Group Post: Author You've Read the Most Books From

For the next 26 weeks, we're focusing our group posts on the "A-Z Bookish Survey," created by Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner.

So, let's start at that very fine place to start, the beginning with "A" and the author you've read the most books from?

35 by Edgar Rice Burrows followed by a hefty amount of Stephen King and Tom Clancy.

35 by Stephen King, followed by 14 by Rick Riordan, 9 by Brandon Sanderson

35 by Lynn Kurland

I'm not even sure to count it but about 100 Nancy Drew books Carolyn Keane, followed by 33 L.M. Montgomery

About 63 books by Ann M. Martin

I'm definitely an Ann M. Martin too! I used to read a book day over the summers in Jr/Sr. High School

Until Jessica and Nancy told me their responses, I was overlooking the obvious choice in Ann M. Martin as well.  I own over 150 of her Baby Sitter's Club books and well over 200 Sweet Valley High/University by the the various ghostwriters using the pseudonym Francine Pascal.   If we're discounting pseudonyms, I've read 26 Michael Connelly novels.

But what about you?  Comment below with the author, you've read the most books from and let's keep the conversation going!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!  We'd like to wish you all a wonderful holiday as we share some of our favorite Christmas song with you.

Rachel enjoys the Bright Eyes version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
 
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Rachel also shares my love of 80's music and notes "Do They Know It's Christmas," by Band Aid is one of her favorites.  However, it's kind of scary to look back and see how young everyone looks.  Bono looks like a kid here.



I also love "Christmas Wrapping," by the Waitresses but "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," by David and Bing Crosby is my all-time favorite.  It was part of Bing's last Christmas special before he passed away.  The lyrics are just beautiful. 




And once you hear "Christmas Conga," by Cyndi Lauper, you'll never get it out of your head.



Alan is a fan of "Thank God It's Christmas," Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song," and Bing Crosby's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" plus "Blue Christmas" by Seymour Swine and the Squealers.  




Jess P. feels jolly whenever she hears Burl Ives sing "Holly Jolly Christmas" and the Trans Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas Canon."



Jess B. enjoys "Carol of the Bells," as performed by the Barenaked Ladies.



Jennifer P. gets into the spirit with "Where Are You Christmas,' by Faith Hill.



Rebecca T. our Muppet maven loves, "Bless Us All," from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and also the traditional hymn "O Come Emmanuel,"  she sent me a link to her new favorite version.





And finally Naomi shared her favorite Christmas song, "Either Reindeer," by The Knife and "Christmas Unicorn," by Sufjan Stevens, I had never heard of either of them but they're unique and interesting just like Naomi.




Now, let's hear from you!! What are your favorite Christmas songs?  Please share with us.  

We Got the Beat

In addition to books, we also sold a lot of music at Borders.  It was my job to set up the new music displays each week and often the current popular music baffled me.  Other than Lady GaGa, I can't think of a current artist who I really enjoy.  I decided to find out what the BWOBNY crew likes to listen to and we'd love to hear from you as well.

 
Alan rocks out to the legendary Queen and AC/DC. 

Albert enjoys the band NOFX, which he calls "a classic."

Jennifer P. kicks it up to Gaelic Storm, Nightwish, and Christina Perri.

Naomi likes to mix it up with Switchfoot, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Of Monsters and Men but her favorites change depending on her mood. 

Rachel, who often brought her favorite mix-tapes (CDs) to play in the store has many favorites including: Bright Eyes, Pickwick, The Black Keys, M. Ward, My Morning Jacket, Coheed and Cambria, Feist, Fleet Foxes, The Dear Hunter, and Kimbra.

Rebecca meanwhile taps her foot to the sounds of Christian rock band Mercy Me. 

I'm obsessed with 80's bands especially Duran Duran, The Go-Go's and Berlin.  I also love British rocker Robbie Williams.  






What tunes are you guys interested in?  Please share with us!

Playing Favorites

About a year ago, we learned our beloved Borders would be closing.  Over five years we shared a lot of laughs, love and met some very interesting customers.  For this week's group post, I polled the BWOBNY crew and asked them to share their favorite customer service moment.

"One was when a very lovely lady bought a book about how to find the right man, and then asked me out for coffee. But probably the most memorable moment was when another woman paid for a book by dumping about 5 dollars worth of pennies out of her bag, and an old soda bottle, right on the counter, along with old soda residue, and a suspicious looking hair."




Jennifer P: "Mine is from [when I was working at] Waldenbooks, there was a little boy who would not let go of his book, so mom picked him up and we scanned him too. It's the little things."  

Jess B: "Mine was the day that a customer yelled at me since Einstein was shelved in science and not psychology and that Einstein was a psychologist. After I explained that physicist's study physics and that psychologist study psychology, she still didn't believe me and walked off."


"A woman walked into the kids room where I was working and whispered to me 'I need help finding a book for my little girl about the changes.' I brought her over to the section and then stayed with her until she had gotten the right book for her. I sat on the floor with her and went through the section book by book. She was appreciative for the effort and thanked me profusely, and even told [my boss] about what a big help I was to her."




Rachel: "... my favorite customer is obviously [Giovanni] because he was always so sweet and genuinely cared about all of us."  

Note: Giovanni aka pastry guy was a  generous customer who always brought us tons of goodies from his bakery and tried to help us clean up the store, even though it was our job.  If you're reading this Giovanni, we miss you and hope you're doing well.


 

"... when a young girl, maybe 12 or so came up to me and asked for help with her summer reading list because 'you helped me pick a book out last year and it was really good so I trust you to help me find a good one again.' That one actually made me tear up a little."

As for me, I loved helping customers find just the book they were looking for.  One of my favorites was a teenaged girl who came in once a week with her dad.  She reminded me of myself, at that age, as her dad purchased a stack of books for her that she polished off by the following week.  After awhile, she was looking for new suggestions and I was more than happy to recommend my favorite YA titles.  She'd come back the following week and tell me how much she liked them and wanted to know what I was reading this week.  


As you can see, most of our experiences were positive.  Perhaps, next time we'll share some more customer horror stories?  Jess B's was actually pretty tame.   

Go Fourth and Read Great Books !

Sorry to post so late but I just spent a wonderful day in nearby Goshen, NY at there annual, Great American Weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.  It is a wonderful event full of crafts, antiques, and yummy goodies.  The hot-dogs and baked good sold the Goshen United Methodist Church are simply the best I've ever had.  If you're in our neck of the woods tomorrow, stop by.  You won't be disappointed.

Now I'm back at home with a stomach full of delicious goodies and fireworks are going off at the nearby racetrack.  In the midst of all the festivity, it's important to stop and appreciate the true meaning of this holiday.  July 4th is Independence Day.  It's a day to remember the adoption of the Declaration of the Independence on July 4th, 1776 and celebrate the freedom and privilege that came with it.  I polled my fellow bloggers to see what works of literature, other than the Declaration of Independence, celebrates American Patriotism to them. 

Jennifer P. and Jessica P. both agree on the summer reading classic, "Johnny Tremain." The children's novel follows fourteen year old Tremain, a newpaper delivery boy and messenger to the Sons of Liberty in the days leading up to the American Revolution.

Meanwhile, Albert recommends "Johnny Got His Gun," by Dalton Trumbo which is the story of young American soldier's horrifying experiences in World War I.

Rachel suggested the John Steinbeck depression-era classic, "The Grapes of Wrath," and the "Felicity" stories by Valerie Tripp from the "American Girl" collection.  The series follows young Felicity Merriman as she grows up in Williamsburg, VA during the years 1774-1776.

Finally, I think anyone looking for a great historical, patriotic read should check out any one of David McCullough's works.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for "1776," is certainly a perfect read for the holiday.





Now we'd like to hear from our readers.  What book celebrates American Patriotism to you?