Larchmere Boulevard is not lined with larch trees, but with thornless honey locust trees. They are attractive almost-wispy trees that can withstand bad soil, drought, huge temperature ranges, salt, AND they're fast growers.  I don't know how many elm trees died here on Larchmere in the '80s, but I do know the cross-street North Moreland was hit hard with dutch elm disease, and these trees on Larchmere are quite young.  They also have these fine little leaves, now turning golden yellow and falling to the sidewalks.  I witnessed one of my neighbors sweeping the sidewalk and street and dutifully pushing all the little leaves directly into the storm sewer.  I asked why he was clogging up the sewers, and he gave me that military "don't ask me, I'm just doing what I'm told" answer.  Honestly....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUDLIE!!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Harriett

Pudlie is officially one year old today.  That's right, that means today is BIRTHDAY CAKE DAY!  Pudlie and his mom Audrey came to help decorate Halloween windows at Loganberry last night, since being an autumnal baby, it is the official celebratory season.  So come by Loganberry for a feast of witches, black cats, crows, bats and pumpkins.  The windows are graveyard sparse, covered with a backdrop of well-named creepy cloth....  And happy birthday to Pudlie!

ELLIE AND HER ZENN
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Harriett

Ellie of Strong Bindery (here in the Loganberry building) got some cool local press about her all-electric car, the Zenn.  The Sun Press put this groovy photo on the front page of their edition today, probably because Ellie and the Zenn look so good in color, especially with the blue Lower Shaker Lake in the background.  ZENN stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise and lives up the the name.  Although it's governed top speed is 25mph (it's not crash-rated for highway driving), it provides everything a local commuter needs.  And in Ellie's case, the extra advertising earned from all the turning heads is probably worth the price of the car alone! 

TRAVELS IN INDIA, PART 2
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Jan 

Today we are in Agra. I have sent you a postcard of the harem rooms of Fort Agra. I thought you might like to stamp all over them. A sign at the fort tells how actually it was all all right because the ladies were paid for their services. So that means they were forced into serving in the harem at the disposal of the high muckety muck and any of his pals BUT never fear, they were paid. 

I love sharing the road with water buffalo, goats, and monkeys - all of which pass by quietly, stinkily, but sweetly.  Not so the men of India.  I keep saying "I'm a senior citizen for goodness sake!"  Leave the old lady in peace.

SEEKING NEW LOGANBERRY KIDS
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Harriett

Well, as you can see from the entry below, Becky found greener pastures (read: full time job with benefits).  That means we're short-staffed here again!  Anyone out there need a part-time job? 

Job Description:  cleaning & shelving of books, customer service, website updates (most especially Stump the Bookseller), basic upkeep and other glamorous retail tasks. 

Skills needed:  self-initiative, friendly and resourceful, basic computer skills (keyboarding, data entry, internet savvy, MS-Office tools, MS-Access a bonus).  Oh yeah, and a love of books and good alphabetizing skills!

About the photo:  you don't have to be a goat, but an appreciation of puns is a good thing around this many words.  Special thanks to Erika for a perfect kid photo.  (Applicants: bring/send a resume with a short paragraph of why you want to work at Loganberry Books.)

LATER 'GATER
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Becky

Only ten minutes left on my last day as a "regular" worker here at Loganberry! It has been a fun experience and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to work here! I've learned so many things, especially about children's authors (now I won't say Carle who?), and have greatly expanded my list of books that I must read some day. I definitely won't be a stranger to the store, and maybe I'll even be able to solve a stumper or two!

TRAVELER'S NEWS FROM INDIA
Monday, September 24, 2007
Jan

Have only arrived back in Delhi this hour but wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive and have learned to neither take a deep breath or use my nose for anything but blowing. I do not feel that this is what they were trying to teach me in the ashram that we visited yesterday but I chanted Hare Krishna with the best of them.

Dylan: ...I believe the last thing you told me was to stay out of the leper colonies. It had never occurred to me to go to a leper colony. BUT yesterday one of the monks (that Kate picked up or at least charmed while we were in Mussoorie) sent a taxi to our hotel in Haridwar which took us all the way to his ashram in Reshikesh (think Beatles). He wanted to show us all the good works that his Ashram was creating and the next thing [you know] we are driving up into the mountains to visit a leper colony. I am bringing back something for you.

The pollution here is shocking. Sometimes I feel I am breathing in soup. There doesn't seem to be any rules about hygiene. Most bodily functions are expressed quite publicly. Someone needs to start recycling and waste removal. Both Kate and I have suffered from some delhi belly stuff but we are improving. What doesn't kill you...

The people that I have met have been lovely, kind, interesting, helpful. Taxi drivers excluded.  The rickshaw does exist. I have now used about every variation of available vehicles.  The women look hostile until one smiles and says Nameste and then they are all smiles.  The men are under the illusion that all foreign women are fair game. One never looks a man in the face and must smile and be gracious to all the women.

I love the goats, cows, dogs and monkeys that are found in the railway stations and everywhere else (including the one that came in the window of our hotel room and stole the sugar bowl). It is important to identify whose poop one has just stepped in.

[I visited] Kempty Falls in Uttaranchal. I walked there from Binog Quail Sanctuary. About 15 km. My guide and I used the goat path along the side of the mountain. Goat paths are designed for and by goats. Cows use them also, so do monkeys. The trail ends at the top of the falls and then we had to work our way down the steep path that leads to one of the first sections. From there civilization cuts in and there are some steps and real paths.

Please kiss Madeline for me and tell her granma had a close encounter with a monkey.

IN THE NEWS
Friday, September 21, 2007
Harriett

Hey, we got some press!  I knew the Plain Dealer Friday Magazine was working on a composite piece on area bookstores, but I wasn't here when the writer came to visit.  Nonetheless, we made the cut and there's a glorious photo too (alas, no photos available in the online version).  Best quote:  "If Northeast Ohio bookstores were movie stars, Loganberry Books would be Lauren Bacall in the 1940s."  Okay, we can do that. 

REBECCA THE CRITIC
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Harriett

Rebecca has been invited to air reviews of Equity theatre productions for her former employer, WCLV.  So she gallantly went off to see the Cleveland Play House production of Man of La Mancha, and judging from seeing her the morning after, I gather she stayed up all night crafting her review!  We don't know if her efforts will receive air time because the Critic's Choice series is still seeking a sponsor, but the review is available online. (I'll try to refrain from making bad puns about the impossible dream.  OK, I'm done now.)

MS. BONES
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Harriett

Yeah, I know it's a tad early, but only a tad.  You see, I already have this great freshly-picked and hand-grown pumpkin (see below), and there were all these boxes full of Halloween supplies that look better distributed throughout the store than lying on the floor.  So, Ms. Bones has found a home where she can see the front door and keep an eye on everyone in the non-fiction room.  There's more to come, but this is a good start.  Funny how most people seem to miss the 12-foot spider...

HOME AGAIN 
Monday, September 17, 2007
Harriett

That's my goddaughter Suzie being a goofball.  But she did grow the pumpkin herself, and she let me take this one home!  The leaves are juust starting to turn in Vermont now, so Halloween season must be upon us.  When I arrived back at the shop this afternoon, we had several boxes of Halloweenie supplies, and we plan to decorate this year.  Black cats and purple witches!  Mmmmhhheeeheeee...

Thanks for holding down the fort, Rebecca and Becky!  Trip photos!

SIGNATURES
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Becky

If a signature is "something that serves to set apart or identify" (Merriam-Webster Online), then what is its purpose when it cannot be read, and therefore not associated with the person that is trying to be set apart? We are currently attempting to decipher a signature on the inside cover of a book that certainly looks impressive, but may turn out not to be that interesting at all. 

On this day in 1789, James F. Cooper was born. Happy 218th Birthday!

MY HOME
Friday, September 14, 2007
Becky

The store (and I!) survived Harriett's first afternoon away! Of course she left me a long list of things to do, but luckily some fun things, like updating the blog, were included! The picture is of the house that I grew up in, right after it was built in 1919. I think that there are ghosts in it, or at least some animal that likes to make noises at night. Or maybe I'm just paranoid because I slept in the attic and used to stay up late reading scary books?

DANBY
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Harriett

I'm on my way to Vermont for a few days.  I don't seem to get there as often as I used to, so it's nice to have even a few days earmarked for the tranquility of this treasured place.   So I thought I'd do a quick Google Image search for something from Danby, just some scenery, to post here on the blog.  I wasn't quite expecting to find two photos of my father pop up on the first page of results, both from the memorial page I created five years ago.  But yes, there is something very Logan about Vermont, and I will of course remember Dad as I head home to a place where none of us actually ever lived. 

PS:  Happy Chocolate Milkshake Day!

TIFFANY GIRLS 
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Harriett

Many of Tiffany's famous stained glass lamps were designed by a woman named Clara Driscoll?  She had a studio of ~35 girls to help execute these designs?  And there's a connection here to Kent State University in Ohio? 

Yup.  The lavish new book sets the record straight:  A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls by Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray, and Margaret K. Hofer accompanies an exhibit that recently closed at the New York Historical Society.  Thanks for the news. 

CUSTOMERS
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Harriett

Customers are funny.  Today's classic line was preceded by a less common disillusionment.  "Do you have a copy machine?"  It's an innocent question, and easy to answer, but the customer was quite taken aback that we do not, in fact, have full print services available at this used bookstore. 

Then he noticed we had books.  "Oh, these are old books.  Do you sell the old ones too?"  Yup, you got it now!  We sell books at this bookstore.  How many will you be needing today? 

LIZ ENTERS ADOLESCENCE
Monday, September 10, 2007
Harriett

When Rebecca began working for Loganberry, I think her daughter Liz was 8.  This weekend, Liz turned 13, and so has entered that graceful period known as adolescence.  She's been gearing up for this for some time of course, and is fabulously flippant about the milestone.

"So, you're an teenager now, are you?"
"Uh--I guess so."
Perfect.  Happy Birthday, Liz. 
[I hope to get her hooked on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.  So far, so good.]

THE DUHKS
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Harriett

A most excellent concert with The Duhks at Kent Stage last night.  The Canadian group had us rocking and tapping all night...  a wonderfully tight ensemble of fine musicians, each and every one of them.... I walked out with three new cds, rather extravagant even for me.... 

So, why do I have to drive from the metropolis of Cleveland to the small town of Kent to see a good concert? 

IN MEMORIAM:  MADELEINE L'ENGLE
Friday, August 7, 2007
Harriett

What a loss.  Madeleine L'Engle, age 88, died on Thursday.  Her famous books, The Wrinkle in Time quintet, had just been reissued in shiny new packages in May.  Almost a memorial edition.

L'Engle once said that writing “does indeed have something to do with faith: faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.”

We'll miss her and her stories.  And we'll miss Luciano Pavarotti's voice, too.  And their faith in the arts to heal and cheer our kind.

WRITERS NEED POSTAGE
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Harriett

I was tickled to discover a blogspot devoted to literary stamps.  I use to collect these myself, and hoard currencies that I could use. Godsey here has a nice international collection, with alphabetical listing. 

Great wallpaper! 

CORKBOARD UPDATE
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Harriett

The bi-annual Larchmere Sidewalk Sale was this Saturday, and we had tons of people here enjoying 20% off in the store, plus sidewalk specials (Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, hardcover, for $4.50!).  To entertain ourselves and others while staffing the outdoor spaces during the sale, we decided to continue work on the infamous corkboard.  We started this 4'x8' corkboard in late 2003 shortly after our move to the new space, and it hangs in the hallway near the newspaper racks and other free publicity materials.  Customers and friends have provided us with ample corks to finish the project, but the trick is working on it in a horizontal position so the glue has time to dry, which you can't do when you're using it as a corkboard on the wall. 

So, we're pleased to announce that Jan and friends have finished the corkboard project!  Well, almost.  See, someone began this champagne border, and we don't have quite enough champagne corks for the top edge.  So if you're drinking champagne, be sure to save us the corks!  :-)