Category: books

  • Quimby's Offsite: Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983, Chicago Book Party at GMan Tavern, April 27th

    Join us at the GMan tavern on while we sell books for a very special Chicago Book Party!

    Deep Eddy Vodka welcomes
    Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983
    Author Reading with Jen B. Larson * Q&A hosted by WBEZ’s Jill Hopkins
    Thursday, April 27th
    Doors: 7pm / Show: 7:30pm
    $10 Adv. / $12 Door / 21+
    Jen Lemasters (aka She Bop), Clare Kelly, and Jill Hopkins DJ
    at GMan Tavern, 3740 North Clark Street Chicago, IL.
    (Note: this event is not at Quimby’s.)

    Click this link to buy tickets at etix.com.

    About Hit Girls (published by Feral House):

    Think punk was only a boys club? Read about the women who were the punk revolution!

    Women have been kicking against the pricks of music patriarchy since Sister Rosetta Tharpe first played the guitar riffs that built rock-n-roll. The explosion of punk sent shockwaves of revolution to every girl who dreamed of being on stage. Punk godmothers Suzy Quatro, The Runaways, Patti Smith, Poison Ivy, Tina Weymouth, Debbie Harry, The Go-Gos, and Fanny’s Millington sisters provided the template for thousands of girls and women throughout the United States to write and record their songs.

    Hit Girls is the story local and regional bands whose legacy would be otherwise lost. Despite the modern narrative labeled women anomalies in rock music, the truth is: women played important roles in punk and its related genres in every city, in every scene, all over the United States. The women and bands profiled by Jen B. share their experiences of sexism and racism as well as their joy and successes from their days on stage as they changed what it meant to be in a band. These pioneering women were more than novelty acts or pretty faces–they were fully contributing members and leaders of mixed-gender and all-female bands long before the call for “girls to the front.”

    The women of Hit Girls are now rightfully exalted to cult status where their collective achievement is recognized and inspiring to new generations of women rockers. Included are interviews with: Texacala Jones, Stoney Rivera, Mish Bondaj, Alice Bag, Nikki Corvette, Penelope Houston, and many more formidable and infamous women who made their voices heard over the screaming guitars.

    Hit Girls includes over 100 rare and never-before seen images. Author Jen B. includes a comprehensive playlist of all the artists. Foreword by punk journalist, Ginger Coyote.

    About the author:  Jen B. Larson is a writer, musician, and public art schoolteacher living in Chicago. She holds a B.A. in English literature and creative writing as well as an M.Ed. in special education. Her bands, Swimsuit Addition, beastii, and Jen and the Dots, have performed and recorded extensively over the last decade. Visit Jen on the web at instagram.com/conspiracyofwomen.

    Wanna buy the book in advance? Come in to the store or get it off our website here.

  • Mel Stringer Fart School Release Event, In Conversation With Kevin Budnik, at Quimby's, April 15th

    Quimby’s welcomes Mel Stringer to celebrate the release of her graphic novel Fart School published by Silver Sprocket on Saturday, April 15th and 7pm here in person at 1854 W. North Ave in conversation with comics artist Kevin Budnik, for a night of talking and signing.

    Based on the author’s experience attending art school in the early 2000s, Mel Springer’s Fart School is a funny, heartfelt graphic novel will resonate with anyone who had a youthful dream—or a DeviantArt account. The book chronicles Mel’s excitement about moving to Brisbane to start art school where she imagines collaborating with other artists in a vibrant community, honing her craft, and becoming an accomplished artist. But it turns out that art school isn’t quite the same in real life. Can Mel finish college with her love of art still intact?

    Mel Stringer was encouraged to be creative from an early age and remembers spending most of her free time drawing all through her schooling years. Her work spans across mediums, including comics and illustrations, all autobiographical and influenced by her surroundings in one way or another. Mel was brought up in the Northern Territory of Australia, finishing high school in Darwin. She then traveled across the country to study art in Brisbane, in hopes of starting her art career and meeting more like-minded people. Now based in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, she spends her days creating autobiographical comics in the form of the zine Flowery, about what it’s like being a Filipino-Australian living in the USA. Fart School is her first graphic novel. She has long been a consignor at Quimby’s, where she sells her diary comic Flowery. Find her on the web at instagram.com/melstringer.

    Mel will be in conversation with local mini-comics artist and Quimby’s friend Kevin Budnik, whose diary comics have been called “painful” in a complimentary sense. Born in Chicago, graduate of Columbia College, Kevin makes work exploring depression, compulsive behaviors, mental illness, queerness, cats, and death. Find him on the web at instagram.com/kevin_budnik. He publishes the ongoing mini-comics series I Hope This Finds You.

    Reviews of Fart School:

    “A relatable exploration of the difficulties of making it in the art world.” – Booklist

    “Devotees of Dan Clowes’s beloved teenage dramadies will appreciate Stringer’s neurotic, angsty worldview as she tries to find her way in the adult world. Though most likely to strike a chord with actual past and present art school comrades, any reader who’s ever felt like a fish out of water will be drawn in by the irresistible loose cartoony art style and cheery color palette. This funny portrait of the artist as a young adult is a charmer.” -Publishers Weekly

    “Mel Stringer’s art and storytelling talent shine in this brilliant, beautiful graphic memoir that’s both personal and universal: the time somebody starts to become their true self. Her brilliant artwork and storytelling are somehow both intensely personal and universal, as well as funny, poignant and real. The more you look at Mel Stringer’s work, the more you see, and the more you realise what an awesome talent she is.” -Kaz Cooke

    Facebook event invite here.

    Be extra prepared and purchase Fart School here!

     

    Hey! Remember when Mel did our awesome bookmarks?! We love them so much!

  • Dave Eggers Does Something Interesting at Quimby's For His Book The Eyes & The Impossible, April 11th

    What will Dave Eggers do here at Quimby’s for this event Tuesday, April 11th? Read something? Talk about something? Who knows? Will he cut hair? Make drinks? We look forward to finding out. What we do know is he has a new book coming out. And we’re having an event here in partnership with the American Writers Museum.

    The Eyes and the Impossible (McSweeney’s) is the story of a dog named Johannes. Johannes is a free dog, a fast dog—such a fast dog! He lives in an urban park by the sea, and every day, he runs through the park, seeing all, missing nothing, and reporting what he sees to the park’s three ancient Bison, the Keepers of the Equilibrium. But the Equilibrium has been disrupted.

    Mysterious rectangles are hypnotizing Johannes, humans are erecting a strange new building, and an entirely new kind of animal has arrived in the park—and there are hundreds of them. Johannes must run faster, see better, and ultimately do more than run and see—he must liberate those he loves.

    Gorgeously illustrated throughout by Shawn Harris (author of Have You Ever Seen A Flower? and illustrator of Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, among many others)—Dave Eggers’s The Eyes and the Impossible is a lyrical, soulful book full of wit and passion—a timeless story for readers of all ages.

    Quimby’s is normally closed on Tuesdays but for this very special event we’ll be open in the evening for this event! Doors open at 6pm, events starts at 7pm.

    Facebook Event Invite here.

    Praise for The Eyes and the Impossible

    “So clever and engrossing and sweet. I loved it.”
    —Roddy Doyle, Man Booker Prize and Irish PEN Award winner

    “An exhilarating, funny, frightening, mind-warping, heart-squeezing tale. Told at the speed of light. A must read. For all humans.”
    —Jon Scieszka

    “A total delight: a heroic dog’s account of a thrilling adventure, during which a community determines, separately and together, how to live. I loved it.”
    —Maile Meloy

    “This book is a magic trick. The kind of magic trick where you want to know how to do it so you can also write a book this good.”
    —Jon Klassen

    The Eyes and the Impossible is Exhibit A in the argument for children’s books being great literature. Honestly, it’s the best all-ages novel I’ve read in years. It reminded me why I love kids’ books—and why I love reading itself.”
    —Annie Barrows

    “Hilarious, big-hearted, and beautifully written. If you want to know what I think, this book right here is a significant contribution to children’s literature.”
    —Mac Barnett

    “One remarkable creature vividly shows readers that “there is so, so much to see.” —Kirkus, starred review

    The Eyes and the Impossible
    McSweeney’s
    isbn: 978-1-95211-945-3 (wood-cover edition)
    pub date: May 9, 2023
    price: $28
    format: Hardcover
    publicity: Amanda Uhle, amanda(at)mcsweeneys(dot)net
    &
    Caroline Sun, caroline(dot)sun(at)sunliteraryarts(dot)com

    About Dave Eggers: Dave Eggers is the author of many books, among them The Eyes and the Impossible, The CircleThe Monk of MokhaHeroes of the FrontierA Hologram for the King, and What Is the What. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a youth writing center that has inspired over 70 similar organizations worldwide. Eggers is winner of the American Book Award, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the TED Prize, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He once did an event at Quimby’s in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.

     

  • Happy Holidays from Quimby's!

    Step into the wintery wonderland that is the Quimby’s holiday window display! Designed by our Artist-in-Residence Ashley Wilfong* (an actual position here that is totally not made up) and assisted by employee-and-artiste Echo Elise Gonzalez (check out her Dream Bindery notebooks!), the window features staff favorite books, zines, and gifts peppered among miniature buildings and festooned trees. Don’t miss the Chicago skyline in the background, the garland of colorful zines, and the tree hanging with mini-zine ornaments. Stop by anytime from 12-6 Th-M and peruse our collection of books, zines, comics, and curiosities. The store is filled with perfect gift options of every size–come in and grab something for your friends, family, maybe even yourself? We won’t tell.

    * Ashley relocated this year from West Virginia to Chicago, where she is constantly reminded of the magic of our city. This is her first time making a public display and she designed it to be a place where a tiny two-headed mouse would like to live. Check out her neighborhood favorite cocktail bar Nighthawk in Albany Park.

  • Support Quimby's on Cyber Monday (Or Any Day, Really)

    It being Cyber Monday we thought we would give a shout out to the multiple ways you can use your hard earned moolah to support us with your mail order.
    You probably know we have a webstore at quimbys.com where we sell all our QuimbSwag (gift certificates, t-shirts, all that stuff) and a select few other exciting things. You can have stuff shipped! Or you can select Curbside Pickup and we’ll hold it for you!
    But did you know your can also order from bookshop.org and give us a kickback?
    Here’s the story with that. Let’s say you want a book we carry (or even a book we don’t carry) though it’s not available on our website. (See our bookshop.org link in our bio.) But you still want to buy it from Quimby’s. Our online bookshop.org store provides that opportunity and also lets you order your guilty pleasure book you don’t want anyone to know you’re reading. And you have it shipped directly to you! Your favorite bookstore (that would be um, us) gets a commission when you select Quimby’s as the store. We thank you for that! There are some curated lists over there too if you need some suggestions. Just make sure the Quimby’s logo is in the upper left corner and you’re gold.
    Astute Quimby’s fans will recall back in the day we used to have a version of this that we used to joke about and we called it Quimazon? It was that thing that nobody used because it was awkward and confusing. Remember that? Bookshop.org is a much better version of that, an iteration that’s easy to use and updated in a way that makes sense for people. Hoo-ray!
  • Zine Club Chicago Online: Cheap Copies! Edition with Special Guest Rich Dana, Aug. 16th!

    Zine Club Chicago Online: Cheap Copies! Edition
    with Special Guest Rich Dana
    7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, August 16 on Zoom
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is really excited to welcome special guest Rich Dana, a stencil artist, zinemaker, and founder of Obsolete Press. Rich will be joining us on Zoom to discuss his recent release, Cheap Copies!: The Obsolete Press Guide to DIY Hectography, Mimeography & Spirit Duplication, and demonstrate one of the no-cost/low-cost analog printing techniques featured in the book.

    Bring your questions for Rich and your favorite zines that were printed using cheap, cool, and tactile DIY techniques! We want to hear about the non-digital ways that zines in your collection (and that you’ve made yourself!) were reproduced, including hecto, ditto, mimeo, block printing, letterpress, screen printing, and copying by hand.

    Grab your stack of analog-printed zines, BYOS(nacks), and join us on Zoom for Zine Club Chicago Online: Cheap Copies! Edition with Special Guest Rich Dana at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, August 16!

    ** RSVP required ** We want to make sure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, so we won’t be releasing the Zoom link publicly. If you’d like to attend, please email zineclubchicago@gmail.com to RSVP by 9 p.m. CT Monday, August 15 (the evening before our event). We’ll email you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, August 16.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago, the city’s only book club-style event for people who read zines. This free monthly series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    More info at quimbys.com and on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago. Facebook event is here.

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer featuring a photo of zinemaker Rich Dana demonstrating an analog printing technique and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Cheap Copies! Edition with Special Guest Rich Dana; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CST Tuesday, August 16”

  • New Stuff This Week

    Happy Saturday! Did you know that April 9 is National Unicorn Day? While we don’t have any mythical creatures in stock right now, we do have a TON of fun new stuff in the form of zines, comics, and books. Check out this fantastic list of fresh arrivals!

    Zines

    My Favorite Actor is a Dog by Aim Ren $2

    Women in Print #8 $8

    Razorblades and Aspirin #14 $8

    Dealing with COVID: Hopefully Helpful Tips by Lost Fillings $1

    Time’s Up: No More Rape Culture in Our Skate Culture by Smash the Skatriarchy $3.95

    How It Felt to Me: The Further Writings of Annie Howard $11

    Gothic Lyric Book by Karina Song and Blaketheman1000 $5

    I Miss You by Karina $1

    Cut Me Up #8: Guided by Instinct $18

    Something Rather Than Nothing Zine #1 $4

    Bad Year by Nick Greer $5

    Comics & Minis

    Ghouls by Jenn Woodall $12

    Future #8 by Tommi Musturi $6

    Teeni Bop #1 $4

    Annual Eternia Bodybuilding Contest #1 $2

    Forms Saint George and the Dragon by Ryan Shipman $5

    Eschew #5 by Robert Sergel $8

    Smear Girl of Clay #1 $2

    Heavy Metal #315 $13.99

    Reptile House #9 by Nick Bunch $5

    Scoundrels Don’t Get Caught by Hannibal Gerald $6

    Graphic Novels

    Rave by Jessica Campbell $22.95

    Hell Phone: Book One by Benji Nate $14.99

    One Hundred Columns for Razorcake: The Complete Comics 2003-2020 by Ben Snakepit $11.99

    Book Tour by Andi Watson $24.99

    Mr. Lightbulb by Wojtek Wawszczyk $29.99

    Squeak the Mouse by Massimo Mattioli $29.99

    Fiction

    Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin $17.99

    The Candy House by Jennifer Egan $28

    Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer $18

    The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers $21

    DIY Books

    Creative Not Famous the Small Potato Manifesto by Ayun Halliday $14.95

    Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Resource For Zines and Zine Culture vol 6 by Alex Wrekk $15 – In fancy hardcover!

    Everything Depends on Me: A Book About OCD by Alice DuBois $24

    A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon and Will Hernandez $7.99

    Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting by Julia Illes $18.95

    From Big Idea to Book: Create a Writing Practice That Brings You Joy by Jessie L Kwak $14.95

    Music Books

    Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran $18.99

    Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records by Jim  Ruland $30

    Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury From Seattle by Keith Cameron $24.99

    Essay & Culture & Memoir

    Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. Gross $30

    Stalking the Atomic City by Markiyan Kamysh $22

    Mayhem & Outer Limits Books

    Platform Edge: Uncanny Tales of the Railways edited by Mike Ashley $15.95

    Doorway to Dilemma: Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley $15.95

    Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink by John Miller $15.95

    Inside the Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer by Christopher Berry Dee $16.95

    Food & Drug Books

    The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual by CJ Spotswood $19.95

    Sexxy

    Fantasy Lewds Erotic Anthology by Andy Hood $15

    Experience Points: Illustrated Queer Smutty Stories by N.A. Melamed $12.95

    Magazines

    Little White Lies #92 $16.99

    032c #40 $24.95

    Chap Books & Lit Journals

    Granta #158: In the Family $19.99

    Kids Stuff

    Illustoria #17 $16

    Other Stuff

    What A Time to Be Gay and Alive Bumper Sticker by Archie Bongiovanni $3

  • New Stuff This Week

     

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    QUIMBY’S COLA!!! by Caroline Cash, in collaboration with Marz Brewing!

     

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    Gifty Shit

    Nudie Ladies 2022 End of Herstory Calendar by Flannery Cashill $15

    More stickers by Corinne Halbert & Mel Stringer (Eat Me, Pick Yourself Up and Try Again, Wheelie Cool Sticker by Mel Stringer, Fairy Dust)

    Zines

    East Village Inky #65 by Ayun Halliday $3

    KerBloom #152 Sep Oct 2021 by Artnoose $2

    Pandemic Movie Watchlist SECOND DOSE by Johnny Misfit $3

    New Wave Chicken #9 (Fluke Publishing) $4

    Push: A Cure Fanzine issues #1 and #4, $6 each by Arusha Baker & friends

    zines from LMK, $6 each: Above All Else, Recipes, Deeper Meanings to Words and more.

    Thirteenth Story #5 by Jaye Frisina $10

    Handout #8 Rejection Letters $2

    The Thread #17 a Memoir Personal Zine by Rachel Lee-Carman $5

    Rubber Souls by industrialsewage $3.75

    These Are All Inadequate Christmas Issue and issue #3 $3 each

    December 3rd by JB $4

    Papercuts Library #6 You and Your Phone Are Boring $5.99

    Comics & Minis

    Vacuum Decay #4 by Harry Nordlinger $10

    Birth of Eggy Toad by Aim Ren $2

    Municipal Threat Explotation (Fluke Publishing) $5

    Graphic Novels

    Peow Studio Press stuff! On Tour by Moa Romanova $12, Ice Cream and Beast by Iggy Craig $10, Berzerkid by Gax Vallez and Mikal Lopez $12, Brush Paradise by Mathilde Kitteh $15, Aeon 6 by Jules Naleb $12, Bark Bark Girl by Michael Furler $19, Witchcraft and Melancholia by Loic Locatelli Kournwsky $22, Magic Mayhem Metal by Tom Hunter $27

    Good Boy Magazine #1 (Silver Sprocket) $9.99

    Art Books

    Connies Characters by Constance Volk $20

    Music Books

    Reversing into The Future: New Wave Graphics 1977 – 1990 by Andrew Krivine $45

    Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists by Eilon Paz and friends $50

    Essay Stuff

    Flying High: Flags of the United States by Billy McCall $14

    Slow Motion Heroics by Joshua James Amberson $10

    New Stuff From GenderFail Press: Imperfect Archiving Archiving As Practice For a Love of Softness by Be Oakley $20, Behind Shut Eyes QTBIPOC Dream Anthology $25 & more.

    Fiction

    Especially Now SC by Jonas Cannon $5

    Everybody Comes From Somewhere by Ira Sacharoff $14

    Photography Books

    PUSH: J. Grant Brittain – 80s Skateboarding Photography with words from Tony Hawk, Miki Vuckovich, Garry Scott Davis (Gingko Press) $50

    Sexxxy

    Elska #35 Casablanca Morocco $20

    New York Hustle #1 $20

    Magazines

    Juxtapoz #220 winter $9.99
    Breathe #42 $13.99
    Progressive december-january $5.95
    Aperture #245 winter $24.95
    Vive Le Rock #86 $13.60
    Wire #453 november $12.50
    Heavy Metal #312 $13.99

    Poetry & Chap Books

    31 Days The Self by Amie Zimmerman and Samantha Wall $15

    Poetry by Connie Boje $5 each: My Life is a Library #12, Monster of Music #16

    For the Young at Heart

    Haymarket Books Fairy Tale Revolution series, $17.95 each: Duckling by Kamila Shamsie, Blueblood by Malorie Blackman, Hansel and Greta by Jeanette Winterson

  • Quimby's 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

    Right now our shop is crammed full of amazing, unique gifts for everyone in your life. (OK, maybe not your uncle who only wants vintage Nixon paraphernalia, but just about everybody else). Here are just a few of our staff picks for the best stuff to wrap up this season.

    And if you don’t spot the gift you’re seeking on this list, come on into the store and let us help you find that perfect present for someone you love (or for yourself … you surely deserve a little something, too).

     

    Quimby’s Schwag

    You know you love us … so spread the love around by gifting some Quimby’s merch, featuring original designs by some of our favorite artists.

    Quimby’s Gift Certificates, available in a variety of denominations

    Quimby’s Air Freshener, designed by Plastic Crimewave

    Quimby’s Coasters, featuring our classic logo designed by Chris Ware

    Quimby’s 30th Anniversary T-shirt, designed by Caroline Cash

    Quimby’s Logo T-shirt

    Quimby’s Logo Enamel Pin

    Quimby’s Logo Embroidered Patch

    Quimby’s Logo Tote Bag

    Quimby’s Bong Mice Metallic Sticker, designed by Caroline Cash

    Quimby’s Logo Sticker

     

     

    Liz, Manager and Zine Maven

    Broke, Not Broken: Personal Finance for the Creative, Confused, Underpaid, and Overwhelmed by Anna Jo Beck

    Gentrifier: A Memoir by Anne Elizabeth Moore (comes with a free bookplate signed by the author, while supplies last)

    Someplace Special, edited by Aim Ren Beland and Cynthia E. Hanifin

    Lydia Tomkiw: Poems, edited by Dan Shepelavy

    Hang in There Kitten Tea Towel, designed and hand-printed by Heather Anacker

    Dame Darcy Meat Cake Calendar 2022

     

    Caroline, Cartoonist in Residence

    Heaven No Hell by Michael DeForge

    Bubbles, An Independent Fanzine About Comics and Manga #11 (We’ve got issues #1-#10 in stock, too)

    Alanzo Sneak by Nate Garcia

    Be Gay Do Crime by Mary Nardini Gang

    You Have Been Catcalled. What Do You Do? Patch by Jenn Woodall

     

    Cynthia (Zinethia), Zine Warrior

    Qustomized Quimby’s Zine Package $25 Version (also available in $69 and $100 versions)

    Awesome Things #4 by Liz Mason (Awesome Things #1, #2, and #3 are, frankly, awesome, as well!)

    Girl in the World by Caroline Cash (comes with a free sticker sheet designed by the artist, while supplies last)

    Social Justice Kittens Calendar 2021 (available in-store only)

    Zine Game Deck by Billy McCall

    White City Devil Coffee & Coconut Candle (available in-store only, with a free Quimby’s matchbook while supplies last)

  • June Quimby’s Newsletter Out Now!

    Our monthly announcements and all that jazz. Have you subscribed so you get it in your inbox every month yet? Check it out here.