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Today was a busy day – our crew moved pallet after pallet of books over to our new space, and by just after lunch we started moving the first shelves. By the end of the day, the entire west wall of the new space had picture book shelves in place with boxes on the shelves. It’s an impressive run and will look great once all the books are unpacked. Painting also occured in the offices today, and tomorrow the new carpet is scheduled to be installed. By the end of the day Saturday we plan to have our main room cleared of shelves and atRead More →

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At long last, we’ve started the moving process! Our current space, where we’ve been for the last 4 years, has been too small for some time. We found a bigger space (almost double!) next door and have secured a 5 year lease.  We started boxing a few weeks ago, but had to wait until school was out to really get everything boxed up.  This weekend has been hectic with a crew of great guys working hard to box up all our books (400,000 is a big amount of books!) and get the first pallets built. Next week we start moving shelving units and pallets intoRead More →

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In: Author Appearances, Picture Book Reviews, What's Happening at PBC
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Phoenix Book Company was excited to be able to premier Chris Gall’s newest book, There’s Nothing to Do on Mars, at the AzLA conference in November 2007.  We received 50 books in advance of the February 1, 2008 release date to support Chris’ program at the conference.  50 lucky AzLA attendees were able to get this book, signed by the author/illustrator, before anyone else in the US! Thanks to Chris and his publisher, Little, Brown for making this possible. Posted by CoriRead More →

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A bit overdue, but online nonetheless! Phoenix Book Company had a great time at the annual AzLA conference November 14 & 15 at the Mesa Convention Center.  Our booth was stocked with tons of YA hardback fiction, cute & cuddly Folkmanis puppets, and all of the kids’ author books.  It was fun to see many of our regular customers and to chat with plenty of other folks who just discovered us at the show.  We love taking our great books out to events to meet new people, participate in conversations about books & reading, and deepen our relationships with our customers. We were busy from openingRead More →

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In Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You, Peter Cameron superbly captures the disconnected feelings and wry observations of a young man.  James is an 18-year-old New Yorker who doesn’t connect with anyone in his life.  The novel focuses on a few days in the summer of his 18th year as he struggles with his future – college at Brown and the life his parents expect of him or an escape to the Midwest where he would buy a house in a small town and live a quiet, sheltered life. James’ great fear is of an existence that doesn’t “touch or overlap with anyoneRead More →

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Over tea this morning I came across an interesting article in the Sunday NY Times Week in Review section entitled “A Good Mystery: Why We Read” by Motoko Rich. The article examines the current state of reading today and in interesting interviews with authors such as National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie explores how and why some people become life-long readers.  I was particularly struck by 2 things in the story: the fact that reading is, ultimately, a personal, private activity (it certainly is for me, although I love a good discussion about books) and that often it is one remarkable book that comes to aRead More →

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Before I Die by Jenny Downham is sharp, poignant, sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking story about 16-year old Tessa, a young woman living in London under the heavy veil of terminal lukemia. With just months left to live she makes a list on the wall behind her bed of the things she must experience before her life ends.  Sex, drugs, learning to drive and falling in love are just some of the things she must do to really live life.  While she’s free of the constraints of normal life to pursue her list, she is also constantly dogged by pain, exhaustion, sickness and her deteriorating condition. While the premise has theRead More →

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   The Afterlife by Gary Soto grabs the reluctant reader in the first few pages with the story of Chuy who is stabbed, dies, and becomes the ghostly protagonist of this compelling story.  As Chuy struggles to find the significance of his life and watches his family come to terms with his violent end, he meets the lovely Crystal, also recently deceased.  I read this story with junior high students who “HATE to read” but they were quickly drawn into Chuy’s search for understanding and the question of whether his death would be avenged.  The author of this book, Gary Soto, is a favorite ofRead More →

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In: Middle Grade Reviews, Sci Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) tells the story of teen twins Sophie and Josh who discover that a San Francisco bookstore owner, Nick Flemming, is really Nicholas Flamel, a nearly 700 year old alchemist who created the elixir of life.  His enemy, Dr. John Dee, steals the Codex, an ancient book containing the secrets of magic, and a prophecy regarding the twins. As Flamel and the twins race to recover the book, they are pursued by Dee and the members of the Elder race who are the source of most of humanity’s ancient myths and legends.  Throughout this riveting book, Elders and other magical creatures line up onRead More →