Many citizens of our fair nation have by now,or are about to,received their economic stimulus check from the government and are considering ways to spend that extra chunk of cash. An interesting and practical way could be to invest in the future development of an independent bookstore in Brooklyn.
My enterprising literary friend, Jessica Stockton Bagulo,aka Book Nerd,has been working towards that goal for quite awhile now and hopes that book lovers out there would like to use some of that cash to help her in her quest.
Very much like a PBS fund raiser,you can choose what amount you would like to give and get either buying power and/or swag(a signed book,
mix tape, T shirt,etc)from the future store. For more info,you can go to her blog,The Written Nerd,or go right to the website set up for this project,Stimulating Reading, to see if this is the right way for you to put those intended economy boosting bucks in motion.
If you'd prefer to use the funds for more personal desires,I have a few other ideas about that as well:
SUPER HERO STIMULUS PACKAGE
Want to extend the summer movie superhero love outside of the multiplex? Then start off with a celebration of one of the classic comic book artists of our time,Steve Ditko,in the new Fantagraphics coffee table collection,Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko by Blake Bell.
Shipping out in June,this extensive book goes over the 55 years of Ditko's career and not only mentions his days working with Stan Lee to create such characters as Doctor Strange and Spiderman(Ditko also worked on a number of DC characters,too)but many of the other projects he's done that didn't get as much recognition. A must read for comic art true believers out there.
For those seeking some unique glassware,Toon Tumblers offers a line of Marvel Comics character glasses,with the likes of Spiderman,Ghost Rider,DareDevil and the X-Men available. They also have classic cartoon characters like Little Lulu,Underdog and Rocket J. Squirrel. Toon Tumblers makes special edition glasses for Comic Con,and I am the proud owner of their Iron Man NYC Comic Con one. Good for display,or for pouring your favorite cold drink
into this summer.
The long awaited Heroes action figures will be sold exclusively at Toys R Us in June and the chain will also have two exclusive figures,Fire Rescue Claire and Times Square Teleport Hiro. Other characters from the show that will be in doll size include Peter Petrelli,Mohinder and everybody's favorite brain eating evil genius,Sylar. Might be fun to have own private Heroes battle while you wait for Season Three to start.
DVD DELIGHTS
Instead of standing in line for the Sex and The City movie,why not invest in some nostalgia and scoop up the complete series of Sarah Jessica Parker's teen sitcom,Square Pegs? Cast interviews are included,plus you can enjoy such celebrity appearances from Devo,Father Guido Sarducci and The Waitresses.
Also, if you're doubtful about how good the new Indiana Jones movie will be,there's a spanking new "Adventure" collection of the first three films to add to your home video library.
Plenty of new bonus features and behind the scenes shorts are included,along with a few promos for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,of course. You might want to grab a copy before they're all sold out and have to resort to an auction to find one:
The wickedly funny yet underrated John Waters true crime parody,Serial Mom,has it's
very own special edition DVD,with two commentaries from the director himself. Kathleen Turner gives one of her most memorable performances as the title character,a Martha Stewart type of impulse killer who becomes a media darling. The musical version of this film should be interesting,indeed:
PILE ON THOSE NOVEL PRE-ORDERS
Lots of hot new titles will be on the shelves soon,and it's a good time to place your order for those much needed beach books for your summer vacation.
Jane Green's latest novel is appropriately called The Beach House and the story line centers around Nan,a long time Nantucket native who decides to rent out some of the rooms in her rambling old house for summer. Nan's looking for some company and boy,does she find it and then some!(June 17)
Lewis Black will be back in the humor section with another book of his interesting thoughts and rants about life,Me Of Little Faith.
Due out on June 3,Black takes on religion,politics and current events with his usual calm,cool and collected insights. Here's an example of that,as Black gives would be writers some advice on the creative process:
For all of you Temeraire fans out there,July 8 is the official release date for the fifth book in Naomi Novik's series,Victory of Eagles. This one will be coming out in hardcover instead of the usual paperback but don't despair,folks. It's a sign that the series is doing very well and should be a real treat to beat the heat(yes, I'm a poet and I know it).
Well,however you chose to use your economic stimulus funds,be sure to take full advantage of the opportunities that it opens up to you:
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