Anthem Book Blog

A few days ago author Kristie Helms contacted me about her book, Dish It Up Baby! (Firebrand Books, ISBN: 1563411342, $14.95). We thought it'd be fun to have Kristie give us her links to favorite bookstores and other bookmarks that she visits regularly....

Links from Kristie Helms:

~Favorite Independent Bookstores
I'm really blessed in Boston to be surrounded by an incredible selection of
independent bookstores. I think I read somewhere once that Boston and
Cambridge have the highest number of bookstores per capita than any other
place in the world. I have no idea if that really is true, but that feels
true so I go with it.

http://www.village-books.net -- This is my local, neighborhood bookstore.
It's on my way to and from work and for being a small store, they have a
great selection. They'll also order absolutely anything you request which is
hugely convenient.

http://brooklinebooksmith.com -- I always think of this place as being a
rock and roll kind of bookstore. It was the first and only bookstore I've
ever been in that had *every* book I was looking for. From collections of
Frank O'Hara's poetry to Joe Sacco's graphic novel, "Palestine".

http://www.tridentbookscafe.com -- In addition to being more cool than I
can ever hope to be, Trident has the best selection of magazines in the
universe. Seriously. I also once had this exchange with a counter guy at
Trident after putting down my three magazines (a local zine, Poets & Writers
and Bust):

Counter Guy: NO WAY.

Me: Blank look.

Counter Guy: Do you know that guy with the curly hair from Boogie Nights?
You know. John C. Reilly.

Me: Blank look.

Counter Guy: He just checked out in front of you and HE BOUGHT THE SAME
EXACT THREE MAGAZINES!

Me: Do you think he was doing research?

http://www.centerfornewwords.org -- While it's not really a bookstore any
more, they do host wonderful readings and writing workshops. I don't think I
could have produced a book without the support I found at New Words.

http://www.bluestockings.com -- I've spent so many hours hanging out at
Bluestockings, it feels like a second home. Every time I visit New York, I
make a stop in here.


~Online Clicks
Ok. These first three links are on my constant click/refresh list. I
hesitate to even say I check them daily because daily seems so mundane.

http://www.utne.com/cafe -- I've been at the Cafe Utne since 1996 and it
really started my whole online journey. I've had every kind of online
conversation you can imagine at Utne -- sometimes twice. And I keep coming
back because I always discover something new there. I met my best friend at
Utne. The magazine piece that lead to my first book being published was
discovered through a posting I made at Utne. I had someone I met through
Utne FedEx me a pie once. I mean, pie. That's huge.

http://brainstorms.rheingold.com -- Because one online community just isn't
enough, this is my home away from home online. Started by community guru and
painted-shoe guy, Howard Rheingold, Brainstorms really sets a high standard
for online conversation. One I can rarely match, but I love it.

http://www.salon.com -- I check Salon daily primarily because my partner
keeps asking, "hey did you read that piece on Salon?" I hate answering no.


~Random Other Bookmarks
http://hubcaphouse.com -- my VW Beetle and the roads of Boston combine to
cause me to lose a lot of hubcaps. The good people of the Hubcap House help
me out with that issue.

http://www.awesomefilm.com -- I have no idea why, but I love quoting from
movie scripts. This is my crib note(s).

http://www.boston-online.com/common/ -- this is a fantastic site that
gathers the best of the day's entries from various Boston-based bloggers.
It's the best source for Boston-area news.

http://www.gothamgazette.com -- an independent source of news in New York
City. I've gotten their daily email for the past five years and I feel as if
I haven't missed a beat.

http://www.writerswithdrinks.com -- I love this event. While I've never
been to the ones in San Francisco, the Boston-based event features some of
the areas best writers in all genres at a local bar. What could be better?

http://www.carwreck.com/blog.html -- one of my favorite blogs, run by a
Coast Guard captain, it frequently features some incredible photos of the
Boston Harbor.

http://www.mediabase.com/mmrweb/rronline/StationsMenu.asp -- I'm a music
junkie and this site allows me to keep current with what radio stations
around the country are playing.

THANKS KRISTIE!

Here's the publisher marketing-speak on the book:
"Dish It Up, Baby is Kristie Helms' first novel which serves up some varied slices of life, tracing her twenty-something heroine through childhood in rural Kentucky to her first job in Manhattan, and finally to Boston as she searches for true love, a cubicle near the window and the perfect shade of lipstick. A cross between "Bastard Out of Carolina" and "Bridget Jones' Diary," the novel explodes stereotypes about Appalachia and offers a hilarious look at the work-a-day world of the Northeast through the eyes of its plucky heroine."

Here's the standard author bio:
"Kristie Helms is a southerner who keeps moving further north. Her work has appeared in "Utne," "The New York Press," and in a string of un-bylined corporate brochures and newsletters that stretch from Nashville to New York City."

Visit Kristie at her site:
www.dishitupbaby.com