now, i don't know if any of you are aware, but ABC has a little program that's been gaining some momentum, been something of a "water cooler" show, caused some ripples in the murky pond that is television. gained a small following if you will. it's called "Lost." how does that relate to this bookstore here, you ask?

today i was working on shelving and pulling (or as i like to call them in my head, the "Dual Pistons of the River Bank Engine") i was reading the backs of the books, as per my usual proclivity. one book caught my eye with a shiny little sticker stuck to the bottom. i gobbled up the synopsis and percieved nothing remotely unusual, until i got to the end and reached the author bio: Gary Troup, lost on Oceanic Flight 815. this book, "Bad Twin," was supposedly penned by a character that went down on the plane in Lost.

say it with me now: "Whaaaa?"

it speaks volumes for marketing and whatnot with this little ploy here. of COURSE it's not written by one Gary Troup. of COURSE there was no real Lost plane. of COURSE it was actually written by Laurence Shames (....okay, not "of course, per say. it was divulged in a Daily Variety article...but still), but it's still fun to take part of, especially if you're one of the metric bazillion tons of fans who really, thoroughly enjoy the show. give the name a Google if you haven't yet. this is all a neat thread in a clever tapestry.

the troupmeister himself

do you like music? i know i do. in fact, i would say i like it as much as an ADD chimp likes an audience. a few musical things that are currently putting me in a fabu mood are the Arcade Fire and James Taylor CD's we're currently playing overhead. that's not to say that the Norah Jones and Innocence Mission CD's aren't good, it's just that they're good in a different way (meaning that they make me kinda sleepy, which, again, isn't bad, because quite frankly i love sleeping. ergo, if this was a bed store instead of a book store, and my primary function was to be an example of how hardcore i could sleep on certain beds, then those CD's would be my favorites for the given scenario. that was a hideously strange tangent). another thing that's also pretty fun here is when the weekend comes rolling in like an elvis impersonator in a shiny pink cadillac and musicians actually play up on the Steketee stage. we keep a list of who is playing when on our main website under the "Live Music" section, which is really worth checking out. there's nothing quite like working on a saturday night when Tinker's Tea is rocking their celtically delicious diddies, or those friday nights when Duke Greene enhances the already awesomely chilled ambiance. i'd go on to mention all the different acts that grace us with their presence, but i've got anthony bourdain to catch up on.

so seriously, from me to you, come on in for a nice autumn evening on a friday or saturday for some coffee, books, and delightfully live music.

and beware the Great Pumpkin, charlie brown.