first business in, my book stamp

One of my favorite things about collecting books over the years, are the stories about where the books have been. I have always tried to get books stamped by the independent book sellers, as a reminder of a trip I was on, or a store I discovered. It always seems to help put my changing tastes into context as to where I was. If they don't have a store stamp, I try to get a bookmark, or something, anything with the store's information. It is also quite fun to purchase a book in, say, Ashland, OR and find that it had been stamped by a store in Omaha. What a journey that book has made, and I begin to dream about the owners of the book.

One of the books i have that stands out is Baudelaire's Invitation to the Voyage. Inside the cover there is a hand written inscription that reads: " 17 May '01, Warmest first anniversary Jonathon! May our journey bubble always with "richness, quietness, and pleasure" suculent (sp), enduring love, Elisabeth"
Baudelaire, you wrecker of relationships!

Well, I received, in the mail today, the stamp i designed to go into my books. it is the image above. I still can't believe we are actually doing this.

In other news, I just ordered multiple copies of a a few of David Rovics' CDs. Along with that, I was accepted to be a distributor of AK Press' catalogue. This means that any items on AK Press' website can be purchased through me. I have been reading AK Press since around 1995 or so when one of the most influential bands in my life, Propagandhi, introduced them to me, and I have always admired the work they do. Check them out at www.akpress.org.

For now, keep reading!

i throw rocks.

sticks&stones books is an extension of sticks&stones publications, which is a small poet's press i started in 2003 in portland oregon. having left portland nearly two years ago, and moved to st. charles missouri, angela, my wife, and i have felt a loss and longing for many things portland had to offer. the one thing we missed most was powell's bookstore.

living where we live, there is a complete lack of leftist bookstores in our immediate area. we will drive ridiculously far just to go to a good bookstore, and knowing the joy of finding a good book, or just browsing for hours at books on a shelf, and realizing that a lot of people here are missing out on that experience, we decided to start tabling events with a selection of books that have changed the way we think, live and love.

our books are all used, and come from a variety of sources. we hope to keep books under $10, and most around $5. i will be posting an inventory with links to reviews, as well as writing my own. if you are reading this because you have purchased a book from our table, then please send me a review of that book, and i will gladly post it.

as we build, we hope to do a few things, one being open a real store or portable store, and another is to start donating good books to prisoners and soldiers. it is important that we understand not only who we are, but who others are as well, and books have always been a great source for information from around the world.

if you have a suggestion for a book that we should sell, let me know and i will read that book and look into it. i am particularly looking for good small press poetry books, and books concerning radical politics.

in the near future i will welcome other contributors to this site, mainly reviewers and people i generally think are brilliant. if you think you might be a good candidate, send me a sample of your reviews and i will let you know.

for now, keep reading.