Category Archives: Duthie Books

No-One Likes to See This as a Result

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Well… poop.

It seems that Borders USA is looking even less likely to continue business than before last week’s auction.

For those of you just joining the saga, Borders USA has been battling the “Going Out of Business Sale” demons for nearly a year. Borders UK folded a couple of years ago, and the Australian version a few months ago, but the American chain looked like a solid contender for continuing life; especially when reports of Barnes & Noble were filled with stockholder revolt.

What with local, long term businesses such as Duthies and its offspring Ardea Books, plus specialty shops like Biz Books and others finding it impossible to operate and pay ever-increasing costs for city property and commercial business taxes, adding the above to the mix makes one wonder “will I ever walk into a book shop again?”

When it comes to pass that — as is the case with Borders’ auction last week — no one is even interested in placing a bid for a multiple-location, national chain of stores, no matter what those stores offer, you really have to wonder about things.

Sorry, no answers here, nor even much in the way of hope, just a post to note the placing of another brick in a construction of something. I’ve no idea even what that construction is shaped like, but one does feel a tad that the final form will look a bit dreary.

Blast.

BizBooks Moving Online Event this Saturday

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Biz Books

Biz Books, yo

Bizbooks is one of the best independent stores in the city (hell, it’s one of the ONLY ones left! but it was always great) and now they’re closing their Cordova street location and moving to virtual space. Come out Saturday and help them wrap things up in style.

Well, we are now in August and after 14 years, our time on Cordova Street is drawing to a close. We have loved being here, the community, our great neighbours, our fantastic landlords, our wonderful customers. To all of you who were so much a part of this great run thanks and please come on by Saturday, August 14th as we say “Thanks for the Cordova Street Memories ” and celebrate both our time here as well as our new “Online and… On Location” adventure!

The Biz Books “Moving Online and On-Location Party will include:

-Snacks and refreshments!

-Door prizes and giveaways!

-An extra 14% off of our already fantastic price reductions!

Come on by and share a story with us!

The store will open at noon and the party will swing between 2pm and 8pm

And as the song says “We’re here for a good time…not a long time….”

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Duthie Party to Remember, Party to Forget

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Online ticket sales are closed, but you can still reserve (and it’s strongly recommended that you do) by emailing Lorraine dot murphy at gmail dot com. The Party is on Monday!!! The Shebeen has a capacity of only 60 people, so email and make sure you don’t get stuck out in the rain.

Book Funeral

The Patient Succumbed to Amazonitis

Help us celebrate the slate but always-great Duthie Books, one of the world’s great independent booksellers. Sadly, after more than a half a century of informed and impassioned involvement in the literary world, Duthie’s last location will be shutting its doors at the end of February.

Come out and reminisce and help us celebrate a great bookstore and an intellectual institution. This is a chain invitation, so pass it along to all who may be interested, either by copying it into an email, pointing out this blog post, or by inviting people by using the link in the sidebar on Facebook. Half of the Vancouver literati used to work there, buy there, or just try to chat up people in the Cellar (not as filthy as it sounds, outsiders!).

We will be accepting book donations for charity! All books and $5 from each ticket sold will go to the Stratcona One to One Literacy program. Keep books alive!

There will be many surprises there. Don’t forget to wear black! Full mourning dress preferred. Celia Duthie will be our guest of honour.

If you have a collection of old Duthie Bookmarks, please bring them in. They’ll be photographed for posterity and the best one will win a prize.

Ex-Duthieites are encouraged to attend, moderately encouraged to get maudlin, strongly encouraged to get into storytelling, and absolutely COMPELLED to get into the whiskey.

Come out and share your reminiscences of the deceased, and toast the memory of a fine, upstanding bookstore who never turned away an intellectual in need of brain food or met an obscure literary magazine it didn’t like. God, I’m getting weepy just thinking about it!

Details: Since we expect this event to be packed, please reserve your ticket in advance via email.

7pm till late

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather pub, 212 Carrall Street, Maple Tree Square, Gastown, Vancouver

$20 (proceeds to charity) includes a drink and dinner, with a choice of:

  • entree salad
  • vegetarian pasta
  • bangers and mash
  • fish and chips
  • sleeve of domestic draft or glass of white or red wine

Dress code: funereal. Black beret and tame yet ominous raven optional.

N is for Neville by Christine Mladic

N is for Neville, done in by ennui. Check out the Gashleycrumb Tinies series by photographer Christine Mladic

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Real Vancouver Writers’ Series Tonight!

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W2 4 u

W2 4 u

Yes, tonight W2 comes alive with more hawt literary action than you’ve seen this side of an Anais Nin concordance. Five bucks gets you in to this funky-bohemian artspace to enjoy shoulder-rubbing proximity to the real writers who are putting Vangroover on the cultural map. Tonight’s lineup features many ex-Duthieites including your host, Sean Cranbury, one of the infamous Cellar Dwellers of the old Hornby and Robson store (where I bought my first edition copy of Neuromancer, sigh, back when it was new).

Duthie Books closed for good on Monday, so if you want to celebrate one of the world’s best bookstores, tonight and our Wake next Monday are pretty much your only chances. But although the store may be gone, the literary tradition continues. Yes, the force is strong with these ones, so catch them now before they’re too famous to return your calls.

The Lineup (full deets on the RealVancouverWritersSeries):

  • Charles Demers
  • Jenn Farrell
  • Chris Walter
  • Jen Sookfong Lee
  • Shay Wilson
  • Ian Weir
  • Larissa Lai
  • Anne Stone
  • Jane Sayers
  • Kevin Chong
  • Peter Darbyshire

See you there?

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A Wake for Duthie Books: our Shebeen Club Meeting for February

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Book Funeral

The Patient Succumbed to Amazonitis

Get your tickets now on Eventbrite!
http://www.eventbrite.com/registerbutton?eid=418674266

Online ticket sales are closed, but you can still reserve (and it’s strongly recommended that you do) by emailing Lorraine dot murphy at gmail dot com.

Help us wake the soon-to-be-late but always-great Duthie Books, one of the world’s great independent booksellers. Sadly, after more than a half a century of informed and impassioned involvement in the literary world, Duthie’s last location will be shutting its doors at the end of February.

We see no reason to wait till it’s dead to have a wake, so come out and reminisce and help us celebrate a great bookstore and an intellectual institution. This is a chain invitation, so pass it along to all who may be interested, either by copying it into an email, pointing out this blog post, or by inviting people by using the link in the sidebar on Facebook. Half of the Vancouver literati used to work there, buy there, or just try to chat up people in the Cellar (not as filthy as it sounds, outsiders!).

We will be accepting book donations for charity! All books and $5 from each ticket sold will go to the Stratcona One to One Literacy program. Keep books alive! And remember, Duthie Books IS having their regular sale starting at the end of January, so you can show your support for Duthie Books and contribute to charity at the same time if you buy the books to donate at Duthie.

We won’t have a presenter, but we MAY have a coffin. There will be many surprises there. Don’t forget to wear black! Full mourning dress preferred. Celia Duthie will be our guest of honour.

If you have a collection of old Duthie Bookmarks, please bring them in. They’ll be photographed for posterity and the best one will win a prize.

Ex-Duthieites are encouraged to attend, moderately encouraged to get maudlin, strongly encouraged to get into storytelling, and absolutely COMPELLED to get into the whiskey.

Come out and share your reminiscences of the deceased, and toast the memory of a fine, upstanding bookstore who never turned away an intellectual in need of brain food or met an esoteric literary magazine it didn’t like. God, I’m getting weepy just thinking about it!

Details: Since we expect this event to be packed, please reserve your ticket in advance on Eventbrite.

7pm till late

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather pub, 212 Carrall Street, Maple Tree Square, Gastown, Vancouver

$20 (proceeds to charity) includes a drink and dinner, with a choice of:

  • entree salad
  • vegetarian pasta
  • bangers and mash
  • fish and chips
  • sleeve of domestic draft or glass of white or red wine

Dress code: funereal. Black beret and tame yet ominous raven optional.

N is for Neville by Christine Mladic

N is for Neville, done in by ennui. Check out the Gashleycrumb Tinies series by photographer Christine Mladic

Related Wailings and the Rending of Garments from around the interwebs:

Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin. Didn't we all?

Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin. Looking forward to that myself

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We will be accepting book donations for charity! All books and $5 from each ticket sold will go to the Stratcona One to One Literacy program. Keep books alive! And remember, Duthie Books IS having their regular sale starting at the end of January, so you can show your support for Duthie Books and contribute to charity at the same time if you buy the books to donate at Duthie.