Atomic Books Blog

Introducing Atomic Books Neutron: Digitized Finds for Mutated Minds! Features: - Atomic's Neutron comes pre-loaded with hundreds of zines and mini & underground comix - Directly connects to Atomic Book's new e-bookstore for instant access to tens of thousands of titles - High-Contrast E-Ink Screen with Smoothing for images/artwork - Multiple Font Selections (excluding Comic Sans - sorry, that font is an abomination) - 6-inch size reading area - Includes Chapter Shuffle Option - Weight: 8 ounces - Battery lasts up to one month fully charged (with wireless off) - Includes battery charger and solar charging option - Can hold up to 4,500 books - Free 3G Wireless: download books anytime, anywhere - Built-In Wi-Fi and Blu-Tooth - Includes .pdf reader - Includes web browser - Includes limited edition collectible artists pogs set

Fugu , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Jim Lasher and Ayumi Yasuda were featured in this past Sunday's Baltimore Sun's article on Vinylmore 4, which opens this Friday. "The husband-and-wife team of Lasher and Yasuda, who received last year's best-in-show award, have two young daughters. They have day jobs as graphic artists and create their own artwork in their spare time. Nonetheless, they are willing to set aside three weeks each year to make two new pieces for Vinylmore. Yasuda is the primary sculptor, while Lasher paints the pieces, and he says they are exhilarated by the technical challenges posed by each year's project." Check out the piece in person, as well as the rest of the show. Curbside Cafe will be out front serving their awesome burritos during the reception.

A couple days ago, a friend of mine posted an insipid video of a saccharine song on her Facebook wall. She said something like, "This makes me hate indie rock." It doesn't matter that the band wasn't actually an indie band (most of its catalog was released on a major label), it doesn't matter that the song could better be described as neo-hippie post-folk twee noodling instead of rock. We all knew what she meant. And we all agreed. Even if we disagreed. Why? Because to disagree, even if we agreed, would mean we have no indie cred. Now's the time to put your money were your attitude is. Chunklet's new book, The Indie Cred Test offers you just that opportunity. Think you can pass it? I'm betting you can't. How would I know? Because I'm a contributing editor. G'wan. Take the test. I double-dog dare ya.

So this year we got together with a group of friends ( Quimby's , Xerography Debt , Razorcake , Maximum Rocknroll , Zine World , Microcosm and too many more zine libraries and distros to name) to declare 2011 the Revenge of Print . It's a challenge to everyone who has ever made a zine/mini-comic/comix, is making zines/mini-comics/comix or would like to make a zine/mini-comic/comix - to make at least 1 more issue this year. So here we are, almost 1/4 of the way through the 2011, so how are we doing? Out of the several hundred participants, we here at Atomic have seen these zines: Brainscan #26 Caboose #7 Cinema Sewer #24 Chunklet: The Indie Cred Test Maximum Rocknroll Negative Capability #5 Operations Manual Razorcake Shards of Glass In Your Eye Smile, Hon, You're In Baltimore Tales of Blood And Roses #1 Xerography Debt #28 If you're a zine/mini comic maker participating in the 2011: Revenge of Print challenge and want Atomic Books to carry your zine, fill out this co...

We at Atomic Books have caught baseball fever this year. Granted, given the track record of our hometeam, the Orioles, over the last several years, you'd think it would be hard to do, but some great baseball books have come out that have made it impossible for us to not get excited. So excited, in fact, that we've managed to convince ourselves that maybe, just maybe, the O's have a chance this year. And even if they don't, we can always just read these (while rooting against the Yankees, of course): The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime by by Jason Turbow / Michael Duca Here old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed—and least known—traditions. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining. The Baseball: Stunts, Scandals, and Secrets Beneath the Stitches by Zack Hample The holy grail, the fou...

Vinylmore 4 April 1st, 7pm! Join us for our annual art toy exhibit featuring 29 artists. And you can vote for your favorite piece for the whole month of April. Click here for a larger view of the poster.

This First Friday, from 7pm-9pm, we're having a 30% off sale on ALL art books and graphic novels. You don't have to sign up for anything. You don't have to tell anyone to make it happen. Easy. Simple. And we'll have some refreshing adult beverages on hand, as is our want. We're also giving away a pair of tickets to Cirque du Soleil's new show coming to town in April - Totem . If you can't make it to the store, here's a link for a special discount from us for the show!

Our March Reading Club Pick is What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. See you March 30th for the discussion - 7:30 at Atomic Books.

Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi has convened a Supreme Court of Assholedom . The justices include: Mara Schmid, Drew Magary, Tim Kreider, David Sirota, David Rees, Jenny Boylan, Jessica Kourkounis, Adam Whitmer. The court will be hearing asshole cases shortly. But you can meet Supreme Court Justice Tim Kreider this Friday, when he comes to Atomic to read from, discuss and sign copies of his new book, Twilight of the Assholes . According to Kreider, "All children eventually have to learn, however grudgingly, that they are not the only person in the world, nor are they even its center… All assholes have in common this obliviousness or indifference to other people’s subjective reality. By this definition we are all assholes inside, of course; the crucial distinction between the true Asshole and other people is in how hard we try not to act like one." Great quotes from other prospective Justices in the Taibbi piece include: There was the software engineer who wrote in about his ...

Next Friday, Tim Kreider will be at Atomic Books for a book party for his latest collection, Twilight of the Assholes . Tim will do a slideshow presentation and sign copies. Adult beverages will be on hand. Starts at 7pm! Check out our other upcoming events (more to be announced on the way).

noveltyspace , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Hey, what's Benn up to down in Federal Hill? What's Noel doing there?

We're taking applications for Vinylmore 4. This year the show will be open to all toy templates, of any size. You can design, paint and add on sculptural pieces however you like. Show us your best! Deadline for submissions is March 1st (you can simply submit a sketch for your entry if you don't have a finished figure). The exhibit will be juried for prizes and will open April 1st, with a crowd favorite vote the night of the reception. Guidelines: 1. No custom toys. Please use a template toy. 2. Please do not use a franchised character and be aware of copyright laws. We encourage the creation of original character design in these pieces. 3. Your submission must be the sketch that was accepted for the exhibit. Last minute design/concept changes will not be accepted. We have a Facebook Vinylmore group for artists and fans. Please check it out if you have further questions. You can also always email us. Email your submissions with your name, title of the ...

rontannerbookevent , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Thanks to everyone who came out last night for Ron Tanner 's book event last night! Not sure why Raven, the beer, fell off our radar. The first time we had it was when it was served at the premiere of A Dirty Shame . But we've become reunited with it again (and it feels so good!) because it's now on tap at the Golden West Cafe Bar . Local authors, local brews!

This Thursday, for our first Atomic Fiction Series event of the year, we'll be having a release party for Ron Tanner's Kiss Me, Stranger . Hosted by Kathy Flann , 7-9pm, here at Atomic Books.

Tura Satana , who's most famous for her role in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, has passed away. This is the scene where Dan Clowes got the name for two of his comics - "Eightball" and Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron .

Our February Reading Club Pick is Ice Haven by Dan Clowes. See you Feb 23rd for the discussion - 7:30 at Atomic Books.

Valentine's Day is almost here and we've got some Atomic highlights for you! The Traditionlist: These retro cards are discontinued and almost gone. The Non Traditionalist: Those Some ECards also come as postcard books . The Baltimorean: Love Rats in Red or White . A Date with John Waters - a signed CD of some of John Waters' favorite love songs. The Foodie: Amor Y Tacos - what if you gave this book as a gift and promised to make every single recipe in it for your loved one? OMG. The Artster: The lastest Juxtapoz book collection is all Erotica. The Bethrothed: Perhaps you've made the leap and got engaged? Adrian Tomine's wedding favor was a comic he made of everything they went through in the planning of their Special Day.

graphicusa , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . So we got some snow last night and a lot of people are stuck in their neighborhoods...which isn't so bad, is it? If you have a cool neighborhood with businesses that owners can walk to, everything is still open and right there. Let's check out some new books highlighting local flavor: Graphic USA is an interesting concept for a travel guide. They asked graphic designers to illustrate their hometowns and pick their favorite local haunts and must-sees. The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a collection of stories first serialized in the NYTimes, by local mystery writer, Laura Lippman (one of Rachel's faves). Reading any of the Tess Monaghan stories is like walking around Baltimore. And a new cool children's board book, 123 Baltimore , highlights iconic city symbols that help you count. Can you count all the Painted Ladies of Charles Village? I'm sure you can.

Due to more snow in the forecast for this afternoon and evening, Reading Club will be canceled for tonight! See you in February! ETA : We are closing at 6pm tonight!

North Baltimore Patch has a really great series of interviews with Baltimore Booksellers, past and present: Part Five - Book Miser : "During my six years selling real estate, I was inside hundreds of private residences, and it always struck me how many houses contained not a single book, other than periodicals." Part Four - Royal Books : "As Internet bookselling evolved, buyers followed the path of least resistance. Why look in bookshops endlessly for the obscure book you need when you can go right to the computer and find it at a small shop in Kansas, put it in your shopping cart and be done with it? Since 1996, everything has changed, and today only the heartiest bibliophiles actually set foot in bookshops." Part Three - Red Emmas : "We started out anticipating that our cafe would sustain the bookstore (i.e., we thought the cafe would pay the rent and the bills), and the bookstore -- the reason we started this project -- would just kind of sustain itsel...