Whistlestop Bookshop

06/19/2026

About once a year I listen to one of Zane Grey's fishing books in memory of my brother Gordon, who was an uncanny fisherman. Grey, best known for his westerns like Riders of the Purple Sage, wrote about 9 fishing books which are all considered classics of wilderness writing. I have read 7 of them (Gordon died in 2020). The publisher who once kept them all in big handsome paperbacks, Derrydale Press, is letting them slowly slide out of print, which is understandable and regrettable. I carry what I can here at Whistlestop and occasionally sell one via my website's Fishing page. I am halfway around the world in my car with Tales of Tahitian Waters (1931). Not too long ago in the book Zane and I looked over the side of the boat and realized the huge shape cruising beneath us, about 35 feet in length, was not a harmless whale shark but a great white shark. Gave us both the wi***es, Zane there and then, me a century later. Grey is great company. https://www.whistlestoppers.com/fishing

06/19/2026

What was I thinking? In getting restocked with books by Randy Watts, I discovered I had not added Railroads of the Dillsburg Region 2nd edition (2023) to the store's webpage dedicated to the worthy Mr. Watts. Apologies to partisans of Dillsburg and its rails. https://www.whistlestoppers.com/randy-watts

06/19/2026

Last week I swapped out graduation titles for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There is a tidal wave of books being published. Here is a vetted selection. Going fast and steadily - encouraging!

06/19/2026

The assassination of President Kennedy haunts us still. Rest in peace, Clint Hill.

Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent whose actions became a defining part of that fatal Dallas day, was laid to rest this week at Arlington.

06/19/2026

Happy Juneteenth! Whistlestop Bookshop is open 10-6.

06/19/2026

Happy Juneteenth! Annette Gordon Reed's On Juneteenth is a historical essay, $15.95. In stock and on my Civil War & Reconstruction webpage. Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison is a novel extracted from a huge lifelong manuscript written by Ellison after Invisible Man. It was published in 1999, five years after Ellison's death. The full manuscript (much as it could be described that way) was published in 2010 as Three Days After the Shooting. Either way, necessarily edited, rearranged, extracted, whatever, Ralph Ellison is one of America's great writers. Begin at the first paragraph and be in awe. "Two days before the shooting a chartered planeload of Southern Negroes swooped down upon the District of Columbia and attempted to see the Senator. They were all quite elderly . . . ." In stock and listed on my Ralph Ellison webpage.

06/18/2026

Parting thoughts of having left the Forbidden Planet. We appreciate the 31 humans who enjoyed the film last night. If there were any Krell, we wouldn't have seen them, right? Amanda, Deb, and team (we didn't get the name of the friendly and efficient concessionaire) did a great job. Many years since I have seen it. The story held up for me. More talky than I remembered. Perhaps as a 12 year old I was distracted by my amazement at how Anne Francis's dresses could be *that* short. This time I was struck by the brilliant set designs and the gadget prophecies. Once again I enjoyed the WWII/Korean War military feel to the expedition. I have been flogging its connection to Shakespeare's Tempest, but at the end Betsy said to me, "I see Beowulf." She had not seen the movie before. Brilliant and provocative insight. Certainly the Id monster is Grendel to a T. I like the idea of multiple layers of classic literature folded into it.

06/18/2026

A wonderful customer who bought an ideal mix of tote, jigsaw puzzle, Jane Austen Tarot Deck, two of Princeton University Press Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers (Seneca and Cicero), and Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of Cats, the kind of customer we independent booksellers dream about, asked if she could take Mulan's picture. Mulan, who these days is usually in the chair, was taking advantage of a mild day to review my work on the computer. Once my customer left, I saw what she saw, and I knew again how incredibly lucky I was to work with this cat. Mulan woke up, pressed the space bar, and had a few bites of kibble and a sip of water. Now she is in the chair. The work goes on.

06/17/2026

Isn't this lovely? I have added a number of journal sets from Flame Tree Publishing, various sizes, prices from $8.99 to $16.99. This set with covers from the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland, has alternating lined and blank pages.