Excerpts from: Saving the Self in the Age of the Selfie

This is a long article, worth the effort. Turn off notifications before reading... Maybe you'll leave them off afterwards.

Saving the Self in the Age of the Selfie
The American Scholar, Cover story, Spring 2016 James McWilliams, February 29, 2016

"Even as digital distraction promises to alleviate boredom, it removes from the existential equation the founding prerequisite for identity development—the individual, alone, facing nothing."

"When the smartphone transports our consciousness elsewhere, which it does every time we pick it up to avoid the stress of isolation, our most private choices suddenly hew not to the undiscovered ambitions of a curious mind, but to the commercial designs of a data-driven cloud."

"Saving the self in the age of the selfie may require nothing more or less complicated than recovering the lost art of serious reading."

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

The year 2011 is putting me in mind of many symbolic things...

One is the loneliest number, but we've two ones, side-by-side. This should be a good year for couples, pairs, and friends. In fact, our first visitors of 2011 had never been in before, so we've made some new friends already. :-)

If you're reading this, you've probably been to Bonnett's at least once. Many people, sadly, have never visited our shop, and more don't even know it's here. We don't have an advertising budget, so most of my blogging, Tweeting, and other online endeavors are an attempt to make up for that. You can help us by introducing Bonnett's Book Store to your friends who've never been in before.

Even folks who don't read often can find something here. We have an ever-growing selection of DVDs (now featuring 2 blu-ray movies), comic books for young and old, short stories or joke books to read in the porcelain lounge, books on making repairs, gardening, history, picture books and stories for the kids (in all of us), and, of course, plenty of current and classic novels and/or non-fiction for more serious readers.

'11, as two ones, also makes me think of 2-for-1 which is the basis of our trade-in policy. Bring in your old books, DVDs, comics, and magazines, and trade them in to save money on your next purchase; Or trade in 2-for-1 of the same price and type of book, comic, or DVD.

Pair up now and enjoy the whole year with friends at Bonnett's Book Store!

Just don't get yourself in trouble, like our old friend Archie Andrews. ;-)

A Few Holiday Selections from Bonnett's Books

It occurred to me that a lot of folks may not be aware that we accept credit cards and debit cards, too. Now you know.

Here are a few items to help you and yours get into the Holiday spirit. And, when you're looking for special gifts, you can find something on our shelves for just about everyone on your list. Our discount comic books make great stocking stuffers for the kids (or a good cheap way to keep them occupied while you put lights on the tree). Stop in and take a look around. And remember, if you don't see what you're looking for, just ask and we'll point you in the right direction.

Foursquare users, during the Holiday Season, check-in and tell your friends you're at Bonnett's Book Store for a 20% discount!

Open Mon-Sat, Noon-8pm, sometimes later.
To learn more and keep in touch, subscribe to the Penciled Margins blog feed, or Follow @BonnettsBooks on Twitter, Like Bonnett's Book Store's page on Facebook, Friend =[BONNETT'S]= on MySpace, and see the sidebar to Follow us with Google Friend Connect.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Children of Dickens (1933)

Holiday Recipes & Chocolate Ecstasy

A Christmas Treasury of Yuletide Stories & Poems

The Snowman Who Wanted to Stay

Elf - (DVD)

It Happened of 5th Avenue - (DVD)

Choose Your Own Adventure – Most Likely You’ll Die | FlowingData

We love the Choose Your Own Adventure books, but I typically found them a bit frustrating. There is a flow-chart at the link which tracks the odds of making it through CYOA #2 to one of two fortuitous endings.

I remember reading similar things from decades earlier that tended to be a bit more forgiving, as they were written for small children, so, when I was in my teens, becoming interested in role-playing games and related adventures, I picked up Choose Your Own Adventure books quickly.

As you might expect, we have a selection of such things. There were other series, besides specifically "Choose Your Own Adventure". Some required the use of dice and pencils to track your health and progress through the book. The latter versions are hard to find un-marked, but well worth tracking down for fans of such adventures and not nearly as complicated as full-blown Dungeons & Dragons. We recommend using a separate sheet of paper to track your progress, rather than writing in the book itself.

Choose Your Own Adventure – Most Likely You’ll Die | FlowingData

8 Ways to Use Books to Flirt

Now this is the kind of stuff we like to see...

There is an innate sexiness to books and reading that is often overlooked. Reading is partially a tactile, sensual experience, and, like all the stages of romance, reading takes place primarily in the mind and can engage the senses and emotions.

We offer a wide variety of sexy book selections, from love-making classics like "The Kama Sutra" and "The Joy of Sex" to erotic fiction, like "The Story of O" and Anne Rice's (writing as A.N. Roquelaire) "Sleeping Beauty" trilogy.

The blog at the link is from May, but the topic is timeless. Enjoy!

From the Marie Claire website / Sex & Relationships section / "A Year of Living Flirtatiously" blog - Post by Maura Kelly - 8 Ways to Use Books to Flirt (Even if You Don't Read Much)

Bonnett's Directory of Dayton's "Oregon District"

The other day I posted a list of places to go and things to do on East Fifth Street. I mistakenly left out a few of our friends on Wayne Ave. (coming from the Convention Center, turn right at Fifth & Wayne):

• Easterling Portrait Studios - (you need a Team portrait to commemorate the Championship)
  
• Kendall Printing - (Wayne & Van Buren - need to make copies of your awards for friends and family?)
  
• Coco's Bistro - (a great place to eat and relax)

Also, one BIG update! Our friends at Derailed Hair Salon are mentioned in the August 2009 issue of ELLE for their participation in the magazine's "Best Hair in America" poll, in which ELLE sought out the most requested celebrity hair styles across the U.S. of A. Stop by and say "Hi".

Finally, here's a (renamed) link back to the original post with the majority of East Fifth Street attractions:

• =[BONNETT'S]= Quickie Tour of Dayton, Ohio's Oregon Historic & Arts District

Enjoy your stay in Dayton!

Oh, one more thing... The Oregon District is Dayton's oldest neighborhood and features a lot of excellent photo ops.

Not your average dictionary

If you're a word junkie you've already got the standard reference books, and we do, too. Here are a few titles you might not have stumbled upon - available now at Bonnett's, just a few blocks walk East of the Dayton Convention Center (we're across the street from a Goodwill store):

10 Minute Guide to Building Your Vocabulary
Dictionary of Geological Terms (3rd Ed.) prepared by the American Geological Institute
Dictionary of Word Origins
Getting Your Words' Worth - Discovering and Enjoying Phantonyms, Gramograms, Anagrams and Other Fascinating Word Phenomena
The Joy of Vocabulary - An Advanced Guide to Mastering New Words
Names & Nicknames of Places & Things - An A-t0-Z compendium of culture
Phonetics [because sometimes it helps to sound out a word]
Super Word Power - More entertaining ways to enrich your laguage skills.
Tuttle Dictionary of New Words Since 1960 (1991 edition)
Webster's New Explorer Medical Dictionary
and, of course, much, much more...

Obligatory Star Trek post

Q: Are the Bonnett boys fans of "Star Trek"?
A: Yes. We grew up with it and have enjoyed the original series over and over again, in a wide range of situations, and with groups of friends in varying states of sobriety.

Q: Have you seen the new "Star Trek" movie from J.J. Abrams?
A: Yes. The new movie is a joyride of non-stop action and adventure, with a good dose of classic Trek references for we old-school types.

Q: How much Trek stuff do you have available in your store?
A: We've got a fair selection of paperbacks and a small batch of the (suprisingly interesting) Gold Key comic books. Then there are the ever popular (and official) Compendium, Concordance, Chronology, and Technical Manual. We've also got some older fan-published technical books with information about little-known starships and equipment that are great references for gamers.

Q: So, what's this photo about?
A: We enjoyed the movie, a lot, but there are some things about it that are hard for classic fans to swallow. Don't get me wrong... The new movie is still a filet mignon of a movie, but it's got a bit too much seasoning. The photo is an oblique editorial. It has mulitple interpretations in my own mind, but I'll keep them to myself. Enjoy the film. Enjoy the classics that brought us here. And, most of all, keep on Trekkin'!

Bookride: Carnival Strippers by Susan Meiselas.

[Mild NSFW] Bookride: Carnival Strippers by Susan Meiselas [Mild NSFW]

Bookride isn't a regular stop for me, but this entry reminded me of the beginning of a movie we Bonnett's know rather well... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138075/

I didn't know there were ever actual real live strippers at carnivals. I thought the sideshow was just for bearded ladies, human pretzels, and the like.

PulpCon 37, July 31 - August 3, 2008

The Dayton Convention Center will once again host PulpCon from 7/31 - 8/3 of 2008.

Pulp magazines primarily span the decades from the 1920's through the 1940's and include classic tales from renowned writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, and many more, including our favorite, Hal Murray Bonnett.

Well known heroic characters like, The Shadow and The Spider were the precursors of Batman and The Spirit. Today's Hellboy and The X-Files owe their existence to the horror tales of Lovecraft and others, as well as the realms of science fiction. The movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" has just been remade starring Keanu Reeves (I'll take the classic 1950's version any time) but it was originally a story called "Farewell to the Master" in a 1940's science fiction pulp.

"LOST" owes it's existence to some science fiction and fantasy titles but also to pulps like "Adventure"... and speaking of adventure, Indiana Jones, George Lucas says, was inspired by the old movie serials, but those serials were inspired by pulp stories and comics.

And last, but not least, is "Doc Savage", aka "The Man of Bronze", the hero's hero! Just yesterday at the San Diego Comic Con, a man connected with all the Batman movies since the Tim Burton days through today's "Dark Knight" announced on G4TV that a Doc Savage movie has been greenlighted for production. They'd better not screw this up. For those who don't know Doc Savage, I've always thought that our nearest modern day comparison is probably John MacLain (sp?) from the "Die Hard" movies. Doc is rough and tumble like our Die Hard hero, but Doc's adventures have a much more grandiose and fantastical element to them, and Doc has a team, but the do-or-die attitude is the same.

Anyway, everyone should check out PulpCon, if only to understand where today's heroes come from, but you'll also see a lot of great art and stories by great authors you already know who began their careers writing pulp stories. It's just... cool! Check it out! :-)

AbeBooks: Found in Books

There is far more to be found in books than the words printed on the page and the ideas formed by those words. ;-)

AbeBooks: Found in Books: "Found in Books"

It's "Urban Nights" Time Again!

Bonnett's Book Store will keep extra hours the evening of Friday, May 16, 2008 as part of downtown Dayton's "Urban Nights" event. The following links are recommended:

• URBAN NIGHTS Preview - DATV-Dayton Digital Digest-Dan Suffoletto
• URBAN NIGHTS Organizers - Downtown Dayton Partnership
• URBAN NIGHTS Official MySpace
• URBAN NIGHTS post on For The Love Of Dayton
• URBAN NIGHTS post on DaytonOS
• Also, be sure to visit: Dayton MostMetro.com

Don't forget about "A World A'Fair" at the Dayton Convention Center AND be sure to bring your camera and look for the "City Life '08" sculptures to enter the Downtown Dayton Partnership City Life '08 PhotoContest (.pdf)

Finally, this video, created to promote last year's Urban Nights, still tickles my funny bone:

Other Times Books

Until finding the article linked above (click the title of this post) I'd never heard of Andrew Dowdy or his shop, Other Times Books. It sounds like it was a wonderful place.

The realizations that Mr. Dowdy came to, regarding books in this byte-based age, ring all too true. It's something that crosses my mind every single day. I'm a big fan of digital information. I've even gone as far as rationalizing that Bonnett's is a book store because print was the only portable format for data when the doors opened in 1939. There are many more options now, many of which require no permanent product for the end-user at all, so long as we have smart devices that can interpret our favorite data files.

But what happens to our data if something catastrophic happens and there's no power left to run the devices and digitally deliver the data?

Paper lasts a long time. Generations. Long enough to be memorized, copied, re-copied, distributed, handed down, stored, and safe-guarded.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the works of Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mozart, and the Constitution of the United States of America have all survived for a very long time on paper. Perhaps the Constitution isn't doing so well, but that's another matter that has little to do with the paper it's on.

We may make room for newer forms of information and entertainment from time to time, but as long as there is a Bonnett's Book Store there will be books on our shelves.

First post

After much reflection, study, and trial & error, Bonnett's Book Store finally has a 'blog to call home. I hope some of this proves to be entertaining and/or useful. I've collected a handful of items that I've been saving for our blog, but posting those will have to wait.

Until then, take care.

KB in the OD