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Showing posts from 2010

Holiday Hours New Year

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happynewyear2007 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . New Year's Eve, this Friday, we'll be closing early at 6pm. Closed on Saturday for New Year's Day. See you at the ball drop on 34th Street!

Holiday Hours 2010

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cookies2010 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . We'll be open until 6pm on Xmas Eve! Closed on Xmas Day!

Holiday Picks II - Electric Boogaloo

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Lauren's Picks: Worn Fashion Journal - Worn isn't your typical fashion journal. It's got a DIY feeling with thoughtful pieces on fashion. In this issue is a glossary of eye glasses, how to preserve your clothes, the evolution of the stewardess dress, beautiful fashion spreads, and much more. Perfect for the fashionista on your list. As Always, Julia edited by Joan Reardon - I'm a huge fan of both Julia Child and cooking. In this book we get a peek into her friendship with Avis Deveto. It's a beautiful story the growth and maintenance of a relationship that shaped Julia's life. Burglars Dunny - Saner's Dunnys are cute in a macabre way. This Dunny makes the perfect stocking stuffer for the vinyl toy lover in your life. Yummy Donut Mini Plush - Heidi's work is sweet and fun. These little plush donuts come in a variety of colors, blind boxed so it's a surprise what you get. I'll be using some as tree ornaments. Another perfect stock

Pin Ups! Naughty and Nice

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The new Taboo Edition of Retro Lovely is in! Just in time for our Pin Up Event tomorrow night, a fundraiser for Moveable Feast . Our Team Atomic has made a pin up calendar , and Mike Lee, the photographer, will give a presentation on pin up photography, behind the scene info on the shoot, tips and techniques, etc. All the proceeds of the calendar go to Moveable Feast, and Retro Lovely has kindly donated issues of #3 , their latest regular issue, so if you pick one of those up you'll be helping out Moveable Feast as well! Starts at 7pm!

Eerie Xmas

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spookyWatersXmascard , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . John Waters' Xmas cards often freak us out, but this year's is positively SPOOKY. For you those of you who don't live in Baltimore, yesterday, the Gayety Theater, the oldest standing Burlesque theater in Baltimore, was a part of a 5 alarm fire . ETA: It turns out that it wasn't the actual theater that was in the fire, but the Gayety Show World, which is across the street. This is what I get for reading "breaking news" tweets and not following up on the story. Isn't it funny how the news always changes? BUT STILL EERIE!!

Show Your Shelves: Rev. Kevin Slaughter

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Bookshelves owner: Rev. Kevin Slaughter 1. How would you describe your collection/library? The photo is the table beside my recliner, the books I want to have closest to me. These are either ones I'm currently reading, want to start or reread. I have many bookshelves, but this holds the spot next to the bathroom as most accessed shelf. I own quite a collection of sexology books ranging from Grove Press's unabridged two-volume 2,300+ page Victorian sex-diary My Secret Life to my one of my favorite titles The Sex Life of the Foot and Shoe (the most unabashed adulation and justification of foot fetishism probably ever published), from the evolutionarily backed The Natural History of Rape to Josh Alan Friedman's two memoirs of working in the smut-mines of Times Square. I don't buy books with autographs, but when I can get them from authors I like, I will. I had both G. Gordon Liddy and John Waters to sign books to "Rev. Slaughter". I have a three-shelf unit d

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel - December Book Pick

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Our last book of the year, Fun Home , will be discussed the last Wednesday of the year! 7pm at Atomic Books. And so, our year of memoirs comes to an end. What will we do for next year?

Holiday Picks by Benn and Dina

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Here are some Holiday picks for you by Dina: Acme Novelty 20 by Chris Ware Our best living person creates another wonderful book. This takes place in the Rusty Brown universe but I'm pretty sure a page of this was in "Building Stories" which was very surprising and means I have to go reread all that stuff. The Mind's Eye by Oliver Sacks There is an anecdote in here in the chapter about Oliver Sacks having "face blindness" and he's at a restaurant and thinks he's combing his beard in a mirror but it turns out he's just staring through a window at another guy with a beard who he thought was himself. And the guy is staring back all freaked out. That's HILARIOUS. Make Me a Woman by Vanessa Davis I love Vanessa Davis' comics. Reading them is like hanging out. And also they make you feel like you might as well draw some comics, too, cause why not? What's stopping you?? What I Did and Almost Silent by Jason Jason

This Weekend - First Friday in December

First Friday is this week and we're having a release party for the latest issue of Smile Hon, You're in Baltimore , with readings by Sharon Goldner, Heck, Alex Hewett, Sarah Jane Miller, Dee Smith, Jeffrey L. Shipley, Earl Crown and Benn Ray. Starts at 7pm! Santa is going to be walking around the neighborhood, so keep your eye out for that guy. Sunday is the annual Mayor's Christmas Parade , which comes down Falls Road and on to the Avenue to Chestnut. John Astin will be there! Maybe he'll sing. Come watch the parade with us at 2pm! We'll have some hot chocolate on hand. It's one of the craziest parades in town and a great time to start your Holiday shopping.

2011: Revenge of Print Update

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RevengeOfPrint2011 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . The Revenge of Print train keeps a-rollin'! We have almost 150 folks signed on to make at least 1 zine in 2011. Just think about that. If everyone keeps their pledge, that's at least 150 new zines in 2011!! We have over 450 members Join the Facebook group . I just wanted to take a moment to point out a couple things. In the discussion area of the Facebook group, I've started topics for Distribution and for Reviews. If you have a store, distro, library, etc - please take a moment to post your contact info. For those who are making zines - we encourage you to distro you zines. If you review zines, have a review zine zine or a blog, etc. - there is a topic where you can post your contact info also. Again, folks are encouraged to send out review copies as well. A healthy zine culture means we need access to and critical discussion of zines. Here is just a small sampling of the folks participating: Attempted Not Known, Boo

Thanksgiving Schedule

We'll be closing at 6pm this Wednesday! We'll be closed on Thanksgiving! Remember that this Saturday evening is the start of the lights on 34th Street here in Hampden. And check out the Hampden Merchants Events page for more upcoming special Holiday events and sales around the neighborood. More updates to come.

Mike White Interview

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Mike White will be here this Friday ! "I still wanna find those weird, niche subgenres where I’ve been looking at my video shelves and going, God, I’ve got a lot of movies with talking genitals in them."

Zinester Night

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Mike&Mike , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . This Friday, starts at 7pm! We'll have Mike Faloon ( Go Metric and Zisk ), and Mike White ( Cashiers du Cinemart ). Come out for a night of Film and Fiction!

Show Your Shelves: Tony Pence

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Bookshelves owner: Tony Pence 1. How would you describe your collection/library? A giant mess of reference titles, books I have yet to read and books I have read 100 times. 2. What are 3 of your favorite titles? Shop Design by Daab Martian Chronicles by Bradbury Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Plus various punk and film books, design books, and lots of Mishima and Mencken. I could never pick just three ha ha... 3. What are you making room for? I'm already completely out of room! Want to show us your shelves? Just email your answers to these 3 questions, along with your name and 1 picture of your bookshelves to benn (at) atomicbooks (dot) com and we may feature your shelf on our blog.

Tonight! Genghis Cum!

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Photo by Michelle Gienow Violet Glaze and Josh Meyers are at Atomic Books tonight, 7pm, to present to you I Am Genghis Cum ! "People said, You should write about this, that would be healing, write about it, and then I write about it and they’re like, Jesus Christ—keep that to yourself."

Tao Lin Book Event

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taolinatomicfictionseries , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Tao Lin will be at Atomic Books tomorrow to read from his latest, Richard Yates . Starts at 7pm!

Little Things by Jeffrey Brown - November Book Pick

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We're getting to the end of our year of memoirs Reading Club! This month is Little Things by Jeffrey Brown. The discussion meet up this month will be November 17th instead of our usual last Wednesday of the month. 7pm! Join the discussion on our Facebook Group .

Show Your Shelves

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The other day I decided to spend what turned into about 4 hours reorganizing one of my bookshelves at home (and I didn't even alphabetize!). As I was knee deep in stacks of books, I started to get curious about what other people's bookshelves look like. After all, I am the type of person who, when going to someone's house for the first time (or second, or third even), is immediately drawn to the things they collect - the libraries they build - be they comprised of books, records, movies, video games, what have you. Bookshelves allow us to rejoice in the awesomeness of our experiences as well as remind us of our secret shames. They expose us to those who come into our homes. And if we didn't like that exposure, well, I don't reckon we'd keep these things we have on shelves in the first place. So we're starting a new feature on the Atomic Books Blog called "Show Your Shelves." We're asking people to email us a picture of their bookshelf and tell

Halloween In Hampden 2010

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Merry Goth Xmas, everyone! Bring your kids down to Hampden this afternoon between 5-6 for trick or treating up and down the Avenue and Falls Road at participating stores. We have special free Halloween comics for kids (of all ages)! They're also available online for our out of town customers to add to your orders for free today! Remember the costume contest starts at 6:30 in front of Ma Petite Shoe.

Night of 100 Elvises

Tickets for the 17th Night of 100 Elvises are here at Atomic Books! Cash or check only.

RIP Timm Potee

Mr. Waters said that the clothier "will be missed by the film community. He will be missed by the fashion community. He will be missed by the Hampden community."

Heroes & Villains 2

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Heroes&Villains2 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . October 29th at the Windup Space . It was crazy fun last year!

Casting Call: Punks & Goths

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Still rocking that punk look? During the holidays, does your mom still complain you look a little too morbid? Turn that style into cash! There's an all day film shoot going on in Baltimore this Friday, October 22 and they're looking for Punk and Goth extras. It pays $7.25 an hour - but you get a shot at cinematic immortality. If you're interested, email your contact info and a picture of yourself to Taylor Royal.

X'ed Out

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x'edout , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . 2010 - the year of the comic! New Charles Burns is in and in color! When was the last time Charles Burns, Dan Clowes ( Wilson ), Pete Bagge ( Hate Annual ), Chris Ware ( Acme Novelty #20 ), Lynda Barry ( Picture This ) and Seth ( Palookaville #20 ) all had new books out at the same time?

Dazzler Comes To Baltimore

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In the new issue of Marvel's Strange Tales II , Jillian Tamaki's story "The After-Party..." lands Dazzler in Baltimore to play a gig where, after the show, she encounters evil scenesters Bawdy Morass and a battle ensues! Honestly, this sort of thing happens here all the time. Touring superhero bands - you've been warned.

Plush Books

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bookplush , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . For her signing last night, Heidi Kenney made adorable plush books to go with her book, Every Day's a Holiday . We still have a few signed copies left at the store!

Maryland Film Festival Presents THE THING

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Gunky's Basement is an exciting new Maryland Film Festival project - a series of 5 genre films curated and hosted by two Baltimoreans, musician Dan Deacon and artist/filmmaker Jimmy Joe Roche. The first film in Gunky’s Basement has just been announced, and will take place at The Charles on Thursday October 21st at 9pm: John Carpenter’s THE THING! Tickets on sale now at Atomic Books for $5!

Heidi Kenney Book Event

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heidikenneyevent , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Heidi Kenney will be Atomic Books to sign her latest book, Every Day's a Holiday and talk about her process as a crafter and artist. There'll be cupcakes and special goodie bags for all who attend. Also, Tony from Celebrated Summer Records did a special tshirt collaboration with Heidi, which will be available that night only. And finally, don't forget, Heidi's new enamel zipper pulls from KidRobot are now in stock!

Revenge Of Print 2011

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RevengeOfPrint2011 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . We're tired of all the END OF PAPER, the END OF PUBLISHING AS WE KNOW IT stories. We've been hearing and reading about it ever since we've been open (which is going on almost 20 years now). So for 2011, we've decided to throw a challenge out there. If you've ever made a zine or mini comic MAKE ONE MORE ISSUE. Come on, you've got one more in you! Maybe you were thinking in the back of your head you'd do another issue one day. Now is the time. Join the group for discussion and more plans. This is just the beginning. Sponsored by us and our friends at Quimby's .

Atomic Fiction Series

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whatisallthisforestofsurethings , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . This Thursday, October 7th, we'll have Stephen Dixon and Megan Snyder-Camp here reading from their new books ! 7-9pm.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain - October Book Pick

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Can you believe it's been 10 years since Kitchen Confidential came out? It's this month's Reading Club book , and as always we'll meet the last Wednesday of the month at Atomic Books, 7pm to discuss!

Bored to Death, It's Kind of a Funny Story

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Jonathan Ames is a favorite around here, so when a show based on a short story, Bored to Death , he wrote for McSweeney's became an HBO show we were intrigued. That it also starred Zack Galifianakis (who performed for our 3rd Hampden anniversary show over at Fraziers) who's comic art on the show is by Dean Haspiel , we were further intrigued. What we weren't prepared for was Ted Danson. It's the best thing he's ever done! We have some Bored to Death shirts if you want one, just come by the store and pick one up. We also have movie passes for It's Kind of a Funny Story , also based on a book, by Nick Vizzini, and also has that Zack Galifianakis involved. The movie passes are good for two, Wednesday September 29th, 7:30pm at the Charles Theater.

Platonic Ideals

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When Flavorpill did a Top 10 Bookstores in the US a few weeks ago, we were a little bummed we weren't on it (ha!), but it was a very interesting and good list. Their America’s 10 Greatest Indie Record Stores was fascinating as well. So when they picked America’s 10 Greatest Comic and Graphic Novel Stores we were stunned to see that we were at the top of the list! And honestly, it's the best write up we've possibly ever had. It's a little weird being on the same list as Forbidden Planet in NY, which was my shop of choice as a kid, but...IN YOUR FACE, FORBIDDEN PLANET! Stores are something aren't they? These brick and mortar spaces filled with dreams and ideas bring back great memories for me. What would we do without bookstores, record stores and comic shops? And Baltimore City Paper's Best of Baltimore is out today and we'd like to thank their readers for picking us as Best Independent Bookstore and our own Dina Kelberman as Best Local Cartoonis

Zines on Toast Tour

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zinesontoasttour , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . This Sunday, September 26, 4- 6PM @ Atomic Books. Featuring: Alex Wrekk (Brainscan, Stolen Sharpie Revolution) Steve Larder (Rum Lad) Natalie (Black Star Collective) Isy Morgenmuffel (Morgenmuffel) Eddy Baldry (Hey Monkey Riot, Rancid News, Last Hours) Tom Fiction (Last Hours) More info on the tour here !

SPX 2010 Recap

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spx2010 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Soon the site will be flooded with a slew of new comics that we picked up this past weekend at SPX. A ton of new books and graphic novels are coming out in the next few weeks as well, which were showcased at SPX. Thanks for coming out for the pre-party! It was fun!

Hampdenfest 2010 Photo Highlights

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Some highlights from Hampdenfest 2010. Click on the photos for photo credits. If you took some photos of Hampdenfest you'd like to share please add them to the flickr group ! More info and photos to come. The Toilet Bowl Race was Steve Baker's (of Wholly Terra ) brain child. Here's the lowdown on the races . John Buckler, the winner of the Freestyle Beard category in the first annual Charm City Beard & Moustache Championship. Here's a rundown of the winners . It's a busy weekend for John Waters (just had an afternoon signing at the Hopkins bookstore) but it's Hampdenfest and we're his favorite Baltimore neighborhood so he had to come by. The hairiest members of Yeveto , waiting to play and also to compete. Who's beard will reign supreme? Nolen Strals of Double Dagger.

Hampdenfest

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IMG_7099 , originally uploaded by bosconet . Happening right now !

The Alley Where The Shit Eating Happened

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We get asked about this all the time, though not enough to make our FAQ , but here's the lowdown: Atomic Books is now located on 3620 Falls Rd. The original location was on Read Street, and in that alley is where the infamous scene of Divine eating dog poo was shot .

How To Stock A Bookstore

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background_withoutbooks_sm , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . How would you stock our shelves? A couple of years ago, we were in the planning stages of a reality tv show based on our store. The show never materialized but we still have these great illustrations by local comic artist Daniel Krall . The plan was to fill the shelves with real books later. Anyway, seems like a shame not to share these.