent Bookstore Day, and every day thereafter! 

(If you absolutely cannot come to the bookstore but want one or more book bags, please do NOT send me your credit card #! Instead, a check or money order mailed to Dog Ears Books, P.O. Box 272, Northport, MI 49670 will reach me. Please include $3 for an order of 1-3 bags, $5 for 4-6. Thank you. -- And don't forget your mailing address!)

Please note: If you come in person and clip out and bring with you my ad in this week's Enterprise, you are entitled to a $1 discount per bag. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 11-3 and usually longer on Saturdays. OPEN MONDAY, APRIL 22, 11-3, FOR EARTH DAY!!!

Coming Soon --and I'm Excited!

Monday, April 22 - Earth Day

 

Saturday, April 27 - Indie Bookstore Day

Mon., 4/22. Not usually open on Mondays, the bookstore in Northport will be open for Earth Day 2024, with beautiful new canvas book bags ($12) in honor of this year's Earth Day theme, "Planet vs. Plastics." 

Sat., 4/27. The new book bags will be equally appropriate on the following Saturday, Indie Bookstore Day (which I've missed by being out-of-state the past few years, but this year I'll be here), and every day into the future!  

Plan to celebrate these happy days with us, please. And thank you!

What Do You Think? Suggestions Welcome

It's time for new book bags and t-shirts at Dog Ears Books. I'm thinking a soft cream color with sage green letters. What do you think?

 

 

Dog Ears Books

Since 1993 – 

 

Disproving the skeptics

for over 200 dog years

and counting!

 

On Waukazoo Street 

in Northport, Michigan

Holiday and Winter Hours

 

It seems the word has not reached everyone yet, so here it is again. Dog Ears Books will be OPEN ALL WINTER this year! Winter hours, already underway in November, are shorter than summer hours, and the week is shorter, too, but here they are: 

 

Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Sunday, CLOSED

Monday & Tuesday, by chance or appointment only

 

A first-time customer recently told me that no reader should ever leave my shop empty-handed. Whether you come to shop for yourself or are looking for books to give as gifts, we have something here for just about anyone, which is part of the reason we celebrated our 30^th anniversary in July. Another reason is that the bookseller here is just plain stubborn and doesn’t give up easily!

Happy holidays!

Bookstore Fall Hours, 2023

 

 

Dog Ears Books

FALL HOURS

September-October 2023

 

Monday-Tuesday: by chance or appointment

Wednesday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday: Closed

This is the story for September and October. A winter plan is not yet in view.

Top Ten Reasons to Read “Books in Northport”

Frequent star of the show

10. It’s free!

9. You are a family member.

8. You are an old friend.

7. You are a new friend.

6. You stumbled onto it by accident.

5. You can skim quickly or just scroll for pictures.

4. There is usually at least one dog image.

3. Occasionally you’ll find something about books.

2. [Make up your own reason.] 

1. You get everything you paid for. (It’s FREE.)

Check it out today -- Books in Northport! (Coming to you this winter from Cochise County, Arizona!)

Arizona cows

Time to Plan Ahead

 

Everyman's Library Children's Classics

Only Friday and Saturday this week, and then Wednesday through Saturday next week, because Saturday, October 29th, will be the last day of the 2022 Dog Ears Books season! We'll be back in May and celebrating 30 years of bookselling next summer, but please visit if you can before we close for the winter, especially if you're thinking ahead to holiday gifts. 

And thanks for a better 2022 season than I expected. It was difficult personally, in a lot of ways, but I was helped along with support from bookstore friends and customers -- two groups that certainly overlap! Thank you!

What is a "perpetual" calendar, and where can you find one in Northport, Michigan?

 

"Isn't Uncle Jim's birthday this month? Or is that in August? Isn't Bob and Edna's wedding anniversary coming up soon?" Keeping track of these and other vital questions is easy if you have a perpetual calendar -- one with spaces to write in recurring events on each date of the year, regardless of the day on which they fall. 

And since we in Northern Michigan like our calendars to be beautiful and regional as well as useful, I am very pleased to carry this season at Dog Ears Books a lovely perpetual calendar with photographs by Minnie Wabanimkee. 

Whether you live Up North all year or only for a few summer months, you need this in your life! Only $15, and you will be glad of it year after year.

The Days Are Dwindling Down to a Precious Few!

Dear, dear bookstore friends!

It’s looking as if Halloween, Saturday, October 31, may be the last day of my 2020 bookstore season. We hope to be back in May and open before Memorial Day, with a longer season than we had in this strange year (not opening to the public until July first!), but since "the future’s not ours to see,” the year 2021 remains shrouded in mystery for now.

One bookseller has stated that “October is the new December,” meaning that now is not too early to shop for holiday gifts. I will not shock or upset you with holiday decorations, never fear! On the other hand, if you do want to give books as gifts I’m happy to help you out. 

I always have a wide selection of new and used titles at Dog Ears Books, and will be processing one last new book order — going out next Monday -- so let me know by Saturday, Oct. 17, if there is anything you want me to add to that list! Be aware, however, that many backlist titles (classics, etc.) are not currently available, as paper shortages and disruptions in supply and distribution chains have affected the book business, too. Sigh!

Although it’s been a short season this year — and we had, with regret, to cancel our Thursday Evening Author events — I’m very grateful for the support my local customers and visitors to the area have shown Dog Ears Books. And with everyone's cooperation with mask-wearing and hand-sanitizing and being mindful of social distances, too! I was nervous about opening for the summer but happy with the way it turned out. Thank you all so much!

So now, if you possibly can, come in and visit us in the next couple of weeks. October is beautiful in and around Northport, and Sarah is always happy to welcome company (unless she is napping). She also urges you to follow her Arizona adventures again this winter (during our "seasonal retirement") on “Books in Northport” — because I call it that wherever I write from, connecting with book friends I’ve made back home as well as online. 

Bookstore Plan for the Remainder of June

Please note: The space for leaving comments looks different on this blog suddenly, and I am unable to leave or reply to a comment. The answer to Dawn's question (in the one comment visible below) is that I am happy to take and fill mail orders. Thank you!

(1) Each Monday I’ll process new book orders. (Many ordered yesterday are on back-order, due to current demand.) Get your title or list of titles to me by Saturday, please. The phone at the shop is working, and I'll be in most days for a few hours to check messages. E-mail or Facebook messages also work.

(2) As requested books arrive, I’ll notify customers who can then come by the shop for pickup. 

(3) Customers picking up special orders may also shop books in stock. 

(4) I will not, however, be open for general walk-in traffic this month. We'll see how July looks when we're closer to it.

Recap: If you let me know what you want me to order by Saturday, I’ll place my order on Monday and generally will have books by the end of the same week – unless you ask for something that is in high demand and currently out-of-stock at the distributor warehouse.

One more note: Please do not bring boxes of donations, as you can see from the photo above that we are overstocked with used books at present and will soon have to find room for new books, as well. And there is a lot of cleaning to do before the OPEN flag can go out.

Thank you for your loyalty and your patience. Stay safe, everyone!