This year's Romance Writers of America NEC conference was a blast! Thanks to all the great authors and readers that made it so much fun!

Stay tuned for more info on our next author event - Sheila Cunningham's new book Willow's Walkabout comes out on May 16th and we'll be hosting her book reading/signing at the Stoneham Theatre on June 6th. We are hoping illustrator Kathie Kelleher will also be able to join us. This delightful story is based on the real escape of a wallaby from Stoneham's Stone Zoo in the 1970's

Willow the Wallaby escapes from the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA and goes on a tour of Boston from Foxboro to Back Bay, riding Swan Boats, running the Marathon, hopping into the Science Museum and the Children's Museum before touring the Freedom Trail and taking the Duck Tour and the T to dozens more exciting places.Written in bouncy Wallaby Verse, practical and delightful, this guide will become a treasured memento of any visit to the Patriot City!

Inventory helpers make a big difference!

A big thanks to the customers that gave up some of their weekend to help us count books, lots and lots of books. We managed to get the task completed in just over 4 hours - a record for sure. Now if I could just get motivated to start the taxes....naw, not yet, reading Louise Penny's Still Life instead.

Happy New Year's Eve readers!
I'm happy to report that we had a Dad in with his sons yesterday to show them what a real bookstore looks like. Usually it's the other way around and customers say "If you don't have it, I'll just go to a real bookstore this weekend." I assume they mean Barnes & and Noble. Like Pinocchio, we strive everyday to be as 'real' as possible. We offer new books, games, T-shirts and bookmarks along with a wonderful selection of second-hand, eco-friendly books. After nine years it's hard to think of ourselves as anything but REAL.

Here's to keeping it real in 2012 :-)

All best from your real booksellers,
Deb & Dan

This past Saturday was Small Business Saturday and we want to thank everyone that made the day such a huge success for The Book Oasis and many of the other independently-owned small businesses in our area (and across the country)! By shifting just one of your holiday purchases to a small business, you do good things for your community. You add to the tax base, you help the business give more back to schools and community groups, you keep your Main Streets alive and vibrant. Now consider shifting more than one purchase to your community's small businesses....and see more good things happen!

Bring on the romance!

The Romance Writers of America New England Chapter has asked The Oasis to provide the books for their annual conference author event on April 30th. We are so excited! This is going to be a big opportunity to get our store recognized, both by the authors and a new region of MA. The author event is open to the public and is being held at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. This would be a great chance to visit a town with lots of fun shopping, history and us!

Authors include Anne Stuart, Deborah Blake (witchcraft titles), Annette Blair, Hannah Howell, Mia Marlowe, Jessica Andersen and so many more.

See you there!

More like Steig Larson

Have you plowed though all The Girl With the.....books and are still hungry for more Swedish mysteries? I'm currently engrossed in the Martin Beck series by husband-wife team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. These detective procedurals were penned in the 1960s. I think there are 9 or 10 in the series and I'm hoping to find them all before I finish the 2 I have.

Henning Mankell is also becoming more available and his titles are being reprinted in mass market. His Kurt Wallander series should fill the gap left by the lack of more Stieg Larson for a while.

Deb

I finished a book that wasn't for my book club!

Deb just finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. In the tradition of her bestseller and soon-to-be-movie book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, this one gives readers a taste of depression-era life in America for Chinese immigrants in the 1930s and 40s. As Pearl tries to be American and maintain her Chinese heritage at the same time, she comes to care for an adopted family, worries about her modern American daughter, and learns hard lessons about family and love.
This book was a fantastic, quick read - highly recommended!