Just a quick note to let you know the store is open again.  Our apologies for the unexpected closure — building maintenance took much longer than we’d hoped.

We have a sale starting pronto, so we’ll update you about that next. Stay tuned!

Regular customers to the store will have noticed Gallowglass Books has been closed on and off this past week.  We’re so sorry for the inconvenience.  The reason is due to unexpected building maintenance issues  (some work being done upstairs and requiring some drywall fixes to our ceiling as a result) and it’s been a bit unpredictable.

We’ve been assured (knock on wood) that the work will be done in the next day or two and that we should be able to re-open the store on Wednesday at the latest.  Maybe sooner, but your guess is as good as ours, I’m afraid.

We’ll be sure to post here as soon as we re-open. Meanwhile, feel free to contact us by emailing books@gallowglassbooks.com or phone and leave a message at 250-746-4104.

The Raise-a-Reader event took place here in the Cowichan Valley today with four locations where folks could donate and enter for prizes. All funds raised are to help local literacy programs and will be matched by the Province of B.C.

The Downtown Duncan location was at City Square, alongside Gallowglass Books.  Among other notables in attendance, there were Cowichan Valley Capitals hockey players Curtis Gedig and Shayne Taker, as well as local MLA Jean Crowder, all there to help kick the event off.

Our appreciation to everyone who came out to support local literacy campaigns!

While most readers probably seek out biographies to learn the intimate details of people’s lives and the history of different eras and cultures, there are some for whom autobiography is meant to be outright comedy. (Whether it was written comically or not!)  Which brings us to the off-Broadway production of Celebrity Autobiography.

Recently on CBC’s show Q, host Jian Ghomeshi interviewed the producer (?) and Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch, one of the players from the New York production,  which is where we first heard about it.  The video below is a taste of the style, an odd and frequently very funny mixture of melodrama and witty spins on the personal stories of your favorite celebs.

A unique and fun way to put your biography library (or our collection) to fresh use, perhaps? You decide!

Certainly books are the most important thing to a bookstore  (of course!), but have you noticed how so many bookstores carry things in addition to books?  Everything from blank journals and stationary, to beautifully crafted bookmarks and other lovely things, can be found in our favorite stores around Vancouver Island.  And even here at Gallowglass — where we don’t actually carry journals or stationary — there’s always a few odd things around the store.

Taking inventory recently, I snapped a few photos…

The cards on this rack are all lovingly crafted by our friend, and long-time customer, Gwen Rawlins, a talented artist here in the Cowichan Valley. On the walls of the store you can also see various examples of prints and paintings (not pictured here) available for sale.

Above, you can see we keep a few audio books on hand, tapes and CDs. (Handy if you’re in the car a lot or like to take long walks!)

Recognize the books above? Well, they’re not books; they’re book boxes, actually. Particularly handy for hiding valuables. (Just be sure to buy a box of a book you really like… you don’t want to accidentally forget you’ve stored some cash in there before unthinkingly giving the book away!)

Finally, a wall hanging by Mary Rolls, another customer of the store and talented local artist. And below that photo, some stray book ends for the shelves.

Books are always the star of the show, but it seems other things have a way of slipping onto the shelves. And who knows… maybe one day we’ll even add some of those blank journals like a normal bookstore.

Everything at Gallowglass Books, from the $1 paperback beach books to the rarest of expensive treasures, is covered by our semi-annual 25% off sale.*

Come by and check it out!

*Sale is for in-store customers only.

Bestsellers lists are a handy tool, not necessarily because we want to read what everyone else is reading, but because sometimes we have no idea what to read next! Since Gallowglass Books is primarily a ‘used books’ store, our inventory can be unpredictable. But that being said, there’s usually a fair number of recent bestsellers around, so drop by or give us a call if you’re looking for something in particular.

As for what to read? Here are some links to bestseller lists which might inspire you:

• The Globe & Mail bestsellers via Amazon.ca has a list of its top books. (The list is always discounted at 50% off, too, so if you can’t get a used copy with us, that’s a very affordable option.)
• Amazon also conveniently allows you to sort bestsellers into various categories, but in broad terms  here are the best of current fiction and non-fiction
• Other periodicals with formidable bestseller lists include the NY Times, The Guardian, Maclean’s and the LA Times.

Have you ever wondered what some of the best selling books of all time are? Fans of literature have updated the Wikipedia to include a range of some of the top sellers through history, to make for an interesting list.

For instance:

• The Bible is said to have sold at least 2.5 billion or as many as 6 billion copies.
• Some books said to have sold a minimum of 100 million copies, are: The Book of Mormon, A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien), The Koran, etc.
• In the 50-100 million copies category, we find: The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown), Le Petit Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery), Black Beauty (Anna Sewell), and many others.

Religious tomes, thrillers, fantasies, world respected children’s classics… there’s certainly something for everyone on a bestsellers list.

Note: For readers in the Cowichan Valley, you can contact us by phone if you like, to find out if we have a book in stock that you’re looking for. And if we don’t have it, there’s always Ten Old Books, another fine used book store in Duncan, and Volume One Books which sells new editions.

And if none of us have what you’re looking for, there’s always Amazon and other online options.

Erik Bosee of The Aldredge Book Store in Dallas, Texas, has a very informative video series online where he talks about the basics of collecting, caring for and understanding rare books. The videos are short and informative, and bound to be very helpful for budding — and even some expert — collectors. Check out the complete collection on the Expert Village website where they’re freely available for everyone to enjoy.

Here’s one video from the series, titled “How to Care for Rare Books.”

Oh my. It’s already that time — the end of one year and the beginning of a new one.

Gallowglass Books will be open New Year’s Eve for as long as you need us… tentatively till 5pm, but we may close anytime after 3pm today, too. It honestly depends if YOU are here or not.

Feel free to give us a call if you expect to stop by late in the day.  Even if it’s just to browse, we don’t mind. And we’ll be open again at our regular hours on Friday, January 2.

For New Year’s Eve celebrations, some of us around here will be starting with dinner at the City Square Grill right next door (their prime rib is irresistible!). Whatever you’re doing tonight, we hope you have a wonderful time, too.

Happy New Year!!!

Thank you for your friendship and business during the past year.  We hope you all have a lovely holiday, however you celebrate it!

The store will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but will return to regular hours on December 27th.