Ada Blog

2010-04-22T18:24:00.003-04:00

Ribbed, for your listening pleasure:

Joshua Harmon & Marjorie Milligan

Saturday, April the 24th, 6 in the gloaming

Snacks & drinks provided by the management.

2010-04-17T13:58:00.001-04:00

Taffy Hips #7, unleashed at Ada Books, Wednesday, April 21st, from 7pm till 10 or so.

2010-04-07T16:23:00.006-04:00

Friday, April 16th, 7pm

3 poets from The Corresponding Society

Robert Snyderman, Christopher Sweeney & Lonely Christopher

And very special guest: Karen Lepri

You'll join us, won't you?

P.S. There will be drinks!

2010-04-01T14:43:00.004-04:00

Loads of new magazines have come in recently including Hi Fructose, Modern Painters, Art Papers, Artforum, Art Works, Cabinet, CMYK, Frieze, Giant Robot, Print, The Believer, Book Forum, The New York Review of Books, Oxford American, & VQR. Plus all the weekly-newsies like The Nation, The Economist, The New Yorker & probably a many others that I can't even remember right now. They're just itching for you to hem 'n' haw over them.

2010-03-25T11:55:00.007-04:00

Eugene Delacroix, Arabs Traveling, 1855. Photography by Erik Gould, courtesy of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.

The RISD Museum
Paintings and Pages: A Gallery Book Group
Thursdays April 15, May 20, + June 17, 5:30–7pm
Balzac and Manet, Byron and Delacroix, Thackeray and Firth. Make connections between great novels and stunning paintings in this gallery book group. To prepare for each monthly session, participants read an assigned text, then explore the intersections of novels and paintings in lively discussions led by Brown professor Rhoda Flaxman. We will discuss not only similarities and differences in content (what is being depicted), but also in form (how it is being expressed). Members, $120; non-members, $200; fee does not include books. Space is limited, pre-registration is required.

Contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu. www.risdmuseum.org

2010-03-09T11:32:00.010-05:00

On Saturday, March 20th, at 6pm, witness the living poems of Mary Wilson & Kevin Varrone

Plus: The Punchbuggy Tour! Liz Baillie, Ken Dahl & MK Reed strum their ukuleles while reading aloud from their comics. There'll be snackables and drinkables and digital slideshows. Also: lots o' laffs! Wednesday, March 24, 7pm

2010-02-26T10:39:00.005-05:00

The Redcoats is coming!

Ryan Murphy will be reading from his newest book of poetry, The Redcoats, on Saturday, March 6th, 6pm. Sommer Browning will also be there, reading from her Vale Tudo and others, but Vale Tudo doesn't lend itself to the cute and corny (although you can anagram it into "ovulated" if you are so inclined). The usual snacks and drinks will be at your disposal.

2010-02-16T11:30:00.009-05:00

Plenty of little papery things have fluttered my way recently. Why don't I bring them to your attention?

Here, for instance, is new work by Aidan Koch. It's called YES. It and others are now on Ada's shelves.

This is a little something I like to call I'D SURE LIKE SOME FUCKING PANCAKES. Lauren Barnett also likes to call it this and since she wrote and drew it, I see no reason not to credit her for it. It and others are now appearing at Ada Books.

Here we have photo of Zara Messano's brilliant little FUR TRAIN. The photo hardly does it justice. It might behoove you to look at it face to face. It and others now reside at Ada Books.

And this spiffy number is the latest by Jarod Rosello. It's called FRANZ KAFKA'S POSEIDON and look, it has one long silkscreened cover, so long that it requires twice the normal number of photos to get its point across! It and others are now loitering at Ada Books.

So now you know. And knowing, as a brave after-school cartoon used to tell us, is half the battle. To win the battle, however, you need to come into Ada Books and have a look at these fine specimens and even buy them if they catch your eye. Because the other half of the battle is doing. (I'm not sure if the cartoon ever got around to telling you that.)

2010-02-09T11:56:00.004-05:00

Kate Schapira, the beloved and tireless organizer of The Publicly Complex Reading Series, has just published her first perfect bound book! It's called Town and is brought to you by Factory School. If you'd like to lay your hands on a copy or if you just want to listen as Kate and her "mystery contibrituors" read it for you, I suggest you stop by Ada Books this Saturday (the 13th) at 7pm. Besides the forementioned entertainment, there will be the usual snacks and drinks, plus walls and walls of interest.

2010-02-02T11:40:00.006-05:00

A new season begins! You really ought to be there. Also, check out James McShane's new & improved website: www.jamesmcshane.com. He's who manufactured these heavenly rodents and insects.

2010-01-28T13:39:00.009-05:00

For your perusement: new things at Ada Books!

Eroyn Franklin's ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY AT THE NOTHING FACTORY

William J. Brown's AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Poetry from BLACK OCEAN

Poetry from UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE

Not to mention mini comics and magazines galore! (That's right, I said "galore" and I meant it!)

2010-01-20T11:29:00.003-05:00

Taffy Hips #6: The Release Party!

Wednesday, January 27th, from 7 - 10pm.

2010-01-08T12:56:00.007-05:00

You want new? I'm just assuming that because you're, you know, human and all. So how about these? These are new.

And then there's a bunch of this 'n' thats from Little Otsu.

Not to mention loads of new magazines. This thumbnail represents but one of about forty examples.

And just the other day I bought a big stack of barely fondled cookbooks (lots of baking and vegatarian) which are now priced and on the shelf but wishing they were in your kitchen. You'll have to imagine a stack of cookbooks here as I don't have my camera with me today. Believe me when I say it's quite a stack.

So that's what's new for you here at Ada Books. And to be honest the older stuff is pretty cool, too.

2009-12-28T15:27:00.007-05:00

A few new things on view (and on sale) at Ada Books:

Gear Worms 2010 calendar by Leig Goldberg

Snake Oil #5 by Chuck Forsman

Freddy by Melissa Mendes

Jumble Junkery 7 & 8 by L. Nichols

Polite Fiction 1 & 2 by Jose-Luis Olivares

2009-12-23T10:58:00.002-05:00

Ada Books will be closed on xmas, of course, but xmas eve hours will be a more or less regular 11 to 6 with regular hours (noon to four) on the weekend.

Thanks to Rick at sketchysantas.com for the photo above. I would have posted my own photo but Santa doesn't like me (boo hoo). Merry whatever!

2009-12-12T13:04:00.005-05:00

Saturday, December 19th, 6pm
Publicly Complex & Ada Books
present both poetry & fiction
for your listening pleasure:
Kevin Holden &
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

2009-12-07T13:26:00.005-05:00

Al Columbia is coming! On December 11th!

I think I might have mentioned this already but it bears repeating: Al Columbia, artistic genius & inventor of beautiful horrors, will be at Ada Books for only two hours on December 11th (from 6pm to 8pm) to sign and sell his newest book Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days.

It is gorgeous, it is frenzied, it is unhinging. And you'll cry tears of blood if you don't own your own relished relic: once cradled in the hands of its creator, ink-splattered & infested with unholy talent.

2009-11-22T12:57:00.005-05:00

Poetry, December 5th (my birthday, coincidentally)

Kate Greenstreet & Joshua Harmon

6pm, as usual. Comestibles & imbibables provided.

And I told you once but I'll tell you again:

Al Columbia is coming! Decemember 11th, 6p - 8p.
He'll be signing your copy of Pim & Francie.

2009-11-15T15:19:00.007-05:00

C. S. Carrier, Deborah Bernhardt & James Copeland do poetry this Saturday, November 21st, at 6pm.

Plus: Al Columbia is coming in December! Stay tuned for more details.

2009-11-08T14:18:00.003-05:00

This Saturday, November 14th, at 6pm

The poetry of Oni Buchanan and Karl Gartung.

Also, through November, the paintings of Katherine (with a 'k') Fox.

2009-10-28T14:21:00.003-04:00

The fiction of Joanna Howard & Brian Oakley

Saturday, November 7th, 6pm

Words in the air are free. Words on paper will cost you.

Snacks and drinks provided by the management.

2009-10-11T14:59:00.007-04:00

Lots of things coming up this week so please, pay attention.

On Wednesday, October the 14th (from 7pm - 9pm)it's:

The Taffy Hips #5 Release Party!!(!)

On Saturday, October the 17th, at 6pm, it's:

The poetry of Guillermo Parra & Katie Peterson

And, on Sunday, October the 18th (from 2pm - 4pm), it's:

These comics are super cool and several of the artists will be on hand to sign your copy(ies). The I Know Joe Kimpel guys will even throw in something free with your every purchase. I urge you to investigate.

So there, your week is planned. Don't be shy to thank me in person.

2009-09-29T16:40:00.006-04:00

There'll be some poetry here at Ada Books
whispered or shouted, mumbled or proclaimed,
Saturday, October 10th, at 6 in the evening.

The perpetrators? Stan Apps & Jen Hofer.
Morsals & tonics will be provided gratis.

2009-09-17T12:52:00.003-04:00

Farrah Field Jared White & Keith Newton

Saturday, September 26th, at 6pm

2009-09-08T11:17:00.002-04:00

Ted Mathys & Chris Martin

make poetry happen before
your very eyes (and ears)

this Saturday, the 12th, at 6pm.

2009-09-01T15:37:00.005-04:00

This just in! Weird and delighting things from Monofonus, Phil McAndrew, Colleen Frakes, James McShane, G.P. Bonesteel, Jarod Rosello & Justin Katko. Get it? Just in? (I bet he's never heard that one before.)

2009-08-28T14:21:00.003-04:00

Ada Books has; New zines! New mags! New comics! Plus, the latest issue of that which is all three of these in one increduously convenient paper issue: Taffy Hips #3.5!

2009-08-13T10:29:00.005-04:00

Ada Books will be doin' the Foo!

Like the sign says, it's this Saturday. I'll be running a little red cart stacked with books on anarchy, leftist politics & some good old-fashioned classic novels. You'll find me in front of AS220, under the awning, staying pale, nose in a book (or beer).

2009-08-04T15:12:00.003-04:00

Savannah Schroll Guz will read from her new short story collection

American Soma

this Saturday, August 8th, at 7pm.

The reading will be accompinied by edible delights.

2009-07-31T16:19:00.004-04:00

Summer isn't over but starting Monday, August 3rd, Ada's WEIRD SUMMER HOURS are. I'll be opening the door at the clinically tested hour of 10:30 every weekday morn. See you then and there, book lovers!

2009-07-21T14:13:00.005-04:00

We will be waxing woolly this weekend.
Won't you wax woolly this weekend, too?

Saturday, July 25th, at Monohasset Mill, 6pm.

2009-07-14T16:48:00.005-04:00

Yeah! Do it! Get your mustache on! Indie-Arts Fest 2009!

Ada Books will be there all day, July 18th, in the Kennedy Plaza Park, selling her wares. Man, o, man would I love it if you showed up!

2009-07-08T15:28:00.006-04:00

Ada Books will be sleeping in from Thursday (7/9)
through Monday (7/13). (Shhhh, don't wake her.)

2009-07-03T14:24:00.006-04:00

Ada Books is closed on Independance Day.

Ada Books will celebrate our nation's glorious birthday by sleeping in, drinking beer before noon, eating hormone-enriched meats and sending smoke signals to our enemies. In otherwords: Loafing! Just like Mr. Almadinejad suggests. (P.S. Whoever drew this cartoon didn't really get the likeness right. If you ask me, he looks more like Manuel Noriega.) So forgot about books for one day (if you can). Go out and blow something up. Ada Books will be open and hungover on Sunday, from noon till four, so please drop in (but read quietly.)

2009-06-23T15:22:00.003-04:00

Ada Books will be operating under the auspices of

WEIRD SUMMER HOURS from now through July 31st.

That means that on most weekdays (except for the

odd Monday or two) I won't open until 2pm or so.

Furthermore, certain Saturdays will be pre-empted

due to outdoor festivals (Indie Arts Fest 7/18 &

Woolly Fair 7/25) and the occasional kickball game

(Holy Rollers rule!) Furtherfurthermore, my wife

has made it clear that if I don't take a day off

once in a while there will be trouble. Therefore,

certain sunny Sundays, when all my lovely customers

are on the beach reading and tanning, I will be there

too, shiny with sunscreen, sweating in the shade of

a big umbrella. It might just be best to call me first

before dropping in. Here's the number: 401.432.6222

2009-06-15T13:59:00.005-04:00

Hey, you should totally come to this reading/music thing that's happening at Ada Books on Sunday at 4pm. Here's who'll be reading from stuff they wrote themselves:

Brian Oakley & Eric Paul are local talent while
Melanie Hayze & Robert O'Brien live in Baltimore,
talented folks from a talented town, I'm sure.

Here's Brian talking to a Rachel Ray surrogate:

And Drew Swinburne will be setting up his soundbeam machines!

That's him thinking beach thoughts.

It's this Sunday, June 21st, at four in the evening.
There will be a 5 dollar "fun tax" at the door.
And there might be beer or cold drinks inside.

Make time for the good times!

2009-06-09T10:14:00.005-04:00

Someday, I'll have a cooler website. Here's
a foreglimpse, courtesy of James McShane:

. . . and . . .

. . . and . . .

That's me in the last one. I've never looked so handsome.

2009-05-31T12:37:00.011-04:00

What now? It's the end of the spring season for
The Publicly Complex Reading Series, that's what!

So come see poet Jessica Bozek

and fictioneer Shane Jones

this Saturday, June the 6th, at 6pm,
for a final romp in Ada's worded
wonderworld. There'll be snacks and
booze and plenty of awkward pauses!

2009-05-23T12:30:00.005-04:00

Interrobang! What is it? Well, it's this thing:

Mm hmm, it's an exclamation mark all tangled up in a question mark. Get it!? And like so many other brilliant but useless ideas it never caught on. (Try to find one on your computer keyboard. You can't. And if you can, congratulations, you're drunk!) Now, a local litzine has adopted this feckless symbol as their title and spirit guide. They're having a little swingding here at Ada Books on Friday, May 29th, starting at 7pm. They'll read at you, get you liquored up, fill your mouth with crumbs and offer their first issue for your buying pleasure. Please come.

Meanwhile, smear your eyes all over this:

From the mind and hand of Joseph P. Larkin, it's the Arcade of Cruelty! A series of art things and comicy jokes so tasteless and tasty it'll make you wish that humans didn't exist. Shame your family and friends! Buy one today, at Ada Books.

2009-05-19T12:12:00.002-04:00

Ada Books will be moonlighting this Friday (6p-8p)

at 5 Traverse

They'll have a wall or wallpart devoted to
some of the zines and selfmade books I sell
here. They'll also have some genuine book
art or art related to books.

2009-05-04T11:47:00.010-04:00

On Saturday, May 16, at 6pm
The Publicly Complex Reading Series
lends you the in-person poetry of

Matvei Yankelvich

&
Aaron Tieger

Also, on May 18th, Gabrielle Bell
will be here to sign her new book,
Cecil and Jordan in New York.

She'll get here at 7pm and she'll stay
as long as she can stand it.

And hey! Check out Lilli's latest, for sale here & now:

2009-04-24T17:31:00.004-04:00

Saturday, May the Second,

at six in the evening

regard the poetry of

Kate Pringle

& Dianne Timblin

Plus: a table of treats.

2009-04-20T10:52:00.009-04:00

New nice things at Ada Books!

Allison Cole's books and postcards

A handfull of comics from I Know Joe Kimpel

Plus: An early, perhaps too early, glimpse of my new website design, courtesy of James McShane.

2009-04-13T13:00:00.005-04:00

Three poets, one night.

Dobby Gibson

Deborah Poe

& Jon Woodward.

Saturday, April 18th, 6pm.

2009-04-07T14:57:00.005-04:00

I think you're going to like these. . .

They're handmade cards from Haley Pants. Not printed, not pressed, but drawn by Haley's hand, usually under the influence of caffeine and always under the auspices of creative genius.

Each card is unique and worthy of enframement. You'd be a fool, and I mean that in the starry-eyed sense, a complete bloody fool not to come in and at least have a gander at them, while they last that is.

(Because of their singular beauty, they are certain not to last forever. That, plus, the world and everything on it is bound to end sometime. I mean, eventually. Probably not any time soon. I honestly don't know any of the details. But I hear things. By the way, I don't mean that I "hear" things, like there are things that only I can hear, like in my head or something. I mean I hear rumours, talk, armageddon chit-chat.)

Just, please, before the sun strangles us all, set your eyes on some of this wonderloving stationary. And if you do miss this batch, and assuming the world is still with us, Haley promises to make more. Really, she can't help herself.

2009-04-03T13:45:00.007-04:00

What's new & awesome at Ada Books? All you need to do is scroll down, friend, and your question(s) will be answered. Go on, scroll down!

- Several poembooks from Ugly Duckling Presse

- Siglio's superhighquality titles by Keith Waldrop and Joe Brainard

- Many magazines, including Comic Art, Graffik, Eyemazing, Wallpaper and the ever-delicious Meatpaper

Andalso: A few handfuls of new used fiction, politics and even a few cookbooks.

2009-03-30T13:58:00.006-04:00

Recent arrivals at Ada Books include:

- A batch of beauties from Robopocolypse

- Some pretty papery things from Parcell Press

- Cool zines and suchlikes from Black Light Diner

Not to mention (though I'll mention them anyway) a smattering of new poetry and a splattering of comics too numerous to list. It's all here, awaiting your eyebeams.

2009-03-19T14:45:00.007-04:00

Havana Comes To Providence! Well, not all of Havana. That would be absurd. And probably illegal since President Obama is too preoccupied these days to lift the embargo. But Ada Books is offering you something much better than jail time and cheaper than a plane ticket to Cuba.

On Friday, March 27th, at 7:30pm, witness with us the words and, possibly, the gesticulations of Bob Arellano and Achy Obejas. They each have a freshly minted novel out (with Akashic Books) and they want to read to you from them. They'll even scribble their names on them for you if you're bold enough to buy a copy. Now, would it be too corny if I ended by urging you along with a gringo-inflected vamanos!?

And! Also! Aswell! On Saturday, March 28th, at 6pm,
observe Deborah Poe and Karen Leona Anderson reading their own words in an outloud manner.
They, too, have books which they'd be ever so
happy to sign for those who are passionate
about poetry. Groupies welcome!

Plus: Karen Leona Anderson will be leading a salon at
The Providence Athenaeum this Friday from 5-7pm.

Plusplus: This Saturday, after you've soaked up some
poems, be sure to bathe in the soothing rain of sounds
that are Comaneci, Annikki Dawn and Bob Corn. They'll be playing next door at White Electric.

2009-03-15T12:49:00.010-04:00

This. . .

and this.

Now on sale at Ada Books.

NightFight2
$10 (23"x35")

NightFight3
$20 (23"x35")

Drawn and printed by Jay Zehngebot

2009-03-10T11:43:00.004-04:00

Be aware of the Eve of the Ides of March!

Darcie Dennigan, Katie Umans & Ryan Flaherty
unleash their poems this Saturday, March 14, 6pm.

And. . .

Join us on Monday, March 16 at 7pm to read
aloud from James Joyce's short story,
The Dead. I promise, it'll be more fun than
it sounds. Plus, there will be draughts of
Guinness for parched (21+)throats. Cheers!

2009-03-02T07:26:00.003-05:00

I Could Not See the Sentence

An evening of words from wordmongers

Blake Butler, Claire Donato & Mike Young

Monday, March 9th, 7pm

According to Miss Donato there will be an unfolding of debauchery but I have the feeling that it will be the "clothes on" kind of debauchery, a sober debauchery, or rather, a debauchery of the English and/or other language(s).

And speaking of debauch, be sure to investigate the new and newly sanctioned buhlahg for Not About The Buildings. Matthew Lawrence, the man that makes it happen, has assured me (in a semi-private correspondence) that it will be, and here I quoth, "the bees' knees".

2009-02-20T13:55:00.004-05:00

Gillian Kiley and Michael Carr
are going to be dears and share
their art with us at Ada Books
Saturday, February 28, at 6pm.

Their art, by the bye, is not
wall art or eye art but is rather
art of the air and ear. Come,
join us. There will be snacks.

Also: I have several copies of
Brian Evenson's Last Days, er,
on hand. (You'll get
the pun if you heard him
read the other night.)

And: Many new little chap and
scrap books from Futuretense,
an awestriking small press in
Portland, O.

Not To Mention: All the other
cool things I normally have
to delight and derail you.

2009-02-15T08:16:00.006-05:00

Live Nude Girl in the Devil's Territory
is Kathleen Rooney & Kyle Minor
on the road and, uh, on the read.
They've picked up a special, ahem,
hitchhiker, named Brian Evenson and
they all have new books they would
like to orate, in part, at you. Won't
you join them/us this Wednesday,
7pm, at Ada Books?

2009-02-08T12:02:00.004-05:00

Poetry, from the lips of

Feliz Molina &

Rosalynde Vas Dias,

this Saturday the 14th at 6pm.

Refreshingments will be yours.

2009-01-28T15:14:00.003-05:00

Take a gander at Electric Ant. It is not, as I first thought, a 60's dance craze reinterpreted for the 2000's by the people who love the 80's. It is, instead, a Bay Area comics zine (whose eponym is a short story by PKD) put together by Ryan Sands. This is issue one and so naturally it is concerned about your first kiss.

Also newly-arrived and ready for your consideration:

- James McShane's Selected Comics

- Paper Rad's Pig Tales

- New Jack's Guide to the Big House

- Lower Than Dirt, a collection of Rhode Island wall art, so 'low' that I can't even find a link for it.

2009-01-21T14:50:00.007-05:00

Nazi Knife #5. It just stumbles off the tongue, doesn't it? Nazi Knife. Number Five. Saying it out loud kind of makes my skin twitch even though I've said it out loud several times to innoculate myself from its effect. The words "Nazi" and "Knife" dredge up a scene from a very important movie of my boyhood, An American Werewolf in London. (If you've already watched this film then you know which scene I'm talking about. If not, well, I won't spoil your surprise, your shock, except to say that the scene in question involves a Nazi and a knife. I can hear you asking, "A Nazi in a werewolf movie?" But can you hear me responding, "Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus!"?)

Nazi Knife #5. Don't be afraid of its name. And don't be afraid because it's French. (It is French. I paid for it in euros.) All it is, is strange and fantasical art, nicely reproduced, for your enrichment. And it's lurking here at Ada Books.

Also of note, I have more of Jo Dery's new book, Quietly Sure - Like the Keeper of a Great Secret, and a number of her greeting cards. Plus plenty of other Little Otsu treasures.

And I now have Sidebrow. No, that isn't some sort of hip new veneral disease but it is a hip new literary magazine and it's entirely safe as long as you wear a condom.

Hey, watch out, there's more to come! Poetry season is right around the corner.

2009-01-14T14:02:00.007-05:00

This picture (Leif Goldberg's Bonnacon) is your clue or, if you'd rather, your warning that Ada Books finally has Beasts! Book Two. I don't understand why it took so long to wend its way here but I'm certain that it had something to do with elves or hobgoblins or some such. Put on your +2 plate mail, hoist your adamantine short sword and come take a look. The book might bite you but I never will.

Speaking of adamantine, please feast your eyes on another Ada Books press clipping. I can't explain why I've become so popular lately. I've never even used Axe body spray. (The interviews were conducted via email anyway.)

Kids may not like monsters (the feeling, I think, is mutual) but they might like some of these recent acquisitions:

- The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. Educational and entertaining anti-soviet propaganda! Also, check out these Tintin titles (among others):

- The Black Island
- The Shooting Star
- The Castafiore Emerald

From the good people at The Center for Cartoon Studies, I have Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow and Jason Lutes' Houdini (Lutes teaches at the CCS).

Toon Books publishes smart, cute and funny books for kids. I now have Jack and the Box, by Art Spiegelman and Stinky, by Eleanor Davis (She drew the Bannik in Beasts! Book Two) and I plan to have more soon.

I have other new stuff, too. Adult stuff like Jonathan Ames' The Alcoholic, the latest Black Jack, by Osamu Tezuka and Side A: The Music Lover's Graphic Novel. And more even, jeeze, it would take too long to list it all so I'm not going to. Why don't you just stop by if you're so curious? No seriously, stop by. Be curious.

2009-01-07T11:55:00.003-05:00

Normally, I don't go around tooting my own horn. It's unseemly, not to mention arrogant, obnoxious and what have you. But today I'll go against my Protestent instincts and ask you to read this pompous interview I coughed up on Bookslut. I'd like to thank Gili Warsett for her kind her words, her patience and her unfathomable interest. In the same issue you'll also find a "roundtable" discussion between Kate Greenstreet, Nancy Kuhl and others.

- Michaela dropped off a stack of her newest issue of Bullshit Frank & Gorilla Joe. I urge you to come in and put your paws all over it.

- Also, I have a mighty ingenius five issue mini-comic called Burning Building. It's by Jeff Zwirek and each issue follows the inhabitants of an apartment in a building that is, well, burning.

- And in direct violation of my homepage propaganda, I now carry cookbooks, gardening books and books for children. These sections aren't as vast as I'd like them to be just yet but give them time and they will flourish, I assure you.

2008-12-22T14:54:00.004-05:00

CHECK IT OUT: NEW BOOKS!

- poetry from the ever-awesome Black Ocean including Zak Schomburg's THE MAN SUIT, Carrie Adams' A USELESS WINDOW, D.J. Dolack's THE SAD MEAL and their anthology of wonders, HANDSOME VOL. I.

- a pair of plums from Secret Acres! Theo Ellsworth's CAPACITY & Eamon Espy's WORMDYE. And more stuff from Worcester's own Sam Gaskin.

- oddments and miscellany of OGNER STUMP, including ONE THOUSAND SORROWS. Brought to you by the hand and mind of Andrew Goldfarb.

- a batch of goodies from Gingko Press: E. PLURIBUS VENOM by Shepard Fairey; I LOVE U BABY, a collection of characters; TOO FAT, CAN'T FLY by Yuko Kondo; WUNDERGROUND: PROVIDENCE 1995 TO THE PRESENT; and the always beautiful, always tear-inducing, POOR SAILOR by Sammy Harkham. (And speaking of Sammy Harkham, I sold out of my original shipment of Kramers Ergot 7s. I have a few more on the way. If you'd like one, please let me know and I'll set it aside for you. If I run out again, I can always order more.)

- I also just received a lot of foreign language comics conveniently translated into English. There are titles by Lewis Trondheim, Christophe Blain, Tanaka, Seyong O, Joann Sfar and the estimable David B., whose Nocturnal Conspiricies has just been released, to wild applause and critical acclamour.

2008-12-12T15:10:00.007-05:00

On Saturday the 20th, from 6 to 8 in the eve, come to Ada Books and get to know Jo Dery, Pride of the West Side (I thought up that nickname without any help from anybody!), who will be available for photo ops, witty banter, and the signing of her new book: Quietly Sure ~ Like the Keeper of a Great Secret. It's published by Little Otsu out of Portland, Oregon and it is petite and wonderous and beautiful. Also appearing: Querent, the guitar and voice(?) of Natalja Kent. Plus: Hot apple cider!

2008-11-23T14:16:00.006-05:00

HOLY GOD!!! It's the Seventh Coming of Kramers Ergot!

And it's happening here, at Ada Books.

On Sunday, December 7th, from 6pm - 9pm,
gladhand with the makers of Kramers Ergot 7.

Nine or ten or twelve or eight of them will
be around for you to schmooze with, get to
know on a brief and superficial basis, maybe
even to go home with, I don't know, it's
none of my business. I do know they'll at
least sign your book, sign your back, sign
whatever you ask, I imagine. Best of all,
you'll have a memory that will last through
early onset senility and at least one body
part you won't want to wash for weeks.

Here's a list of the probable possibles:

Sammy Harkham, James McShane, Leif Goldberg
Rick Altergott, Ron Rege, P'Shaw, C. F.
John Pham, Ben Jones, Souther Salazar,
Kevin Huizenga & Ron Rege

That should be plenty of incentive for any
contemporary-comics addict. However, for
those old-fangled caffeine addicts, Ada's
streetmate (and neighborhood fixture),
White Electric,
will be open and serving your coffee and
tea needs until nine o'clock.

2008-11-18T15:25:00.002-05:00

Jeffrey Yang

Katy Lederer

& special guest

Forrest Gander

This Saturday,

November 22nd

at six o'clock.

2008-11-13T17:30:00.004-05:00

This Sunday, November 16th, at 6pm, Isabelle Garron will lavish us with the French tongue. E. Tracy Grinnell will then translate it for those of you who aren't bi. And Sarah Riggs will treat us to some sound poetry. Snacks will be there and so will wines. Why don't you join us?

Note! Sarah Riggs can't make it tonight so Damon Krukowski will stand in and shout out for her. Krukowski, you may or mayn't know, is one of two geniuses behind Exact Change. He is a talent and a tastemaker and I don't expect you'll want to miss him.

2008-11-09T13:14:00.005-05:00

Peter Markus reads from

Bob, or Man on Boat

Monday, November 10th

at 8 o'clock in the eve

Beer and salted nuts
provided by management

Undivided adulation
provided by you

2008-11-05T15:45:00.004-05:00

This Saturday, November the Eighth, at 7pm,

see Adam Golaski and Ken Rumble
enliven the air with their outloud poems.

And forget not that noted novelmaker, Peter Markus, will be here (717 Westminster) this Monday, at 8pm.

Free snacks and wine make merry on the side.

2008-10-30T05:45:00.004-04:00

Erika Howsare makes poetry happen at Ada Books on All Saints' Day (November 1st), 6pm. Snacks and wine and leftover Halloween candy will be served. See you there!

2008-10-16T19:36:00.002-04:00

Hey. It's poetry season. Dial up your thermostats. Enshroud yourselves in wool. Use your inside ears and listen: Saturday, Rocktober 18th, enjoy the lyric and lilt of Douglas Martin & Christopher Schmidt. The fun starts at 6pm. Snacks and drinks abound!

And I was just kidding about all of that wool. My heating system works dandily. Warm air oozes out of the floor. It's sorcery. By the way, for those of you who haven't been paying attention, the shop has unchained itself. It's around the corner now at 717 Westminster Street. It's small still but there is some extra room for elbows and whatnots. Please poke your head in sometime.

2008-09-28T07:58:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, October 4th, Vanessa Place & David Rutschman will be the first to read outloud and in the open at Ada's new location, 717 Westminster Street. I hope you will do me and them the honor of being there and occasionally breaking into spontaneous, vociferous adulations. Of course, there will be things to eat & drink. And chairs for the worthy.

Also! On Tuesday, October 7th, Nate Powell, former denizen of Providence's West Side, will sign on and read from his new picture book, Swallow Me Whole.

This one will be at 7 o'clock. Buy a book, drink a beer and shake hands with the man behind the pen.

2008-09-22T08:31:00.002-04:00

Hi, Stranger. I've got some news for you. Ada Books is moving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . around the corner. As of October 1st, my new digs will be at 717 Westminster Street. The old place, as charming as it was, turned out to be a temptation for thieves and taggers. The new location has better security, higher visibility and even greater charm. I know you're going to like it. See you soon.

2008-09-15T08:16:00.002-04:00

This Saturday, September 20th, come listen to the aural art of John Thomspon and Clea Liquard. Brought to you by the good people from The Publicly Complex Reading Series. The entertainment is free and so are the cheap wine and snacks.

2008-09-07T10:57:00.003-04:00

Saturday

September 13

6pm

Mairead Byrne

&

Brenda Iijima

An Airful of Poems

Plus

Snacks and whatnots

Free

2008-09-02T08:58:00.003-04:00

This Saturday at 7:30pm, hear the outloud fiction of Magdalena Zurawski (The Bruise) along with the tongue-thrummed poetry of Jeremy Hoevenaar and Dorothy Albertini. Snacks and wine will be on display for your delectation. I can't wait to see you!

2008-08-18T08:42:00.003-04:00

Hi, Stranger. If you happen to drop by the shop in the next week or so you may notice an ugly white door where my old black beauty used to be. That's because some chucklehead broke it down, stole my computer, violated my tiny paradise. This new door is temporary, much like my late-model sanity. This door, this unpretty reminder of an unpretty act, will hang around about as long as my foul mood will. So please excuse my recent off days and my recent days off. It's only a passing discombobulation.

2008-08-05T14:51:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, August 14th, at 7pm, Mathias Svalina (Why I Am White), Julie Doxsee (You Will Build a City Out of Rags) & Thibault Raoult (local hero) will eruct, for your delightment, a selection of their poems. Free wine will be on hand to inhibit your inhibitions. I await the pleasure of your company.

2008-07-20T14:36:00.002-04:00

William Walsh(fictionist) and Brian Foley(poemster) will perform their lyrical tricks here at Ada Books on Saturday, August the Second, at seven of clock. There will be some cool, summer wine within reach and probably a salty snack or two.

Won't you joins us?

2008-07-14T16:14:00.002-04:00

These are some of the new new books that have come in recently. I'll have even more by the end of the week, unless FedEx has it in for me.

And don't forget, please don't you ever forget that I'm always getting new used books. They come in all the time, like waifs. I clean their faces and give them a bookshelf to sleep on for a while but it's up to you, Stranger, to give them a home.

If you come in this Saturday you'll find that I'm not here, that the shop is dark and dusty. Well, it's always dusty but the darkness will be the fault of the Indie Arts Festival downtown where I'll be working as literature's shill. My table will be covered with books, early on, and later, with beer cups. Please visit me. I miss you.

Coming up, on August 2nd, William Walsh and Brian James Foley will be reading aloud for our pleasure. It's at 7pm and there'll be the usual snackery. It's going to be in all the papers but I'll let know more soon.

2008-06-29T16:48:00.003-04:00

Ada Books has a summer job! So, for the next six weeks, I'll be operating under weird summer hours.

You'll still find me here everyday (except holidays) but now, on weekdays, I'll only be open from 2pm until 7pm. Hope that's all right with you, Stranger.

Also, on certain Saturdays, you might find a frown on my door. That's because Ada Books is kicking its way to glory out on the kickball field. Go Holy Rollers! You can consult the schedule here: providenckickballleague.

Things will return to normal, this side of Labor Day. Normal can be nice. Normal can also be a big bore. Enjoy your summer!

2008-06-17T16:59:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, June 28th, Samuel C. Gaskin will infect our ears and eyes with his kitbag of heartbeats and pictographs. The show starts at 7pm. There will be tiny beers and sodas for your refreshment needs. Until then, please enjoy this video.

2008-06-05T14:59:00.005-04:00

Get a load of Kate Schipira's new book of tasty poems! It's called Ethel's Dream* and it's this week's Discount Dandy. Buy it and anything else you buy with it will be twenty percent off. That's how the Discount Dandy works. That's the Discount Dandy way.

*Bad scan. It should be green, not blue.

And do you know what else is dandy? I mean, do you know what else is Discount Dandy? This:

It's a signed print (4"x 6") by the Alec Thibodeau. There's a freaky bearded one, too, but you'll have to come in (or go to www.inkape.com) to get your eyes on it.

Yeah, so, buy something already. I'm here every day, all the time. And lately I've been feeling a little lonesome.

2008-05-25T13:15:00.003-04:00

A rare Sunday reading a Ada Books! On June 1st, at 6pm, Boston's Black Ocean poets Janaka Stucky and Rauan Klassnik will, ahem, wash up on our shores. We'll provide you with all the grog and hardtack you can stomach. All you need to do is show up and listen in.

2008-05-19T14:51:00.002-04:00

This Saturday, May 24, Jason Stumpf will read from his own poetry as well as from his translations of Pura López-Colomé (her collection, Aurora, is now available from Shearsman Books). ¡He might even read some of her work in the original Spanish! As always, one corner of the shop will be devoted to snacks and wines. You'll come, won't you?

2008-05-12T11:30:00.004-04:00

Live readings from Dead in Desemboque,
Friday, May 16th, at 7pm.
Alec Thibodeau & Will Schaff
astound you with vocal renderings
of inked-in word balloons!
Lightbeams project the scenes
so that even the feeblest
eyes may see them! Plus:
plenty of cold Tecate,
chips and chipotles for
bold bellys & intimid tongues!
Also: copies of the comic
will be made availabe for sale
in case you want to relive or
re-enact the scenes at home!
And: Hey, look at this!

2008-04-30T12:33:00.003-04:00

The poems of Jibade-Khalil Huffman & Laura Jaramillo will be sung outloud by the authors themselves here at Ada Books on Saturday, May 10th, at 6pm. You can shake hands with the poets, maybe even hug them (after a decent interval of small talk) and pinch them (kindly, discreetly) to ensure that they're real. We'll have on offer our usual selection of cheap wines and cheap snacks which will be yours for the taking. There'll be books for you to paw and purchase, including Mr. Huffman's latest, 19 Names for Our Band, put out by Fence Books and pictured above. See you there, hmmm?

2008-04-26T13:11:00.003-04:00

This week's D'Iscount D'Andy is Douglas Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic. Take twenty percent off of this book and any other book or books that you buy with it. Rememember, you must declare that you are buying the DD to get credit for it. I don't reward happy accidents.

2008-04-21T12:54:00.002-04:00

Poets
Karen Weiser and Anselm Berrigan
will unravel our language
this Friday, April 25th, at 6pm.
Drinks will be upended.
Snacks will be summarily
dispatched.
Please attend.

2008-04-17T15:48:00.003-04:00

This week's Discount D'Andy is Alberto Morvavia's Boredom.
Twenty percent off of this book and any others you buy with it.

2008-04-13T13:54:00.002-04:00

This Wednesday, April 16th, Ada Books presents, for your pleasure:

Paul McComas and Tim Brown.

They'll be reading from their newly-minted novels. And they may even make you laugh.

The fun begins at 6pm and of course, we'll wine and snack you.

2008-04-03T12:46:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, April 12th, six Flim Forum Press poets

Kate Schapira + Jennifer Karmin + Deborah Poe

John Cotter + Matthew Klane + Adam Golaski

will read their wares in between these walls. Flim Forum is a scrappy small press that puts out a fine selection of living poetry. You can find out more if you go here: http://www.flimforum.com. They will be reading at the usual hour (6pm) and of course, they'll be accompanied by a fine selection of living snackary.

This week's Discount D'Andy is In A Bear's Eye, by Yannick Murphy.

2008-03-22T15:15:00.007-04:00

Kate Colby, who is not just a friend of the shop but a gifted and important contemporary poet, has graciously consented to celebrate the local launching of her second book, Unbecoming Behavior, with us at Ada Books. And "us" is you, Stranger, if you want it to be.

Unbecoming Behavior is published by the earthy, the piquant, the noble Ugly Duckling Presse, headquarted in Brooklyn, USA. Their link is to your right and there you will also find praise and prose concerning Kate Colby and her work.

I urge you to join us, Saturday, March 29th, at 6 pm. We'll have a bounty of refreshments that will otherwise go to waste. And though it is Spring we may still need the heat of humans* to warm us while we listen to Kate's good words.

*In fact, my heater works all right. I just like the idea of a body-heated book shop.

This week's Discount Dandy is Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, by Laurens van der Post.

2008-03-13T10:57:00.004-04:00

On Friday, March 21st, at 6pm, poets Ben Mazer and Jon Leon will spontaneously combust themselves before our mystified eyes. Maybe. At the very least they will read for us from poems that they have written and published. After which, they might, might make one lucky audience member levitate to the ceiling, where the air is not only rarefied but haunted by cobwebs and spider skeletons. There will, as always, be snacks and drinks. And books. And charming conversations.

For those of you that care, this week's Discount Dandy is The Tunnel, by William Gass. Twenty percent off of this book and any other book you buy along with it.

2008-03-03T13:52:00.004-05:00

Rocket ships are exciting
But so are roses on a birthday

Computers are exciting
But so is a sunset

And logic will never replace love

Sometimes I wonder where I belong
In the future or in the past

I guess I'm just an old-fashioned
Spaceman

Hi, Stranger. If you think computers and sunsets are exciting then I think you'd like this forthright volume of poetry by Boston's homeblood, Leonard Nimoy. It's called Warmed By Love and it's this week's Discount Dandy!

So what is a Discount Dandy; I mean, besides a shameless promotional gimmick?

Well, a Discount Dandy is a special book on Ada Books' shelves which I bestow with the power to take 20% off of your purchase.

Does that mean I could buy cool books, books I actually might want to read, for 20% as well?

Anything you buy along with the Discount Dandy will also cost 20% less, yes.

Do I have to say the phrase 'Discount Dandy'? Because I feel sort of stupid saying it out loud.

I'm sorry but you will have to tell me, the man behind the desk, that you know about the Discount Dandy in order to get the discount. I can't do everything.

Can I just say 'D. D.'? I mean, that sounds a lot less stupid, don't you think?

D. D. is fine, as long as you mention it with your purchase. And remember, the book will change each week. I'll either announce it here or post it in the shop. I reserve the right to be coy and maybe make a little riddle or puzzle instead of telling you outright. Any other questions?

Yeah. I thought Leonard Nimoy was a Vulcan?

He's a Mass. man and his poetry is a solipsistic mind-meld. Listen to this specimen:

I may not be the fastest
I may not be the tallest or the strongest

I may not be the best or the brightest

But one thing I can do better
Than anyone else. . .

That is to be me

2008-02-26T15:54:00.008-05:00

This Friday is Leap Day, which only happens every four years or so, and to commemorate this especial event, Ada Books is presenting you, lucky Stranger, with an evening of prose! Providence authors Kelli Auerbach and Roxanne Carter will read from work they wrote themselves. So please come, Friday, February 29th, at 7pm. It will be a performance that's easy on the eyes and the ears. (Snacks will be ubiquitous, as always.)

2008-02-13T09:01:00.004-05:00

Mark Yakich, expert wordsman and friend of the shop, will be bending neurons and making new magnetic fields inside the walls of Ada Books Friday, February 22nd, 7pm.

Here's something from his first book of poems, Unrelated Individuals Forming a Group Waiting to Cross:

Prose Sonnet

He will engineer the sunrise, take apart the clouds as if unbuttoning his shirt. On the way to your house, he will bend down, tie his shoes like framing a picture. He will clip flowers, with his teeth, from the neighbor's garden. He will discard them before reaching your house. He will descend the hill pretending not to be watched as you watch him from the smallest attic window.

But you will not see him round the final curve. Before letting him in, you will forget to ask him to replace the pebbles he's kept in his hip pocket with the heavy rock near the mailbox. Because you are already in love, "Sit down," you will say, pointing to the chair, "no, don't kiss me, it won't be necessary."

And it's echo in his second, The Making of Collateral Beauty:

Prose Sonnet

The shirt in the poem was real, the house was not, and the last line was stolen from a philosopher who was in love with a 13-year-old boy. The attic window from which the reader views this alleged failing in love was pentagonal, red and yellow stained glass. Over the years, many neighborhood kids have tried to knock out the window with rocks and baseballs, but it can only be smashed from the inside out.

He will read from these, if it pleases him, and from his latest collection, The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine. It's picture lords over this text.

You can read other poems and eye his illustrations at www.markyakich.com.

2008-02-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ada Books and The Publicly Complex Reading Series present a new night of poetry! Justin Marks, Ana Bozicevic-Bowling & Ravi Shankar (That's the cover of his book up above.) will read you the fruit of their brain sweats (I promise it will be better than it sounds.) this Saturday, February 9, at 6pm. There will be free wine and snacks for those who like that sort of thing. Do come.

2008-01-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

I don't mean to, ahem, alarm you but Ada Books is now open at 9am on weekdays. I'll need your help to make sense of these extra hours. Wake up and walk in, Stranger!

Alas, I will be closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I like to think that the good reverend would have wanted it that way.

2008-01-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 11th, from 5 till 7 in the evening

see art by

Rebecca Volynsky,

eat snacks, sweet & salty.

2007-12-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

It may be too late for last minute gifts but since when do you need an excuse to come into Ada Books? Here are a few new things you'll find if you do. . .

Graphic Novels: The Comic Book Holocaust, by Johnny Ryan; Ghost Stories, by Jeff Lemire; Fatal Distraction, by Sonja Ahlers; Louis Riel, by Chester Brown; Red Eye, Black Eye, by K. Thor Jensen; Cry Yourself To Sleep, by Jeremy Tinder; Poor Sailor, by Sam Harkham;Acme Novelty Library #18, by Chris Ware; The Building, by Will Eisner; Dangerous Woman, by Sharon Rudahl; Good-Bye Chunky Rice, by Craig Thompson; Pure Trance, by Junko Mizuno; Macedonia, by Harvey Pekar; Pyongyang, Guy Delisle; Shortcomings, by Adrian Tomine; Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon.

Literature: Whatever, by Michel Houelebecq; Distant Star and Last Evenings on Earth, by Roberto Bolano; Book of Disquiet and Message, by Fernando Pessoa; Going Down and Collected Poems, by David Markson; W, or The Memory of Childhood, by Georges Perec.

Political, Art, etc: The Portable Athiest, ed. by Christopher Hitchens; The Unraveling of the Bush Presidency, by Howard Zinn; T.A.Z, by Hakim Bey; Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, by Michael Perry; Hello Please!, by Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda.

Of course, there are plenty of other books to buy or browse, Stranger, and just because I haven't listed them here doesn't mean that I don't love them. I'm also buying books if you have good things to sell. You don't need an appointment but you might want to call ahead in case I get antsy and leave early. It's not all that professional around here.

2007-12-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

Ada Books will be closed on Christmas Day (but you knew that already, didn't you, Stranger?) and furthermore, Ada Books may or may not open a bit late and close a bit early on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Please call before you come. I hope this causes less holiday discomfort than the creepy weeping Santa above. Happy Eggnog!

2007-12-11T11:59:00.000-05:00

New at Ada Books: The Impossibly, by Laird Hunt; The Wavering Knife, by Brian Evenson; A Void, by Georges Perec; World Light, by Halldor Laxness; A Special Providence, Richard Yates; The Voice Imitator, by Thomas Bernhard; Notable American Women, by Ben Marcus; Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, Norwegian Wood, both by Haruki Murakami; Epitaph for a Tramp & Epitaph for a Dead Beat, by David Markson; Novels In Three Lines, by Felix Feneon; and from the arched eyebrow of Tam Tam Books, comes three French wonders (in translation): Evguenie Sokolov, by Serge Gainsbourg; Foam of the Daze and I Spit On Your Graves, both by Boris Vian. I encourage anyone interested in good reading (There you can also find videos of Gainsbourg, Vian and Dutronc, among others.) to go to Tam Tam's website which is now crowning the link list at your right. And if you're looking for something which isn't here or in the shop, I can always order it for you. I like doing stuff like that, Stranger. All you have to do is ask.

2007-12-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

I hate to be so blatantly commercial, especially during the holidays (Linus Van Pelt would be so disappointed in me.), but I thought I'd let you know that I do sell gift certificates here at Ada Books. They come in festive Santa-hued envelopes, though the certificates themselves are a drab, dirty, smudgy brown. But perhaps you have a family member or loved one who likes brown? Anyway, the certificates are not important. What is important, is what they represent. And what do they represent? Words. Worlds. Wonder. Whatever they represent can be found in books. And books can be found at Ada Books. And if the books your loved one or family member or friend or postman cannot be found here at Ada Books then I will find them, no matter the time it takes or the money it requires (as long as it isn't more than the amount of the gift certificate). And Stranger, isn't that the real meaning of the holidays? Doing stuff for people? For money? Of course it is. Of course it is.