Blog

  • New Stuff 20th & 27th 2008

    WHOA! Two weeks worth of new stuff coming at you! Sorry folks I missed a week took a little time off to visit London. Which I have to say had two really great comic shops with Gosh and Forbidden Planet! But now its back to the grind and WOW, tons of stuff came out in the past two weeks! Fall books they are a dropin’.

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  • Today's Featured Book: Concrete Inspection by Crispin Hellion Glover

    Subtitle of Concrete Inspection by Crispin Hellion Glover: “A Manual of Information And Instructions For Inspectors With Standard And Typical Specifications.” Actually it’s a collage telling the story about the narrator’s mother (among other things). Even though it’s a black hardcover with copper engraving (I think maybe engraving is the right word), it feels very zine-ish ’cause of its cut-and-paste approach. Funny that the story would be about the narrator’s mother (and we realize you should never assume the narrator is the author), since when we call the publisher (Volcanic Eruptions) to place reorders, we’re pretty sure that we talk to Crisin’s mom. We’re not 100% sure on this one, but well, pretty sure. Maybe. Anyway, we have some of his other books too, here.

  • Chunklet #20 Is Here!

    Now in stock for the awesomest price ever of $9.99 for 134 pages of the usual tiny font, the 20th issue of Chunklet (20 issues, 15 years!). Don’t miss Whirlyball with such bands as Arcade Fire, The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie and countless others. Laugh-out-loud funny Rock Sniglets, Music Journalist Application Form, Zine Fair Pick-Up Lines (That Failed Miserably) [“I’m not the do-it-yourself type…I’d rather do it with you.”] — This is rockin’. That’s why this mag only comes out once every 3 years, because of its high hilariousness quotient. Chunklet makes fun of pretty much everything the cool kids listen to, which is why I love it. More music mags should have this many opinions, instead of just being a conglomeration of press releases the publicity agents are sending out. I mean, really, does EVERY magazine need to have Cat Power on the cover with varying pictures from the same photo shoot?

  • Kilter release party at Quimby’s!

    Join us for the release of the new Chicago Goth Zine – Kilter.
    Kilter is an off-shoot of GothicArtChicago.com which is an events website and myspace page for the fine arts and music events within the Chicago Dark Art, Fetish, Gothic & Industrial community.
    Featuring reading and performances from:

    Jennifer Anne Buckley: General magazine intro, and overview
    Peter Propaganda: Local Events and Music
    DVNT Dom: Shabari and Bondage discussion and Demonstration
    Nyx: Erotic Poetry reading
    Zoe: a talk about the interviewing process

  • We have the new Mark Ryden book, Sweet Wishes!

    With its vibrant and colorful pictures, Sweet Wishes tells the tale of Dolly, Baby and Bear and what happens when they are granted a wish from a magical fairy — regarding eating too many sweets. This 56 page book is hard covered and measures 11.25 x 9.5 inches. The story is based on a short film by the authors, Mark Ryden and Marion Peck. Published by Porterhouse Fine Art Editions in Pasadena, CA. Copies are limited so make sure you get yours now, ’cause like most Mark Ryden books for us, once they’re gone, they’re gone. Plus, note it’s only $20.00! It’s a pretty twisted title that could double as a lowbrow art and/or a kids book (By the way, we don’t have a lot of kids books, just ones that we think are cool, so take advantage of this while it’s here). Dolls and teddies making messes of cupcakes and themselves — hell yeah!

  • Quimby’s Top Ten Best Sellers For the Week of September 14th, 2008 – September 20th


    1.    Slow Storm by Danica Novgorodoff (First Second) $17.95
    2.    Cometbus #51 by Aaron Cometbus $3.00
    3.    Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Vertigo) $19.99
    4.    Chunklet #20 $9.99
    5.    Tales Designed to Thrizzle #4 by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics) $4.50
    6.    Demons In the Spring by Joe Meno (Akashic) $24.95
    7.    Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman (Scriber) $24.00
    8.    Proximity #2 Cities Issue $10.00
    9.    Rough Guide To Bicycle Maintenance $2.00
    10.    Bust Oct Nov 08 $4.99

  • Quimby’s Top Ten Best Sellers For the Week of September 7th, 2008 – September 13th

    1. Proximity #2 Cities Issue $10.00
    2. Believer #56 $8.00
    3. Stop Smiling #36 $5.95
    4. Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead) $14.00
    5. McSweeney’s #28 $24.00
    6. Giant Robot #55 $4.99
    7. Mojo Oct 08 #179 $9.99
    8. Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne (Process) $16.95
    9. Tales Designed to Thrizzle #4 by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics) $4.50
    10. Proximity #1 Chicago Issue $10.00

  • New Stuff 9/13/08

    When did Chicago become Seattle? I hope this clears up and out so Renegade Craft Fair gets some shine tomorrow. Don’t forget if you are in the neighbor hood the poster sale is still going and there are some zines on the last chance pile that you may never see again! So stop in, escape the rain, and check the shelves!

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  • Laurie Lindeen author of Petal Pusher

    Join Laurie Lindeen, author of Petal Pusher for a reading and book signing.

    Laurie Lindeen’s obsession with music was immediate.  But launching a successful career in rock and roll would take more guts and determination than she ever realized she could muster.  Lindeen grew up with The Monkees, The Partridge Family, and singing tunes from Rogers and Hammerstein musicals.  However, when her parents divorced, Lindeen began to understand that life may be a little less sweet than the sugar-coated soundtrack of her youth let on.  If she was to discover that it was a wonderful life after all, it would have to be on her own terms.

    As one of the “lost girls of Generation Why,” Lindeen questioned all the conventions that confronted her.  Why should she bother finishing school on time?  Why should she push for a corporate career that would never make her happy?  Why bother with a serious relationship?  Why were all the moms that she saw so unhappy?  But one thing she never wanted to wonder was, “What if…?”

    Moving from Madison, Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota, a musical hot-bed of the 1980s, Lindeen packed light, with only the dream of playing music and a steeled will to succeed.  But, before she could play a note, Lindeen came face to face with the disease that silently stalked her every step of the way.  Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that left her nearly blind in one eye and completely paralyzed on one side of her body,   Lindeen’s passion to make it big on the local, national, and international rock scene became her driving force.

    Forming the all-girl alternative rock band, Zuzu’s Petals, Lindeen and her best girl friends Coleen (“former cheerleader gone off the deep end”) and Phyll (“Annie Oakley meets Patsy Cline”) struggle to survive the many challenges of making it as a female underdog in the male centric rock world including practicing in an abandoned box car, being scammed by slimy music industry agents on under-funded European tours, and watching other, newer female bands selling out and having greater success.

    Ultimately, Laurie’s falling in love with singer/songwriter Paul Westerberg of Replacements fame and her first sense of having a true home since childhood cause her to revaluate her determination to “make it big.” With this new stable foundation in her life, Lindeen is able to truly see the negative aspects of her life in the band for the first time, and she ultimately realizes the difference between her dream and reality.

    About the author:
    Laurie Lindeen holds an M.F.A. in creative writing, a subject she currently teaches. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone’s Anthology Altrarockorama and on NPR. She lives with her husband Paul Westerberg and their son in Minnesota. Visit her online at www.laurielindeen.com

  • Nate Powell Event

    Join Nate Powell as he reads his new book Swallow Me Whole.

    SWALLOW ME WHOLE is a love story carried by rolling fog, terminal illness, hallucination, apophenia, insect armies, secrets held, unshakeable faith, and the search for a master pattern to make sense of one’s unraveling. Two adolescent stepsiblings hold together amidst schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, family breakdown, animal telepathy, misguided love, and the tiniest nugget of hope that the heart, that sanity, that order itself will take shape again