Big (Book) Pimpin'

From the publisher Simon and Schuster, who have published over a hundred bestselling books, the newest soon-to-be American classic is sadly out of stock on Amazon:

Pimpology: The 48 Laws of the Game by Pimpin' Ken and contributed to by Karen Hunter (a name you may recognize from her Confessions of a Video Vixen).

As the title says, there are 48 laws in Pimpin' Ken's version of "the Game," and naturally they are all incredibly poignant. Some of my favorites are:
Law 6: When Pimpin' Begins, Friendship Ends
Law 13: Pimp Like You're Ho-Less
Law 17: Get You a Bottom Bitch
Law 21: A Ho Without Instruction Is Headed for Self-Destruction
Law 32: Turn a Tramp Into a Champ

Pimpin' Ken opens with the moving insight: "There are only two categories of people: pimps and hoes."

Taking advantage of my place in the book publishing industry, I did a little search on how this book is doing since it's release, and it's not bad. Since releasing in 2008, there have been 2,718 copies sold. Without much surprise, the majority of sales come from the South and Pacific regions of the United States, but what did catch me off guard was the suburban-heavy sales overall. Pimpin' Ken's theory about us all being pimps or hoes does account for the need to read this book from the 'burbs. Ken teaches us, "When you go downtown and see an old lady feeding a bird, the bird comes every day to check the lady for that bread, and the old lady chooses to come every day to be down with the bird--even that bird is pimpin'!"

Though this text is currently (but understandably) out of stock on Amazon, you can find used copies from $46.21 - $216.33. Seriously. The second most expensive, $209.28, is only listed as "good" condition.

Why so much more than the list price? Well, readers have a hard time parting with their own copies of Pimpology.
Pamela P. "Pamela" gave this stunning review on Amazon: "I like the fact that the 48 laws can be applied to ones daily life as well as business endeavors. And, surprisingly, I found this book to be just as inspirational as some of Donald Trumps books."

There you have it. The Great American Pimp Book. Pimpin' laws to live by. Luckily it's only 3.2 ounces, in case any hoes get out of line and need the book thrown at them.

Feature: Howard's Books

Though total book sales were up 1% in 2008 (for a total of $40.3 billion in the United States), big book chains were down (as much as 11.5% for Borders). More customers are turning to online media and Amazon while the bookstores are hurting. The solution? Border's new strategy is to eliminate some of its multimedia to make more space for actual books. More importantly, they are also making room for personal interaction and hands-on book sales.

As Borders struggles to reground themselves in their bookselling roots (the original Borders was a sizeable used bookstore to satisfy the academic community of Ann Arbor, MI) there's definitely something to be said for the traditional, able-to-give-a-good-recommendation-bookstore, but the local shops are hurting, too.

That's why I made my first stop on the path to Chicago independent bookseller nirvana at Howard's Books (2000 Maple Avenue, Evanston). The going-out-of-business signs have been up for a while, with their accompanying 50% off posters, but weren't enough to tempt me out of my busy schedule until now.

*Note: I've noticed that the signs about going out of business are now taken down, though the 50% off ones remain, so it's unclear what will be the future of Howard's Books*


Report and Review:
The actual state of the bookstore is hard to comment on, since it's clear once you're inside that this place is in transition. Whether or not it has always been like this--scattered, a bit disorganized--is impossible to tell. There is a special section for rarer finds, which are my favorite to look at, but less often to purchase (since paying well over the list price is not an easy thing to do when the book is very old and sometimes not in great condition, and rare books sometimes evoke an emotional investment that makes them impossible to turn down). Still, those purchases are the most gratifying and make every booklover's shelf (and soul) more complete. I once found an old, illustrated edition of Les Misérables in Poland that is near and dear to my heart. Nothing in the rare section of Howard's intrigued me, though I considered a 19th century Printer's Guide for a while out of my nostalgic connection to the book creation process. Some of the books are overpriced in my opinion, though the half-off sale makes cost a moot point.

Acquisitions:
Wicked Spanish by Howard Tomb (Workman Publishing Company, 1991) just for kicks since I'm taking Spanish 101 next quarter and I knew my Mexican-American roommate would laugh at it (and me); $2.50 (before the 50%).
Watchword by William Fuller (Flood Editions, 2006), inscribed with "it must be complete to be true" and the author's signature; $7.95 (again before the discount).

Recommendation:
This entire feature is more of an epitaph than a review, as Howard's Books won't be around much longer (see Note); I did overhear, however, that the owner plans to continue selling select books online, where I learned from their site that the 50% off is a continual treat for any book that has been in the store over a year. That's the sort of deal I like to hear. These guys keep a variety, as well as the intent to continually add more titles to their inventory for online sale so check them out for that book you're looking for but just haven't found yet--or to stumble across something interesting like I did.

An Adventure Begins

So, keeping up a blog was not as easy as I originally thought. But, with the time restrictions and minor life complications out of the way, I am more than ready to tap into the founding motivation behind Intellectual Aesthetic all over again.

Just in time for Independents Week, I am finally able to begin a project I've had in mind for a long while now: Chicago bookstore tour.

Books are within a realm of intellect that is often married quite beautifully to aesthetic (an idea I'll explore further soon), and with my publishing internship at Ivan R. Dee I have become nearly obsessed with all things book. Now that I'm indulging my literary love more frequently, I see literature in all aspects of everyday life--sometimes quite literally. There are many small, local bookstores in Chicagoland waiting for a booklover or curious passerby to step inside, and I'm disappointed in myself that I have so far neglected them.

A good bookstore satisfies a craving deep inside a booklover--one that they may not even realize the intensity of, somewhat satiated as it is on Barnes and Noble or a library if lucky. But once that person steps over the threshold of a true bookstore (rare titles limning the walls and a literary savant casually reorganizing a pile of titles with their superior book intellectualism melded with a near-fetish regard for the pages their fingers graze just barely visible in a slight tension of the body when a new customer walks in and must be evaluated for a potential kindred spirit) a booklover cannot help but feel their deep urges bubbling to a loud rumble of voracious book appetite...or you know, the experience is something like that. Regardless, how have I lived in Chicago and Evanston for a collective three years and not done this tour already?

The Project: I will be exploring as many of Chicago's (and Chicagoland's) local bookstores throughout this summer and reporting back here on Intellectual Aesthetic.

To help track my progress, I've joined IndieBound, a site I found after I started researching places I have not stumbled across yet. Their purpose is to promote and celebrate local bookstores nationwide, and to foster a community for book and bookstore lovers. I hope to find and expand upon store listings so that I'm not using IndieBound as a source for this adventure but rather contributing to their resources for others. Ideally, I can get through most of this project by happening upon local bookstores on my own (as was the case for stores I'll feature from Evanston).

Check back for the features and enjoy (book obsession not required)!