myopicbookstore.com

It’s nearly the Holiday gift-giving season, and we’re unstuffing our Internet Book stocking for you! All this month we’ll be auditing our online bookstore to your benefit, Chicago! We’re taking the best and putting it right into your hands for browsing and buying and gifting! Things Signed by Famous Authors! Rare Editions! Limited Editions! Obscure Artists! Rare Collections of Prints! Photography Book Madness! Classy Smut! Crazy Comics! Antique Bindings! Rare Book Sets! Can You Say: OUT OF PRINT GRAPHICS NOVELS? How About: Architecture! And all that BIZARRE COUNTER-CULTURE STUFF that you LOVE but will NEVER SEE AGAIN IF YOU DON’T GET IT NOW! Don’t be that person that checks back the next day only to find an empty space where the perfect gift once was!

The windows are full, the glass case is full, the counter shelves are full!

There’ll be more and more as these things sell out! A different selection daily!

We’re even selling a NEAR-COMPLETE run of Eisner’s “The Spirit” Archives! Volumes 1 to 23 are on sale as a complete set for $500! That’s about twenty-one dollars a book for a series that was going for FIFTY BUCKS a POP! A lot of these are OUT OF PRINT, folks! One lucky customer will walk away with these to spite the sorry bunch who will call on Christmas eve asking if we still have ‘em! Don’t hesitate!

Hello fellow readers and Myopic loyalists!

We know you’ve looked at the titles in our online store before and been scandalized with the wealth of good deals you can find there! We do that on purpose. It’s called “customer relations” and/or “salesmanship”. Let us get to it again, eh?

This week we have a special hardcover of The Process by Brion Gysin newly installed in our glass case. You might know him as a pal of William Burroughs and other Beat-era notables, or as a powerfully artistic literary presence of his own. We don’t expect The Process to stick around long, so you should drop in take a look at this beauty. Give us just $15.50, and it will be on your own personal bookshelf at home in no time!

We don’t usually engage in blatant braggadocio around here, but sometimes we can’t help but toot our own wares. Case in point, we have recently acquired a hardcover first edition copy of Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. The previous owner of the book was named Bart…which we know because the book is inscribed to Bart by the author himself! That’s right, this perfect beauty is signed. This is not a reader’s copy, folks…it’s in near perfect shape. The cover is in fantastic shape, the binding is in fantastic shape, and it is just a thing of beauty to behold. If you don’t believe us, take a look at the signature for yourself:

Since shuffling off this mortal coil last year, Mr. Wallace’s stature among serious readers has only grown, and is only likely to grow. Tragic circumstances aside, Mr. Wallace’s writing should be celebrated and enjoyed. Infinite Jest is a reading experience you will never forget. It’s a book for the ages, and this is an edition for the ages. If you are interested in owning this copy for yourself, peruse at ABEbooks by following the link here!

Attn: Pynchon fiends!

This item has sold! See above for other rare titles from our online store!

We’ve got a rare as hen’s teeth tome by the reticent writer supreme on sale in our magic glass case! Plucked from our “only sold online” treasure trove, this pamphlet style printing of one of TPynch’s earliest stories was published in an edition of 1500 by Aloes Books in 1978, and is yours for $35!

“Low-Lands” was originally published in New World Writing in 1960, 3 years before his first novel, V. was released. It’s got all the classic Pynchon elements…paranoia, marginalia, sea-stories and the first appearence of classic character Pig Bodine. Stop in for a gander at this one-of-a-kind item today!

Saturday, February 14, 8 pm - AWP Reading, co-sponsored by coconutpoetry.org and milkmag.org

Including Denise Duhamel, Jenny Boully, Susan Wheeler, Daniel Nester, Lea Graham, Prageeta Sharma, Gene Tanta, Jen Tynes, Lea Graham, Reb Livingston, Mirela Ramona Ciupag, Gina Myers, Natalie Lyalin, Larry Sawyer, Bruce Covey, et al.

Sunday, April 5 - Oni Buchanan & Donna Stonecipher

Sunday, April 19 - Karen Leona Anderson & Bill Allegrezza

Despite the cinematically frigid conditons, Myopic Books is holding fast! Through lethal drafts and freezing pipes and a front door that sticks open EVERY TIME someone comes in, we’re pushing out those books like there’s no tomorrow. Why?

Because there might not be a tomorrow in America if you don’t keep that economy pumping!
WE’RE HERE FOR YOU, WICKER PARK! FOR YOU, CHICAGO! We’re your last line of defense.
The first day of Hanukkah was today and Christmas is only FOUR days away! DOORBUSTERS AT ELEVEN AM? We’re ready for you. LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS AT MIDNIGHT? We’re locked and loaded!
Don’t be that depressing person in Walgreens at six AM on Thursday, rifling through the bargain bin for crappy presents! Shop quality! Shop frugally! Shop Myopic!

Unsure what to get that special someone this year? Confusing wish list? Dangerous wish list? NO WISH LIST?
Hate long lines at crowded big box stores?
Stop on by! We’ve got mad amounts of art books, graphic novels, popular fiction, tons of overstock on those mysterious and alluring books we keep in the glass display case, GIFT CERTIFICATES in any amouint for that last-minute stocking-stuffer and everyone’s favorite lazy holiday cat: GARFIEL- wait, no: LEONARD! He misses you. Come pet him. And don’t forget about our ONLINE BOOKSTORE, where all the expensive, lavish, rare books go! These books are not part of our general inventory, so call and ask before you come in looking for them! And don’t forget to bring cookies for J.R.!

“But he can’t be dead,” she insisted. “Not my husband. Not John Rourke. Not THE SURVIVALIST!”
-Book 2: “The Nightmare Begins”

Things that shouldn’t be collecting dust at Myopic: The Survivalist Series by Jerry Ahern

Before truck stop theologians Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins collaborated on their cockamamie best-seller series “Left Behind”, the world of post-apocalyptic fiction was concerned with only one thing: the Soviets and how they were going to annihiliate the planet with their atomic commie hubris. In popular culture, this has probably been most popularly exhibited in the ‘84 film Red Dawn, featuring the classic ragtag group of high school students (featuring hearthrobs Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen) repelling an Ivan invasion with little more than the weapons and equipment they managed to grab from the local camping store. While saving ‘merica from a highly-trained military force with nothing but youth, moxy and Eagle Scout skills seems a bit far-fetched, Jerry Ahern’s violent, psychedelic freefall into a Cold-War-nuclear-exchange-aftermath world filled with mutant biker gangs, roving bands of cannibals, cryogenic time travel, vision quests, Atlantis, doomsday viruses, rumors of alien visitation and Nazi resurgence blows it right out of the Red October-patrolled water. But most importantly: The series is painstakingly technically accurate.

The gentleman who sold us these marvelous books slid them across the counter to us with just one sentence: “I learned a lot of important shit from reading these.” And we bet he did. Jerry Ahern (who was briefly president of weapons manufacturer Detonics) cut his teeth writing articles for magazines such as “Guns & Ammo” and “Handguns” and also managed to find some time away from the firing range to punch out a bunch of non-fiction books concerning firearms, firearms operation, firearms care, firearms safety, firearms customization, firearms concealment, proper detection of concealed firearms, ad infinitum. So much so that these novels occasionally read like trade magazines (”Annie’s double holsters were at her hips, one carrying a Beretta 92F 9mm, the other a Detonics Scoremaster .45. There was an M-16 swung to her back”) when not exhibiting some of the most astounding dialogue that’s ever graced this bookstore (”Now what would a nice young lady like you know about Neutron bombs?”). Our protagonist, John Rourke, is clearly the manifestation of Jerry’s most tersosteronic of male fantasies, through whom Mr. Ahern tries to teach the captive reader a whole lotta something about- you got it -SURVIVAL! By endowing Rourke with ex-CIA status and a medical doctor’s degree, the author has free reign to display his knowledge of game hunting, sniper operations, field surgery, man-trap setting, weapons smuggling, unarmed combat, diving, bomb disposal and so on and so forth. One could consider the series to be the digested narrative of the entire Paladin Press catalog. Arguably, some of the methodology he portrays could be completely illegitimate and mearly gleaned from some whiskey-slicked poker games with some fellow armchair warhawks, but Mr. Ahern seems to carry a well-respected name in the trades and probably owns a lot of guns, so we won’t mess with him here.
But let’s face facts: with the headlines bleeding with threats of global banking collapse and environmental devastation, who can afford NOT to read these books? At least your fellow refugee survivors will think you know what you’re talking about, and we all know that’s the basis for effective leadership.

“A missile contrail vectored for the Soviet gunship’s underbelly, and then the air pulsed with the explosion. The corners of John Rourke’s mouth upturned. ‘Eat it,’ he whispered.” -Book 17: The Ordeal

THE SURVIVALIST! Macho. Factual. Bizzare. Entertainingly jingoistic. 16 seperate volumes at $2.75 a pop. Learn something this autumn!

We aren’t always in the business of recommending movies and tv shows to our customers here at Myopic; above all, we are firm believers in the inner plasma screen served by the antennas and wires that lie naturally between the printed word and the human mind. But, we like the moving pictures too, you know. Especially when they are well done! Recently at the local video emporium (North Coast Video, here in Chicago…great selection!), our eyes scanning ‘pon the racks settled on the new-ish 7 episode HBO mini-series about the life of founding father John Adams. With Paul Giamatti playing the title role and Laura Linney starring as his amazing wife Abagail, this was an easy rental choice.

And we are happy to report that the enterprise is a resounding success! If you are in the pursuit of video happiness, get to watchin’ this ASAP. Featuring a supporting cast worthy of a true Hollywood epic, this series treats the era with respect and the founders’ devotion with sincerity. The costuming and historical details are uncanny…Tom Wilkinson (delightfully) chewing the scenery as Ben Franklin is alone worth the price of admission. The script is also, needless to say, very well done. Based on the award-winning biography by David McCullough, the film (with a few tasteful embellishments) hews closely and accurately to American history.

Honestly, we must admit to you that the story of America’s founders and the decades of uncertainty and struggle for independence never quite gets old to our eyes and ears. No amount of boring high school history lessons can ruin the drama and ultimate suspense of the era and it’s citizens and their timeless struggles. As the Fourth of July holiday and election season approches on the horizon, we are glad to be able to see ever more clearly the events of so long ago and how they still shape our lives and our nation’s destiny.

Just a few days remain before one of the great summer city rituals here in Chicago…the annual White Sox/Cubs series! The rivalry between the two teams is what you might call a little…intense. Geography has a lot to do with it…but hardly explains the breadth of insanity. People get kinda nuts about these games. Like wear t-shirts with dirty words about the enemy/throw stuff at your neighbor’s kids/get wasted on cheap beer and hurl abuse at the elderly kinda intense. Bookstore loyalty is pretty sharply divided, of course. On game days, we have to avoid getting too riled up so the customers don’t panic. Leonard the bookstore cat hides under the couch, and comes out sometime in late August…you know, when the Cubs are always well out of contention. Just kidding! See, folks? It can be brutal.

So, how best to get prepared for bragging and jabbing at the supporters of the other team? We have a few ideas. Eat lots of encased meats, naturally, and bone up on your baseball knowledge! You already know about hot dogs “chicago style” (don’t you?), but how about “Baseball Chicago Style: A Tale of Two Teams One City”? Writers Jerome Holtzman and George Vass scope out the histories of both of Chicago’s storied franchises. These are both writers you can trust…Holtzman is the official historian of Major League Baseball, and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Heck, he even wrote the Encyclopedia Britannica entry about the national pastime! George Vass is a longtime Chicago sports scribe, with 50 years between the pages of the Chicago Daily News and Chicago Sun-Times. And what a tale they weave!

From the Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series to the Steve Bartman ball, it’s all here. Every stitch of glory, every thread of defeat and the unshakably stubborn hometown pride despite decades without a title (until 2005, that is) reflected upon by two of the games best scribes…who could ask for a better tome about Chicago baseball? Written after the 2004 season, the book covers over a century of baseball in sharp, bite-sized chapters. Stop in and take a look today!

One of the best kept secrets at Myopic is our extensive collection of biographies housed in our becobwebbed basement. Filling over 20 bookcases, the biography section is teeming with journals, letters and memoirs (in addition to bios) of historical figures, writers, philosophers, politicians, and other interesting folk. A recent publication caught our “near-sighted” eyes: Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie. An American human rights activist, Corrie worked with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine, a nonviolent resistance group using human shields to protect Palestinian homes from demolition. Rachel Corrie died in one such operation in Gaza in 2003; she was bulldozed by an Israeli soldier and died shortly after. The British newpaper The Guardian found Rachel’s story so compelling they began publishing some of Corrie’s emails and letters. In 2005, British journalist Katherine Viner and English actor and director Alan Rickman adapted her writings for the stage in the one-woman play My Name is Rachel Corrie. However, it wasn’t until this year, 2008, that Corrie’s journals themselves were published. A remarkably articulate woman, Corrie’s journals encompass her childhood poetry, her angst-ridden college rants, and her passionate advocacy for the cause that claims her life. Like A Woman in Berlin, the diary of an anonymous woman living through the bombing and occupation of Berlin, or Slavenka Drakulic’s memoir on the wars in former Yugoslavia, The Balkan Express, Corrie describes horrific living circumstances and extreme situations; and like both of these women who preceded her, she does so with nuance and grace. She chooses to describe people and situations in all their wonderful contradictions and complexities, and in doing so, she creates a work that steers clear from didacticism and allegory, and is instead a work of pure humanity and beauty.