Atomic Books Blog

Baltimore Is Reads is responsible for this flyer right outside our door.

Benn read Armed America: Portrats Of Gun Owners In Their Homes by Kyle Cassidy: In 1999, the NRA said there were 215 million guns in the US owned by 50% of the population. The Brady Campaign said there were 192 million guns in the US owned by 39% of the population. Judging by Kyle Cassidy's fascinating collection of portraits of gun owners, I'd estimate that 75% of all the guns in the US are owned by Pennsylvanians (seriously, PA, what's wrong with you?). No matter how it shakes out, there are a lot of gun owners and even more guns in this country. Cassidy travels America and photographs gun owners in their homes with their guns. While the diversity is broad, balanced and fascinating, what is truly compelling is the glimpse at how these gun owners live. Out of the 100 families profiled, 48% of them own pets while only 25% own a book (visible in the pictures). Cassidy asks them a simple question, "Why do you own a gun?" The answers vary from well-reasoned ("...

Larry Doyle and Emily Flake , BFF, tomorrow night at atomic POP, 3620 Falls Rd. Starts at 7pm!

photo by lisa_h McNulty 's moving out of the hood and he's having a yard sale this Saturday!

Dame Darcy is competing to be a contestant on the next season of Flavor Of Love . She needs some votes to catch up. Help her dream come true, won't you? Vote for Dame Darcy to be on Flavor Of Love. Tell a friend. She could use the votes. Currently, she's not even in the top 20. Here's hoping she doesn't end up on Rock Of Love . That show is just gross. Perfectly hair metal. But gross.

Just in !

Maggie's favorite new magazine (check out her new shiner - she got hit in the head with a skate at the last roller derby bout)! Don't you just love this country?

Tonight is the meetup for the Invisibles Volume 1, our August book for the Shank Reading Club . atomic POP, 7pm!

It's finally here in a different format than expected but it's beautifully done.

A lot of you folks out there are unable to get to atomicbooks.com at work. You email us with your bewilderment, "I can get to Amazon from work, and they sell dildos on their site!" Yes, some work filters think we're pr0n and there's just nothing we can do about it. But you can visit boingboing's handy guide on how to get by or around those pesky filters. I hope you're at home because some work places filter boingboing, too. (thanks for the link, baltimike!)

Our latest book can now be pre-ordered !

Baltimore is everywhere ! And only 2 of those links are related to crime!

Anthony Bourdain's had some writers on previous episodes of his food and travel show, No Reservations, but now... Harvey Pekar ? Bourdain all drawn and comic-y ? Cleveland...cuisine? Can't wait!

One in four Americans didn't read a single book last year . But that means 3 out of 4 did? Liars.

This is one mystery that I wish hadn't been solved: "The legend was almost too good to be true. For decades, a mysterious figure dressed in black, his features cloaked by a wide-brimmed hat and scarf, crept into a churchyard to lay three roses and a bottle of cognac at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. Now, a 92-year-old man who led the fight to preserve the historic site says the visitor was his creation."

Updated schedule of bands is here .

Seriously. We have calendars & planners already.

Whoa, it's Wednesday again? This is the fastest moving Summer ever! Upcoming events: Sept 1 - Larry Doyle and Emily Flake at POP ! Sept 7 - First Friday and another shot for Hampden Idol, at the Hon Bar, starts at 9pm! Sept 8 - We'll be set up over at Load of Fun which should be a load of...you know. From 1-6pm! There'll be bands from Wham City and loads of other vendors. Sept 15 - HAMPDENFEST - right here on the Avenue. Sept 28 - Found Magazine dudes are back! And this time, it's all crime ! Over at POP, starts at 7pm!

photo by Sidereal What's cuter than a little girl with a Boh?

This week Benn read DUKE Magazine 1 & 2 by Raquel Welch & Emily Hunt: Maybe Flight of The Conchords has given me a case of the Land Down Under-itis (yes, I realize the Conchords are from New Zealand and Duke is from Australia and, evidently, when Australians and New Zealanders are put into a room together, they will fight each other to the death unless stopped - much in the same way we Americans behave with Canadians), but I am obsessed with Raquel Welch. Not THAT Raquel Welch, although she's not bad either, but Duke Mag's Raquel Welch, and her partner Emily Hunt , too! Somewhere in between Cheap Date and Ben Is Dead lives Duke Magazine, a cultural zeitgeist (sorry, girls) of thrift shopping, quirky collecting habits, anti-fashion, artist and collector friends, etc. And in full color no less! They ask questions like Michael Jackson vs. Prince? They battle over who loves Bowie more. They create fake ads. They play dress up, a lot. Witty, compelling, and just downright...