Hi Everyone-

Well, the mechanic was relatively merciful last week-I got away with only a brake job. So my car owes me a few good months now.

I went to visit my parents on the Eastern Shore of Maryland this weekend. It's a fairly quiet time of year out there, so I got lots of reading done. I eagerly read most of Jed Perl's great recent book New Art City, about the Manhattan art scene of the 1950s and 60s. It's tremendously fascinating, one of those great books about a real nexus of genius that I for one find to be an irresistible subject. Perl provides sharply defined personal and professional portraits of such greats as Jackson Pollock, Willem deKooning, and Joseph Cornell, as well as dozens of the lesser known but no less interesting artists of the period. It's thoughtful, intelligent, and filled with colorful history, dramatic anecdotes, and provocative, jargon-free theory. The book is also highly opinionated-Perl sure doesn't like those Pop Artists-but that gives the book some of its kick. I strongly recommend New Art City, and we handily have it in stock. Drop by for a copy!

And by the way, have you noticed that Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore is now out in paperback? If you haven't read Murakami yet, you should. This novel, like all of his work, is half mystery, half dream, and all brilliant. And the New York Times Book Review picked it as one of the ten best books of 2005. Check it out.

Have a great week!

-Joe Murphy, Head Book Buyer