Atomic Books Blog

It's almost 2012 - is the end near ? It sure feels like a lot of the world is ending as we've known it, but thoughts about the end of time have been around with us since time practically began. So let's spend the year delving into what the apocalypse and post apocalypse might look and feel like from writers of the last couple of centuries. Our theme for 2012 is apocalyptic books! January -  The Road February -  Sweet Tooth March - The Hunger Games April - The Chrysalids May -  Wittgenstein's Mistress June -  Cloud Atlas July -  The World Without Us August -  The Stand Sept -  DMZ Oct -  Zone One Nov -  Galapagos Dec -  Y the Last Man As always, the titles are all 15% off for Reading Club members and all you have to do to join is tell us at the counter! Discussions for each title is the last Wednesday of the month, at Atomic Books, 7:30pm! Join our Facebook Group for further discussions and updates.

Cookie Swap 2011 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . The usual: December 24th - 11am - 6pm December 25th - CLOSED December 31st - 11am-6pm January 1st - CLOSED

Monday, December 19th, is the last day for online orders! Tuesday and Wednesday are for gamblers. On with the Holiday Picks: Rachel's Picks: Hole in the Middle Kids books that make you cry are the best. Author-Illustrator Perfect, incredibly reasonably priced blank books for your writing or art. Great for kids and adults alike. Knitting is Knotty Mug I'm a knitter, you're a knitter, wouldn't like a knitting corn mug, too? Henry & Glenn Forever Sticker Funbag! Their eternal love, now in sticker format. Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World The book about the man who brought folk music to the mainstream with his field recordings is coming in as a paperback any day now, but we still have some hardcovers left. You can check out a bunch of his recordings on Spotify. One of my faves: Various Artists – I'll Be So Glad When the Sun Goes Down: Alan Lomax’s "Southern Journey," 1959–1960 Brewing in Baltimore We love beer here at Ato

We have free passes to see a sneak preview of The Adventures of Tintin for this Saturday, Dec 17th, 10:30am at the White Marsh AMC. Just come on by and ask! And as always, we stock Tintin comics!

This Friday, meet Scott C who'll be at Atomic giving a presentation about his work in illustration, comics, video games and signing his new book, Amazing Everything . 7-9pm! Next Thursday, December 15th, join the Yelp Hampden Holiday Hop Shopping Crawl ! All the participating shops will be giving a part of their proceeds for the night to local charities. We'll be donating ours to Moveable Feast . From 5-9pm, refreshments and sales! Then, on December 16th, from 6pm-8pm, we're having a special Happy Hour event with Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah ! Shmaltz Brewing proprietor, Jeremy Cowan, celebrates the national release of his debut small business memoir Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah with a book reading and beer tasting at Atomic. And remember, Santa is also walking around the Avenue every weekend until Xmas!

I'll be on WYPR's (88.1FM) The Signal this evening at 7PM (and again Saturday at 1PM) to talk holiday books suggestions. You can only talk about so many books on the radio, so be sure to stop by the store - there have been so many really great books to come out this season. Listen live online. Check out the mp3/podcast.

And now we come to the last book of the year for our Reading Club, Yoshihiro Tatsumi's Good-bye . Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, yes, it had originally been The Push Man but that title has suddenly gone between printings (it'll be back in softcover in the Spring). As usual,  it's 15% off for Club members and we meet the last Wednesday of December to discuss! Join our Atomic Reading Club on Facebook for updates, extra discussions and shenanigans.

Dina's Picks: Journals of Spalding Gray by Spalding Gray I haven't read this yet but I am a really big Spalding Gray fan and I know this book is going to make me cry and cry. This probably isn't a good thing to read if you aren't already familiar with his work, which if you haven't you are throwing your life away, go watch his movies right now. Everything Volume 1 by Lynda Barry Lynda Barry continues to insist that everybody draw and have fun, which I think is a good idea. Even though this is really really early work it's still ringing with truth. It's totally solid. Also you get to see some doodles by Matt Groening. Hark! a Vagrant by Kate Beaton I don't even like history one bit and I think this is one of the funniest books I've ever read. I bet if you liked history you would REALLY like this book. I challenge you to read 3 strips from this book and not want to read them all. If you don't buy this book you are stu

Wednesday, November 23rd - 11am-6pm Thursday, November 24th - CLOSED This Friday we'll have a little Double Punch Card Cocktail Hour! From 6-8pm, you'll get double marks on your Big Spenders cards, and we'll have drinks to help you out with the start of this holiday season. This weekend is also when the lights start up on 34th Street!  Lots of other merchants will be having special sales and hours this Friday as well.

John Waters Mail , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . The internet is full of misinformation. Shocking, I know. But it IS true that we collect mail for John Waters at our store address. Make sure you have our current one and put his name on top: John Waters Atomic Books 3620 Falls Rd Baltimore, MD 21211 We may still get it if you send it to our old address...but let's make things easier for everyone and get it right.

Rev Jen is back in Baltimore this Thursday to read from her new book,  Elf Girl ! She'll also be showing a video short and we'll have adult beverages. November 10th 7-9pm! 3620 Falls Rd Atomic Books

Our November Reading Club book is Adrian Tomine's Summer Blonde . See you November 30th for the discussion - 7:30 at Atomic Books! New members are welcome at any time, and you get 15% off all the books for this year's Club titles. Join the  Facebook Group  for more discussions and updates.

Tickets for the 18th Night of 100 Elvises are now available at Atomic Books! $55 each. Cash or check only. Friday, December 2nd Saturday, December 3rd Lithuanian Hall 851-3 Hollins Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1003 7PM to 2AM The Doors Open at 6PM.

batgirl , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . This Sunday is Hampden's annual Halloweenfest on the Avenue. Bring your kids for trick or treating at participating shops and then hang out on the 800 block for the costume contests ! We'll have free comics for kids!

Shonen Knife will be at Atomic Books from 6-7pm on Monday! Come by and get cds and books signed and say hi before they play at the Ottobar! Celebrated Summer is going to have donuts!

Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson will be at Atomic Books tonight to talk about their legendary punk zine Touch and Go . Starts at 7pm! Adult beverages will be served.

Join local publishers Pinchback Press in celebrating the release of their newest anthology, Tarnished , here at Atomic Books! With Editors, Cara Bruce and Shawna Kenney, and readings by contributors: Tambre Leighn, Jennifer Tress, Valley Haggard, and more. 7pm - 9pm! Adult beverages will be served.

My own twist on  Feminist Ryan Gosling .

The Cramps Redux , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . We're having our Jackets & Sleeves reception. tonight, 7pm! The art for The Cramps' Bad Music for Bad People is one of those classic pieces...and who wanted to take a crack at that cover? Stephen Blickenstaff, who actually did the original cover ! This is his 2011 version. Tonight is also First Friday in Hampden, so come on out and walk around the neighborhood! There are a bunch of events and shops open late, with refreshments and sales.

This month's Reading Club pick is Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link! See you October 26th for the discussion - 7:30 at Atomic Books! New members are welcome at any time, and you get 15% off all the books for this year's Club titles. Join the Facebook Group for more discussion and updates.

This Friday, October 7, from 7PM - 9PM we will be having a one night only art opening, called Jackets and Sleeves. What began as us wondering why it is that record are forever tied to a cover image while books over the years frequently get new covers turned into the idea for this art show. We compiled a list of some of our favorite, iconic records and books and asked a group of artists to create a new book jacket or record sleeve. The results, about 25 pieces in all, will be on display Friday night. Participants include: John M. Bachman Joanna Barnum Stephen Blickenstaff Jenny Campbell Martin Cendreda ( In The Aeroplane Over The Sea ) Nate Doyle Alex Fine ( Fight Club ) Julia Gfrorer Kate Haberer Danny Hellman Mark Kubat Jim Lasher Pat Moriarity ( The Ramones ) Liz Prince Brian Ralph Cat Sachse Dave Sobel Nolen Strals Scott Sugiuchi Sara Tomko ( Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas ) Erin Womack J.T. Dockery Noah Van Sciver Zach Hazard Vaupen

This Friday, historian and author, Hanne Blank, will be here reading from and discussing the updated edition of her book,  Big Big Love , which features new interviews with body-acceptance activists, health coaches, psychologists, and more! Big Big Love’s savvy, sane advice can help you tackle every hot-button issue you may confront in the bedroom and in love. Join us for cupcakes and adult beverages, 7-9pm!

This weekend is the Baltimore Book Festival. And there are a lot of very exciting things going on over in Mt. Vernon to celebrate. But one of the projects we're most excited about is a book curated by our friend Alex Fine called Hairy Baltimore . The limited edition book contains 40 portraits of Baltimore icons with distinctive hairstyles by a bunch of great artists, including: Okan Arabacioglu, Derrick Dent, Donald Ely, Alex Fine, Daniel Fishel, Jimmy Giegerich, Andrea Kalfas, Daniel Krall, Hawk Krall, Jeff Lance, Cameron K. Lewis, John Macnair, Emma Maatman, Noah Patrick Pfarr, Sarah Pfeil, Thomas Pitilli, Jon Sperry, Hanna Viktorsson, Annie Wu. And while we're excited because it's a great idea for project, we're also excited by this awesome portrait of me that Noah Patrick Pfaff did. (He also did a great portrait of our pal Raygun Robyn ). We can't wait to see the book and who got illustrated and by which artists. 

From the folks at the Salford Zine Library ! Make sure you get the help of an adult!

 Tons of this season's great books are rolling in!  

Best Independent Bookstore . " We know, we know, the internet, the long tail, and all that, but actually being in the store, surrounded by all those weird and wonderful things to read and look at that maybe you didn’t even know existed until you happened to spot them filed next to something else, is an invitation to impulse buying and, well, better than the internet. There, we said it." Thanks, City Paper! And also City Paper Readers ! Here are some more Hampden Winners !

Friday night was our annual pre-SPX party and it was a great time! We had some of our own beer, brewed by our friends at Burnt Hickory Brewery. People were just hanging out after the readings. I wish I had taken more photos, as usual. Daniel Krall and Kate Haberer Anders Nilsen, Noah Van Sciver and Brian Ralph Heidi MacDonald and Jessica Abel Jim Rugg, Dan Zettwoch, Kevin Huizenga, Brian Ralph The Ignatz Winners were announced Saturday Night. We were all shocked and saddened to hear that  Dylan Williams passed away this weekend. Sunday we headed to Bethesda. Here's a batch of what we got. There's a whole lot more here , which will be updated throughout the week. Thanks to everyone who came to the event! Hope you had as much fun as we did!