The Danish Fullbright Scholar mentioned Shakespeare’s Sister to me today. I said, sounds familiar, don’t know it.
Well I do. It’s that little shop next to the Sweet Melissa’s in Carroll Gardens. I’ve been there many times to look at their greeting cards.
Danish Fullbright Scholar told me that the owner, Aaron Barlow, is writing a book about blogging. Sounds interesting. More info anyone?
Turns out there’s a lot more going on in there. Here’s how they describe themselves on their website:
Shakespeare’s Sister, along with our gallery/crafts-mall The Artback, provides gifts a little more surprising, a bit more unexpected than what might be found at other gift stores.
In business since 1994, Shakespeare’s Sister takes its name from Virgnia Woolf’s "A Room of One’s Own," where Woolf counters the argument that women are not as creative as men. We believe creativity is found everywhere, among all ages, sexes, races, and nations.
They also offer this interesting service:
Have you a book to publish? We at Shakespeare’s Sister are offering a new service, preparing manuscripts for print-on-demand publication. With our experienced compositor and cover designer, we can allow you complete control over how your final product will look–all for as low as $350.00.
If you then use a print-on-demand service such as that provided by lulu.com, your final book could be ready for as little as $400.00.
Soon, you will be able to do this completely online. For now, however, please call us: 718-694-0084.
270 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-694-0084
The book about blogging that the Danish Fulbright refers to is called “The Rise of the Blogosphere: American Backgrounds.” It will appear in March or April from Praeger (and can already be ordered on Amazon, but not on Powells, for some reason). What it is, really, is a history of American journalism with an eye towards those trends that led to the blogs. A second book of mine on blogging, “America Blogs,” should appear this coming December. My last book, “The DVD Revolution: Movies, Culture, and Technology,” is a history of home viewing, particularly in the last decade.
At Shakespeare’s Sister, we believe in the store as part of the community–which is why our back room (the Artback) is available to anyone for sitting, reading, and conversation, and for free. A number of books have been written back there, for it is a quiet space, normally.
However, on Friday nights, we do show a movie–and soon, on Sunday afternoons, we will start a series of readings and discussions. Probably, readings will occur every hour from two through four (three poets, essayists, dramatists, or writers of fiction each week) and will last from twenty minutes to half an hour. The remaining time will be for informal discussion. We may also be starting a Saturday film series… and who knows what else.