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Knowledge is Power: Consider Us Your Armory. This is one of seven messages about books, reading, independent businesses, and Weller Book Works we promoted when we moved from our former site on Main Street to our present home in Trolley Square.
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Mindless Zombies are Among Us. There is Only One Cure. Maybe you found a free copy of Héctor Tobar’s Barbarian Nurseries under the dust jacket we designed for that 2011 Farrar Straus and Giroux title. Maybe you found the gift on January 9th, 2012. | |
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Don’t Take Candy or Anything Else from Corporate Strangers! These pithy messages were crafted as we worked toward the fifth location of our bookstore. We were founded in 1929 and the bookstore most readers remember moved to Main Street, our fourth location, in 1961. I grew up in that bookstore and when we realized we would need to move and reinvent in 2009, many of our colleagues in the trade had already closed their doors. The relocation was one of the most daunting projects we have ever undertaken. And no previous move was ever so big. Moving was very costly and we hoped that our customers would not lose track of us. We executed the move in ten days, but it took a few years to rebuild business we lost.
Self-promotion does not appeal to me– I have too little staked in ego. Nonetheless, moving our bookstore was scary and we could not have afforded to fail. From books, I learned to seek the bright side even of accidents. Moving the bookstore was a necessity but, despite the weight of the task and the accompanying worry, we sought some fun to promote our shop.
Another part of my life was invested in art. Go ahead and throw vegetables: I perpetrated performance art, including guerrilla projects, believing that art out of context had greater potential to affect. Anyone pick up a little green rock at the University of Utah in 1987?
Publishers may collect big payments from corporate retailers but they realize that collectively independent bookstores have the best reading intuition and that 1,000 plus indies is likely more stable than 1,000 singlecorp megaboxes. To assist us with rebranding and survival, six publishers made gifts to facilitate our cool bookstore guerilla promotion. The generous publishers were Algonquin, Chronicle, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Norton, Simon & Schuster, and Gibbs Smith.
Our publisher friends contributed almost 1,000 books to our move. We designed new dust jackets for each title. The Only Thing Better than that New Book Smell is that Old Book Smell was designed to laud the physical book. The dust jackets’ front panels had custom art, while the rear panels promoted the publisher and the book’s title. The flaps elucidated our main messages, promoted Weller Book Works, and a social media activity to track books found in the city.
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With our staff and publicity team, we crafted seven brief messages to promote books, reading, us, and local businesses. For each we commissioned custom art to help the you-gotta-think message to stick in a person’s mind. Because, A Book Is the Best Tool to Sharpen a Dull Mind. | |
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We put a lot of work into this project but, alas, it didn’t receive the notice for which we hoped. Anyhow, here is what and how we did: Eighteen dark-clad operatives convened on the night of Sunday, January 8th, 2012, just days after Weller Book Works opened in Trolley Square. Nine teams of two each received approximately one hundred specially jacketed books and a map highlighting high traffic locations and showing which portion of our city to canvas.
Guidelines were that books should be left in public places where there is activity. We did not to get creative or target individuals. In the dark of the night, our biblio-guerillas distributed nearly 1,000 free books in neighborhoods between 600 West and 23rd East, from the upper Avenues to 1300 South. We made special forays to Foothill, Sugarhouse, North Temple, and the airport. It was a cold night but the excitement of our activity kept us warm.
Acknowledging the associated risk with covert delivery of packages in the night, I chose the riskiest sites but no one busted me at either the LDS Church Office Building or the Salt Lake City Police Station.
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I Know a Good Book I Can Set You Up with.
On the morning of January 9th, our fourth day of business in our new location, we excitedly waited for the social media to begin and whatever community response might be heard. It’s hard to imagine so many books not being found but we like to think persons enjoyed reading them.
This was fun work and we are still grateful to friends who crept around in the dark gifting books with us. Recently the project came up in conversation. It was suggested that I describe it here.
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Does This Book Make My Brain Look Big? | |
RECEIVE 20% OFF WHEN YOU PURCHASE DURING MAY AND JUNE | |
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By Kaveh Akbar
Knopf Publishing Group
Hardcover $28.00
Best Wellers' Price $22.40
Reviewed by Ceci Rigby
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Cyrus Shams knows death: he lost his mother after her passenger aircraft was shot down over the Persian Gulf; he lost his father to alcoholism and to an unfulfilled promise of the American dream; and he is losing himself to addiction. As he tries to move closer to sobriety, the reality of grappling with loss and the absurdity that preceded it comes with. How cruel that a plane full of civilians can turn into dust and toxic American idealism can turn a bright man into a shell of his former self– forced to kill chickens on a Midwestern factory farm. This forced reckoning brought upon by his newly found sobriety has Cyrus depressed and occupied with thoughts of suicide. But after the senseless deaths that preceded him, he is determined to make his matter. An obsession with martyrdom overtakes him as he dives into the lives of Bobby Sands, Joan of Arc, and other famed heroes past: what gives death meaning? Can art? Can love? Can nothing at all? But Cyrus is a poet, after all, and channels these questions into what will become his final project: The Book of Martyrs.
What follows are encounters with Rumi, Lisa Simpson, and taking fentanyl before mowing lawns in your underwear. But Cyrus’ most important encounter is with Orkideh, an artist who is transforming her slow, inevitable death from breast cancer into a Marina Abromović-esque performance art piece in the Brooklyn Museum. Drawn to this unique mode of imbuing death with meaning, Cyrus travels to New York expecting to gain insight into his own project through his interactions with Orkideh. What they both get instead is an act of mutual transformation.
Kaveh Akbar delivers an incredible literary debut, and gave me one of the most introspective and meaningful reading experiences of my recent memory. His humor and poetic prowess are the lights that allow readers to navigate the darkness of this story a little more comfortably; you still encounter horrors, sure, but they’re a little easier to digest when you shine a beam in their eyes and blind them for a second.
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The more we apply perception the more interesting the things become. For more than fifty years, I have been examining books in my efforts to understand their relevance, their claims on our imaginations, and how to survive in a bookstore. When younger, I believed I understood my own taste and desire. If one resists early closing of the mind, maybe one will be lucky enough to find the flaws in one’s certainties. My wide-scope obsessions have prevented me from specializing in any field. I cannot imagine narrowing the breadth of my experience. Now, I happily parse near anything on paper and take joy in the reckoned appeal inferred from unusual discoveries.
So here is another small batch of very interesting items we have acquired recently. Picking them is not easy and the topics swing around greatly. Nothing on this list is not scarce and praiseworthy. Nothing here is not the best price or superior copy.
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Both of Lewis Carroll’s Alice titles, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in Peter Pauper Press editions circa 1950. Through the Looking Glass is easy enough to locate but Alice is not. Slight chipping, browned backstrips, both books, $300 | | |
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In 1947, Peter Pauper Press published 985 copies of a small folio of The Four Gospels for subscribers. The slipcased book contains marvelous wood engravings by Hans Alexander Mueller. Covers have a bold repeating design of Mueller’s as well. Beautifully printed in bold black and red. $75 | |
You will find other 1st edition copies of Edward Abbey’s beloved Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness but not often will they be as bright or inexpensive as the copy we are offering here. The worst flaw is an inch closed tear in the rear panel of the dust jacket. $775 (We also offer a great copy of Gibbs Smith’s 1981 reprint in hardcover for $100) | |
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1955 Caldecott Award winner Cinderella, translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown. An extremely well kept 1st edition with previous owner’s name rubberstamped on endsheets, in an unclipped dust jacket with light chipping. $800 | |
Rare 1993 Desert Island reprint on the phantom world, Augustin Calmet’s 18th century Treatise on Vampires and Revenants. Near fine hardcover in dust jacket. Hard to locate. $500 | |
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Book-lovers and collectors meet in the Rare Book department for the Collectors' Book Salon the last Friday of each month, January through October. We begin casually around 6:30 PM with socializing, light refreshments, and shared bibliolust. At 7:15, an invited bibliophile leads the Collectors' Chat about a topic of their particular knowledge and passion. Each Salon, Tony offers a special deal on rare books that is only for Salon guests. | |
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Zippo Given is occasionally seen in Salt Lake bookstores on slow days and sometimes in the back row of a literary event. He loves the mountains, bourbon, and plastics. His reading interests include Gothic Horror, prosey cookbooks, and dense nearly comprehensible works. Since his youth, he has collected books. He will not admit how many he owns. Mr. Given has agreed to give the Collector’s Chat during our Collectors Book Salon on May 31st. Securing this commitment was difficult. We don’t know what he will choose to share.
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Sandro Larson is a retired ski bum, baker, and mailman. He explores the marvelous world and haunts marvelous bookstores which he has done since discovering Sam Weller’s on Main Street in the late 1970s. It is unclear whether he be hoarder or collector. Sandro has permitted momentary impulses to direct his reading, he is attracted to books in such myriad ways: content, cover, type face, or a book’s physical history gets his attention and gives him joy. Join us on June 28th to hear about Sandro’s life with books and see some he values.
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By Ursula K. Le Guin
Clarion Books
Paperback $15.99
Review by Wade Brown
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Long before Harry Potter got his invitation to Hogwarts, a boy named Ged studied at the renowned School for Wizards on the Island of Roke.
Ursula K. Le Guin was a Grand Master of Fantasy and Science Fiction literature. Nearly thirty years before Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, she published A Wizard of Earthsea, the first in her beloved Earthsea Cycle.
In the pre-industrial archipelago of Earthsea, a young boy named Duny displays magical talent and catches the attention of the mage Ogion. After giving the boy his “true name,” Ged, the wizard suggests he attend the school on Roke. Undeniably talented but also impatient and impulsive, Ged enrolls at the school. There, he runs into trouble immediately: manifesting a malevolent shadow creature that threatens not only himself and those around him, but perhaps the whole of Earthsea.
Although marketed initially as a book for children, A Wizard of Earthsea is just as enjoyable for adolescents and adults. The world created in the book is remarkably tactile and immersive, its people recognizably human in their aspirations and failings. Le Guin pushed boundaries her whole life. Before the genderfluidity in her masterpiece The Left Hand of Darkness, she made her hero in Earthsea dark-skinned. That certainly would’ve been unexpected in 1968 mainstream America!
I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy stories, especially those who enjoyed Harry Potter but have been disheartened by his creator. Forget Hogwarts, Earthsea is waiting for you.
The Earthsea Cycle includes: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind.
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) ❤️
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By Paul Lynch
Atlantic Monthly Press
Hardcover $29.00
Review by Dylan Parry
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Paul Lynch’s newest novel, and winner of the 2023 Booker Prize, tackles some of the ongoing crises we face in our real world, such as the rise of authoritarianism, mass immigration, and unabashed xenophobia in a not too distant future Irish Republic.
Set in Dublin, we follow Eilish Stack, a scientist and mother, who’s life is turned upside down when her trade unionist husband (a teacher of all things) is picked up by agents of the new Irish government’s gestapo-esque secret service for what seems like nothing: speaking up against the new government. What follows is a series of seemingly unstoppable and unavoidable events, that pits Eilish against this new reality, as well as her children who deal with the almost overnight shift in their own ways. Pulling no punches, Lynch’s story of Eilish and her family is heart wrenching and bleak. Yet, the prose Lynch writes is poetic and flows from one tragedy to the next with ease.
As in the real world, the moments of relief Eilish gets are short lived and never without moments of fear, paranoia, and uncertainty in what she should — let alone can — do next. From blacklists, fascist hooligans, and more, Eilish knows that the one thing she must do is survive.
A great allegory for today’s ongoing crises, Lynch gives us a glimpse into what many people in places like Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Gaza face day-to-day. Setting Prophet Song in a modern western nation, Lynch looks to show us just how easy it is to fall into an authoritarian hell-scape, even in a country thought to be seemingly safe from such things, like Ireland.
This is a book not to be overlooked.
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By John Scalzi
Tor Books
Paperback $18.99
Review by Alechia Brulé
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Do you hate late-stage capitalism, the 1%, and meetings that could have been an email? Then, you're probably not cut out to inherit a supervillain empire. But, you may enjoy this book.
Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: ultra rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
Charlie, our reluctant protagonist, is the sole heir to his mysterious uncle's business and all he has to do for the inheritance is attend the funeral. Simple, right? Not for Charlie who gets bombarded with See you in hell floral arrangements and stab-happy attendees. "He was dead when he arrived here... do you expect that condition to change?"
This is my first Scalzi book and I was captured by the sharp dialogue. The author has a way with taking a ridiculous premise and making it relatable and, of course, humorous. Charlie has the same frame of reference of villains as we. Obviously though, cartoons and action movies are not very practical help. He gets no forewarning or on-the-job training, however, this substitute teacher has life skills like dissociating and skepticism to help. Charlie navigates cats in corporate and double-crossing rivals with a snarky and jaded attitude. "...wait, is there a plot to take over the world with a giant laser?" and "I mean, I need to have a video conference where I'm belittled and threatened first,... but after that I'm free."
I also appreciated the breezy critical comments on things from single use plastics and Spotify, to nepotism and HR orientations. This is a ridiculous, entertaining, and fast paced read that would cure a reading slump.
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By Ben Counter
Games Workshop
Paperback $9.99
Review by Thomas Moore
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In January, the Horus Heresy series received its final installment. Eighteen years ago, this storyline was only just beginning. Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill delivered the first two books detailing the rise of Horus, but Ben Counter takes on the task of completing this opening narrative trilogy with Horus' ambition unleashed. Galaxy in Flames is jaw-droppingly good. The book is a brutal tale of trust betrayed and terrible destinies made manifest.
Horus Lupercal, son of the Emperor, Warmaster of his father's galactic crusade, has summoned three of his brothers and their legions to the Istvaan system. Here, they will make war against a rebellious populace that has refused Imperial compliance. Garviel Loken, an officer of the Sons of Horus, finds himself estranged from his leader, but is nevertheless appointed to take part in the ground attack alongside his closest allies. As the battle commences, some of the warriors begin to question the necessity of such a large mustering of legions, and further, the deployments planned for the final assault. A few of Loken's confidants oversee the fighting from the orbital fleet, only to discover a hidden plot that threatens to turn an apparent victory into a disastrous tragedy. With communications down, will a warning reach the surface in time? When unforeseen weapons are brought to bear, the conflict will become a desperate last stand that will send shockwaves across the galaxy.
Counter's book concludes the first arc of the series in heart-wrenching fashion. The first two books told of the spark, and this book ignites the fire of galactic civil war. Even for those uninterested in the rest of the series, there is so much to be enjoyed in just these first three. Many of the characters are developed in interesting, often bittersweet ways, fittingly changed from their first introduction to this book's conclusion. The overall narrative is full of grim circumstances and horror, but is also suitably epic.
The Horus Heresy does not end here, and in fact the next few books are closely entwined with the events of this one. That said, unfortunately the first three books are the only ones of the series semi-reliably kept in print. Most others are only available as used copies, with a few somewhat difficult to get ahold of. Regardless, I enjoy these books, and it is my sincere hope to inspire others to give them a try!
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By Snorri Sturluson
Translated by Jesse Byock
Penguin Group
Paperback $18.00
Review by Apollo Frenzel
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This one’s for all my Tolkien and D&D fans. Many people know about Neal Gaiman’s book Norse Mythology, and while it is a great book, The Prose Edda is the resource for that book. It is the main collection of poetry, prose, and storytelling regarding Norse mythology, and really, Scandinavia as a whole. It was collected by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Snorri was an Icelandic historian and poet, as well as a powerful chieftain.
Everything in the fantasy genre regarding elves, dwarfs, and giants, most likely came from this source. Tolkien was inspired to create his universe from these stories, as well as many other renowned fantasy authors. Another interesting thing: most of our language that we use every day was derived from Norse mythology. For example, this book shows us the reason why our cardinal directions are named “North, South, East, and West.” If you want to get into dragons, dwarves, elves, and gods, this is it!
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Your path is written in the stars, and so is your next book recommendation! Consult the oracles of Weller Book Works and reveal what the cosmos hold for your future. These words aligned just for you. | |
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♉ TAURUS - Life will take a turn that you might not see coming, but don’t forget that you have all the support you need. The road will illuminate what matters most. Life and art are always interwoven, this is your time to create. Imagination is fleeting and fluid.
Enjoy these precious days.
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♊ GEMINI - Communication tends to be your strength, but be careful of making shallow connections. You might be questioning if you’ve taken the right path, be sure to trust your instincts. Stop trying to be something you’re not, those who matter will take you just the way you are.
Give yourself a chance.
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♋ CANCER - Let those in your life love you wholeheartedly. Stop boxing things in. Love comes in all different forms, and there’s more than one to show it. People will weave in and out of your story, and not all may stick around– but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there for a reason.
Beware of strong emotions during full moons.
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♌ LEO - You’re bold and larger than life. Magic exists inside you, don’t be afraid to let it out. You may feel trapped, but it is a labyrinth of your own making. Keep following your path and you’ll find your way out.
Don’t use google maps this week.
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♍ VIRGO - You have been chasing after an unattainable ideal lately. Perfection can be destructive. Beauty exists within our imperfections, your flaws are not your defects. Don’t be scared to challenge the ideals of others if they seek to hurt. Rid yourself of the fog that blinds you.
Don’t hold back from expressing anger and frustration. Memory is a powerful thing, let it propel you forward.
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♎ LIBRA - Stop fixating on balance and harmony. Obsession with beauty only leads to blindness in life. Use beauty as a tool and not as an anchor to others. To experience balance you must acknowledge your own blind pursuit of perfection.
Wear that new outfit you’ve been holding out for, there’s nothing more special and beautiful than today.
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♏ SCORPIO - It seems like you are constantly plotting several steps ahead in order to reach the end of the game, but living like that will run you ragged. You can’t force a checkmate. Don’t let the negative feelings make you possessive. Be careful not to get swept up in what’s hidden behind the curtain of normalcy.
Pick up a new hobby this month, like photography.
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♐ SAGITTARIUS - Your passion and curiosity will lead you toward exciting adventures. Make sure to blunt the sharpness of your brutal honesty, it could lead to big misunderstandings. Don’t hide the truth, but don’t wield it like a weapon. Accept the fundamental interconnectedness of all things and take in your surroundings.
Who knows what you could be missing?
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♑ CAPRICORN - Striving for perfection will get exhausting. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let yourself be human. Stop stressing yourself trying to do everything perfectly. Your mind is your greatest asset. Stop focusing on the little details and enjoy the big picture. This is your life, don’t miss it.
Pink is your lucky color this month.
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♒ AQUARIUS - You have been stuck in your own head lately, getting lost in the conversations of your daydreams. Get those voices out before they consume you. You’ve got a lot to say, write it down– it could grant you clarity one day. In the grand scheme of things, love outshines the bleakness of rage. An end isn’t always an end.
Be sure to travel safely.
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♓ PISCES - Your attention seems to be split between fantasy and reality. Don’t let the ups and downs of life overwhelm you. Embrace the joys and the pains, the hopes and the fears— but learn when it's time to let go. Stay grounded and alert. Splinters always come to those that are not afraid to reach out.
Problems can't be solved by hiding away.
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♈ ARIES - Your bold ambition will take you far, but be careful not to step on the toes of others. Take a minute to sit and ponder. Consider your options, delve deep to find what you truly desire and go for it.
The direction of your future may hinge upon what you say next.
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Click here for our May events newsletter.
And, as always, view our events calendar to see all of our upcoming events.
We host both virtual and in-person events, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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Come visit us!
SUNDAY 12-5
MONDAY-THURSDAY 10-8
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10-9
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Can’t make it to the store?
Support your local indie from home!
Order by phone or online, then pick up at the store or the curb! We also ship!
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Give us a call at 801-328-2586.
Shop new books on our website.
Browse our entire inventory of new, used and rare books on Biblio.com.
Listen to audiobooks from Libro.fm.
Read ebooks from Kobo.
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