Chicago is a reading town. Reading towns demand good bookstores and it doesn’t get much better than Quimby’s. A landmark in Chicago’s literary scene for almost two decades, Quimby’s is the archetype for what a good bookstore should be: weird, intriguing, fun, surprising and a bit mysterious. Owner Eric Kirsammer answered a few questions about how Quimby’s achieved this level of awesomeness.

What’s the origin story of Quimby’s?

Quimbys was started in 1991 by Steven Svymbersky.  He was doing a zine called Quimbys in Boston then he decided to move to Chicago and open a store by the same name.  Steven sold the store to me in 1997.

What’s the curatorial process when choosing books to stock?

We look for any type of publication that is about things out of the mainstream.  Anything weird and important.  There  are so many things being published that just do not get the exposure they deserve.  For zines we take a very broad range of things on consignment.  This allows us to carry a lot of different zines and allows someone just starting out to get their book on the shelf.

What helps a book sell? What are some of the more successful books at Quimby’s?

Quality writing in an interesting package.  We do well with things that hit it on multiple fronts.  Some of the books that we do well with are anything by Chris Ware, Dan Clowes or Dave Eggers.

Quimby’s has achieved this legendary status among independent bookstores. How did this happen and how do you maintain relevance in the age of Amazon?

We have stuck to our mission of carrying the offbeat and being very open to people just starting to publish.  We also hold a lot of events which has built community support.  We try to stock the books our customer wants.  Quimbys is a niche bookstore are we have never had the desire to become mainstream.

Please describe the cat that lives in your store. If you don’t have a bookstore cat, please explain why.

We do not have a store cat for several reasons,
1.  I would always be worried about the cat running out the door.
2.  I don’t think the cat would get the attention it deserves.
3.  Our store mascot is Chris Ware’s Quimby the mouse and cat and mice just do not mix.

Digital designer, Judy Rush, offers insight into the realm of 21st century photo editing with real/fake. Rush pioneered the surreal aesthetic that’s been dominating the ad campaigns of Fortune 500 companies lately. real/fake shows the process, from digital editing software to old fashioned smoke and mirrors. It’s always interesting to see things get made. Is it just me or does it remind you of the writing process? You start with an image or a sound that captures your attention for wahtever reason and you try to create a world to give it some context. Strange that photographers and digital media artists have to rely on software to get their vision across. Sometimes it’s inspiring that all a writer needs is her noggin.

Holy crap there was about a bajillion readings this weekend. Fair warning: most of the photos in this post are people standing in front of a microphone and staring at paper. Nothing terribly interesting in the visual sense other than you get to see writers in an uncomfortable position, which is kind of interesting, I guess. But for the most part the photos are an excuse to talk about the events. And to prove that I was actually there and I’m not totally bullshitting you.

David Peak reading at the Dogzplot “East Coast Doggystyle Street Campaign.” Best reading series title ever.

John Madera. I don’t know if you guys know this but John has the biggest brain I think I’ve ever encountered. His ability to retain knowledge astounds me.

Sahsa Fletcher brought it. I just found out about Sasha recently and damn if he isn’t one of the more exciting writers I’ve encountered in a long time. I just bought his book from MLP. You might want to do yourself a favor and do the same. Someone who also brought it was Barry Graham. Another book that is probably worth your time and money is The National Virginity Pledge.

And then shit got a little weird.

And then it got real weird.

OMG, I went to a poetry reading. And it was damn good. This is Jason Koo.

It was the Polestar Poetry Series put on by Melissa Broder, a woman who very much seems to have her shit together. Man, these photos really suck a lot of ass. I might as well have been taking photos from the bathroom stall. I get self-concious about taking photos at these things. Everyone’s very quiet and do you really want to be the dude up front with the wide angle lens and remote flash sprawling out on the floor to nail the shot? At a poetry reading?

Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Robinson.

Have you read his book yet? Why not? It’s probably the best poetry book I’ve ever read.

This is Matvei Yankelevich. He made up bar poems off the top of his head. I believe this is called “Freestyling.”

This is the standard pose poets assume when two or more of them are having their photo taken. There’s a photo of Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath in the same pose.

Oh, Florida, you really made me love you a lot last night.

Our very own Jen O’Malley curated a show for the Snap! Orlando Photography Festival, which Annalemma sponsored. It was dedicated to photographers from Florida and their images of the Sunshine State.

Annalemma contributor, Kim Vang.

An excellent point the show made last night is that Florida (Central Florida in particular) has this cultural perception of being strictly a tourist destination, an entire section of the country existing as this homogenized and commodified culture made safe for mass consumption. Let’s not kid ourselves, that’s a big part of this state. But, like everything, this is just the veneer, and if you’re curious or adventurous enough, Florida will surprise you with its treasures.

Treasures like the photography of Christopher Bolton. This one sold within minutes of the gallery opening. Not surprising in the least.

Another big seller was our very own, Rose Wind Jerome.

Louise Erhard’s photographs of a dilapidated, yet still operational, motel near West Palm Beach, another pocket of Florida that’s got more stories than anyone can handle.

My mom and the kitsch wall.

Kitsch has been a part of Florida long before the mouse invasion. That comes with being a sunny climate most of the calender year.

You can either be annoyed by this crass expression of consumerism, or you can be charmed by the ideal and naive worldview that it represents. I think most Floridians look at it through both lenses from time to time.

Here is a secret of Florida that outsiders don’t know. We have springs. They call to us. We go to them. They fill us with life.

A new (to me) photographer who’s work I regrettably failed to capture last night was Ted Hollins who photographs the Zora! festival every year. The images on his website are hard to find but check out the photo grid in the lower left. Some amazing shots. More to come on Ted in the future.

This man makes works crazy hard at making a good living doing something amazing in Florida.

Congrats to Jen for not only curating an amazing show, but for helping shed light on the unseen pockets of beauty and horror that lay just beneath the saccharine manicured surface of Florida.

Tonight in DC. 3500 K Street Northwest. My friends in Bluebrain are curating a night of jams and love. We sponsored the whole deal. What does this mean? Well, it means you may or may not be able to get your hands on a free copy of Annalemma Issue Six: Sacrifice. You’ll just have to go and find out.8pm. BYOB.

These ladies look good.

Almost as good as this nearly-never-ending nacho bar.

A cast of supportive friends. It’s a sin to be this lucky.

We gathered at Andy’s house so Justin could show us his favorite youtube kitten video.

And also for other reasons.

Like magic.

And magic.

And magic.

Thanks Andy and Janelle. You gave us an amazingly fun time when it feels like we really needed it.

Do get tripped out, in a good way, by Matthew Simmons’s forearm tattoo.

Don’t be a weirdo when you meet Matt Bell for the first time outside the Mercury Lounge. Yes, it’s strange when meeting internet friends i.r.l. for the first time. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a sociable human being.

Do enjoy the shit out of everyone reading at Vermin on the Mount, especially Amelia Gray. Favorite line of the night: “Speak softly and marry a big dick.”

Don’t be scared of this man even though he’s scowling at you from a hundred feet up.

Don’t tell everyone that you caught the early flight out so you could be there for the reading. It makes you sound like an obsessive nerd.

Do feel okay about this and realize that you are an obsessive nerd in a sea of obsessive nerds

Don’t feel bad when Aaron gets his whiskey taken away. He’d been warned.

Do form a band called The Crucible of Science and have this as album cover artwork.

Don’t be scared of Zach Dodson’s mustache. It’s a perfectly natural thing.

Do meet up with old friends.

Don’t try to understand this. There is nothing to understand.

Do learn that Peter Cole, Matt Bell, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Roxane Gay, Ken Bauman, Adam Robinson, Erin Fitzgerald, Jim Ruland, Lauren Becker, Alex Coates and everyone else you’ve met for the first time in real life turn out to be super rad people.

Don’t be depressed about the smallness of this world within which you dwell. If you wanted to make money you’d be at a real estate convention. If you wanted to be famous you’d be in LA.

Do realize that you do not want to be famous.

Don’t question yourself as to whether or not it was worth it.

Do realize that it was worth it just to meet people whom you respect and admire for the words that come out of their heads. It was worth it to feel the buzz of kinship that is diluted over fiber optic cable.

Introducing the Annalemma postcard collection, featuring words and images from Annalemma Issue Six: Sacrifice.

Click on over to our print store where you can purchase all five of these handsome art pieces printed on recycled matte stock for $5.00 plus s&h.

Got a college student you haven’t heard from in a couple semesters?

Or perhaps a long distance significant other who swoons with every mention of your name?

Or maybe you’ve got an estranged sibling that lives in remote part of the country.

Or maybe you want to impress guests with all of the international contacts you have by displaying fake correspondences with people you just made up.

Many reasons to buy, no excuse not to.

p.s. the entire set comes free with purchase of Annalemma Issue Six: Sacrifice, while supplies last!

UPDATE: Now with sexy party flyer. Thanks Jen!

In a manner befitting Issue Six’s theme of sacrifice, we’re throwing a lavish and decadent party in Brooklyn to celebrate the release of our latest and greatest.

Mark your calenders for Mon., April 12th, 7:30pm.

The line-up:

The Present (fronted by Animal Collective producer Rusty Santos)

Unicornicopia (with members of Teeth Mountain, Skeletons and Psychedelic Furs)

RUN DMT

Also:

readings from the magazine accompanied by reverb/noise princess Holy Experiment.

Live performances are from 7:30pm-10:30pm.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget the after party with DJ sets from Machinedrum and New Villager.

Monday April 12th, 2010
Doors @7:30pm
OPEN BAR from 7:30pm-8:30pm
NO COVER before 8:30pm, $5 after

It’s all going down at Glasslands Gallery 289 Kent Ave, between s.1st and s.2nd street in Williamsburg 718-599-1450

See you there!

Umm, I don’t know break this to you Melville House… You’re cool and everything, but I don’t really see you like that. Sorry. Hope we can still be friends.