March Toward the Sea

A couple of new stores added this week, in the company of the lovely and soon-to-be-web Rose Gray. The two of us took a tour of Santa Monica and Venice, managing to avoid hippies and meter maids while placing the book in some excellent locations. If you're in the area, in need of a gift, check out Clever on Main just up the road from Wildflour, selling pizza by the slice. If you want to get even closer to the beach (as well as iron-pumping men in thongs) then squeeze past The Sidewalk Cafe into the expansive Small World Books. Situated along the city's boardwalk, this is apparently Venice's only new-book bookstore, and it's a really nice oasis in an area teaming with nothing else to read besides witty t-shirts and incense descriptions. Special thanks to Radka of Clever for placing Things that Suck front and center!

View Larger Map
PS: If you're not familiar with the area, check out Google Maps' street view before you go, providing 3D images of the entire scene.

Author Blushes in Quaint Bookshop

So yes, apparently I was a little embarrassed when Lucia, manager of Tujunga's Portrait of a Bookstore, asked me to sign a few copies of the book. An older woman, browsing nearby shouts out, "He blushing! Are you the author?" Anyway, I was very proud to see my work on display right alongside Nora Ephron's "I Feel Bad About My Neck." I've been imagining the two books talking to one another after the shop closes. (Is that weird?) Regardless, Portrait is in a great neighborhood, so if you happen to be over there, drop in and also be sure to check out Aroma Cafe's feta and green onion scone. Crazy delicious! (Wait...did I just recommend a scone on live internet? What's happening to me?)

Book to Sell in Triangular Store

A local store has agreed to sell Kaplan's new book, but there's a small problem: the store is triangular. "I don't know how it's going to do in there," the writer says. "I really don't. The book is a rectangle, and that's because it was designed to sell in rectangular stores. Maybe even a square. But a triangle?" Uncle Jer's, located at the bottom of Hillhurst near the Vista Theater, has long been a fixture of the Los Feliz community. Residents appear to have even forgotten that the gift shop is oddly shaped. "I didn't really notice," said one recent shopper with a tattoo of the yin & yang symbol on her neck. Kaplan seemed far less concerned about his prospects at Pulp / Illiterature, a more traditionally configured establishment on La Brea. When asked about the superiority of her store's square footprint, manager Candice had no comment.

Hummer Driver Deserves Extra Space

An area shopper was forced to park his car across multiple parking spots recently. The driver, who declined to be identified, claimed to be worried that other, lesser vehicles would mar the shiny surface of his high performance Hummer H2, designed to kick the shit out of unruly suburban landscapes. Kaplan spotted the motorist before placing his book in both Martha's Bookstore and Zschoche on Orange County's Balboa Island. Noticing that the car took advantage of a neighboring handicap space, one resident commented, perhaps he's got a disability or something. I mean, other than driving that stupid car."