Now Hiring: Shelving Monkey

PFB is seeking a literate, hard-working high school student and/or university undergraduate interested in 20 hours of part-time work per week from September to April.  Availability afternoons & weekends required; some flexibility in scheduling; specific hours t.b.d.

Duties: shelving books, moving boxes, light cleaning, assisting senior staff.  Some basic training in buying/pricing used books will be provided, but the position basically involves shelving books 90% of the time.

Please note that this position involves a lot of physical activity, and is best compared to warehouse work.  Folks interested in standing behind the cash desk socializing and/or being paid to read will not be a good fit for this position.

Compensation: $10/hr + competitive discount on new and used books.  Possibility of full-time summer work for the right candidate.

Please, no phone calls or walk-in requests for work.  Resumes to pulpbook@gmail.com, att: SHELVING MONKEY COMPETITION.

Young readers in Kits. Emilie's Iphone photo posted with permission of their mom.  Click to enlarge, though the thumbnail version looks pretty great on its own.

Teresa McWhirter reads from FIVE LITTLE BITCHES @ Main Street

Teresa McWhirter, one of our favorite local novelists, reads from her new novel, Five Little Bitches (Anvil, 2012) this Friday August 17th from 7-9pm at Main Street.  Books & beers available at the counter.

Teresa's last reading was extraordinarily well-attended.  If you want a seat, or, for that matter, a book or a beer, best plan on arriving early.

"We pretend that meritocracies -- our favored word for modern competitions -- are contests of equals.  They aren't.  Some people can stay close only by making painful choices, and, as the standards of competition rise, those choices grow more painful still." (Malcolm Gladwell)

Launch Party: Stephen Miller's THE MESSENGER

Our friend Stephen Miller reads from his new thriller The Messenger (Random House of Canada) this Friday, 3 August 2012, at Main Street.  Free admission; cash bar; limited seating.  Doors 6:30, reading 7pm sharp.

Via Random House:

"Stephen Miller’s potent immediate novel of a young terrorist loose on the streets of the United States is perfect for the readers of intelligent character-driven novels such as John Updike’s Terrorist and Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland.  In this harrowing exploration of a young woman’s mission, Daria has been sent to America and she holds the power of life and death in her hands.  This is the story of two outsiders existing in the margins of their respective worlds.  They are two enemies of the state:  Daria–born in a refugee camp, raised in poverty, and Sam Watterman–a scientist who told his government the things they didn’t want to hear and was discredited, an ex-pat in his own country.  Daria’s odyssey will bring her to the United States, on a journey of vengeance.  Watterman’s path will take him from enforced obscurity into the war rooms of American intelligence.  In the next 16 days, Daria will learn to question everything she has been taught.  Watterman will learn that even evil has a human face.  This is the story of two people from opposite sides of the globe, who did not know the other existed but  who will affect each other in profound–even devastating–ways."

Spirit of Independence

Dear Vancouver,

Pulpfiction Books is not closing.  Our friends at Book Warehouse are, unfortunately, shutting down.  At least one media outlet has confused our two businesses, leading to 300+ emails in my inbox this morning, phone ringing off the hook, & etc.

Opinion has it that it's impossible to run an independent bookstore and compete with online businesses, e-reading, etc.  This has not been my experience.

Sales are solid at all three of our shops (2422 Main Street; 1830 Commercial; 3133 West Broadway), where we continue to sell, buy and trade books every day.

In the last year, we have systematically opened accounts with almost every new book publisher & distributor in North America.  We can now obtain virtually any in-print book in 2-7 working days, typically (but not always) at 30% off Canadian cover price.

If you've never visited us before, or haven't been in for a while, we'd be glad to see you. 

I have always wanted to create one of North America's best bookstores in Vancouver, something on the order of Seattle's Elliott Bay, or Portland's Powell's, or San Francisco's Green Apple.  Please join my staff and I as we build a Vancouver institution day-by-day.

Sincerely,

Christopher Brayshaw
Owner, Pulpfiction Books

Matt Ruff Reads From THE MIRAGE @ Main Street

Seattle's Matt Ruff (Bad Monkeys; Sewer, Gas & Electric; Set This House in Order) reads from his new "alternative history" The Mirage (think 9/11 meets Man in the High Castle) Saturday February 25th at 7pm sharp.  Free; limited seating.  Ruff is a great contemporary novelist whose work is always in high demand @ PFB, and we're glad to have him back in house.