Salem So Sweet Chocolate and Ice Sculptures Festival Offers Free Fun for the Whole Family in February
Come Visit Max (from Where the Wild Things Are) on Saturday, February 6!

For the weekend of February 6-7, with a Golden Ticket, Cornerstone Books will be offering 15% off the book of your choice and a free hot chocolate. Come visit us and say hi to Max!

Wednesday February 3rd at 7pm
Free Investment Seminar with Ken Nagy

Join Ken for Ten Tax Tips That Most People Forget!! Tax time is right around the corner, and in this economy, you need to do your best to optimize your bottom line. This seminar will provide tax tips and individual consultation so that you can make the most informed choices around your filing.

Friday February 5th at 7pm
Philip Hoare and THE WHALE

Philip Hoare's THE WHALE: In Search of the Giants of the Sea (Ecco Books, February 2010, ISBN 9780061976216, $27.99), winner of the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for nonfiction, is an extraordinary journey into the world of this fascinating animal. Hoare visits the historic whale-hunting towns of New Bedford, Nantucket and the Azores, wanders the streets of London and Liverpool in search of Melville's whaling inspiration, and swims with the sperm whales themselves in the middle of the Atlantic. Along the way he explores the troubled history of man and whale; traces the whale's cultural history from Moby-Dick to Free Willy; and seeks to discover why these strange and beautiful animals still exert such a powerful grip on our imagination. Please join us in welcoming Philip Hoare to Salem, and don't miss his engaging, informative presentation!

"A magnificent monster of a book, combining a huge wealth of whale lore, zoology, literature, history and personal account. Written with great elegance, enthusiasm and insight, it takes us on an enthralling voyage into the underwater world of the whale and to the heart of an obsession."-The Guardian

"Philip Hoare's THE WHALE is everything you want from a book. It is unpredictable and amusing and informative and original, cavorting between biology, history, travel writing, and memoir with an engaging sense of the subject's charisma. And the book is even handsome." - Mark Kurlansky, author of The Big Oyster

Saturday February 6th at 10:30 am
Cornerstone Kids presents: Sheila Duncan and TROUBLE

Join Marblehead author Sheila Duncan for this special event with a special backstory. In 2006, after some tough times of her own, 12 year-old Kendra Duncan of Marblehead decided that kids (and adults too) could use some help if they were going through difficult times. She sat down and drew a very simple little pup named "Trouble", and with her aunt, worked to develop a cuddly plush toy to comfort and inspire those who were struggling, and a book that told Trouble's story, and helped readers hold on to hope and dare to be tough in the face of adversity. Sheila brings Trouble's friend Luigi to Cornerstone, and reads this special story - don't miss the fun!

Saturday February 6th at 1pm
Elyssa East and DOGTOWN: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town

In DOGTOWN: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town (Free Press, December 2009, ISBN 1416587047, $26.00), East explores the enigmatic past that makes this area -3,000 abandoned acres in Gloucester, MA -so fascinating while structuring her story around a senseless 1984 murder that occurred there. East also explores the area's unique background, which is steeped in early American history. After the American Revolution, when crewmembers on a Revolutionary War privateering vessel vanished on the open sea, their destitute widows, who were believed to be witches, and former slaves sought shelter amongst the region's decaying homes and giant boulders. Dogtown was then named for the dogs these women kept for protection. Additionally, East tells the story of the area's pirates, ghostly apparitions, the witches and warlocks who still traverse the woods today, and the Bible-thumping millionaire who ran for President on the Prohibition ticket and carved Dogtown's rocks with words to live by. Dogtown also inspired the innovative and influential writings of poet Charles Olson and the vivid paintings of Marsden Hartley.

"This book is a wonder. I fell completely under its spell-Elyssa East does not merely reupholster the old bones of Dogtown, she plunges you headlong into the green mystery of this place; I loved the looking-glass chill of opening her book and finding myself in another world entirely. Dogtown is true literary sorcery, a portal to one of the strangest places in America." -Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

Tuesday February 9th at 7:30pm
Salem History Society: When the Tall Ships Sailed Away

Historian Bob Booth leads a conversation about Salem in the 1820s and why its global trade began to die. Between 1785 and 1825, Salem was America's greatest seaport, with 200 tall ships and a worldwide trade that made its merchants fabulously wealthy and locally fostered prosperity, growth, and a distinctive culture. How did Salem rise to such global importance, what was it like to live in Salem then, and how and why did it decline so rapidly? This discussion is open to the public and is presented by the Salem History Society. All are welcome!

Sunday February 21st at 3pm
Joe Hill and HORNS

Multi-award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill comes to Cornerstone with his second novel, HORNS (William Morrow, February 2010, ISBN 9780061147951, $25.99). When Ig Perrish wakes up after a wild night to find horns growing out of his head, and possessed of a terrible new power that he intends to use to discover the murderer of his beloved Merrin (a murder he was blamed for), the devil wants his due, and there'll be hell to pay. A horror/suspense masterpiece, the book can be stripped of all supernatural elements and stand as a heart-breaking romance, a study of friendship and brotherhood, and one helluva good story - trust us, we were lucky enough to read advanced copies! Joe Hill is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novel HEART-SHAPED BOX, the collection of stories 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS, and the graphic novel series LOCKE & KEY.

Thursday February 25th at 7pm
Thursday's Theatre of Words and Music

Thursday's Theatre of Words & Music features established and emerging writers and artists to read/display/perform their work for the public at Cornerstone Books in Salem, MA. An open mike will be held following featured writers/artists--artists are chosen by first-come-first-serve.

November's featured artists: Stace Budzko and Sue Williams will be presenting sections from their forthcoming chapbook, Authors Anonymous, a flash fiction anthology by the members of The Hanover Street Writers Group, which showcases the range and possibility of the short-short story form.

Stace Budzko is published or forthcoming in Hint Fiction: A Norton Anthology of Stories, Night Train, The Collagist, Hobart, Monkeybicycle, Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Forward, Brevity & Echo, Quick Fiction, SmokeLong Quarterly, Long Story Short, Southeast Review, Carve Magazine and elsewhere. The film adaptation of his short story, "How to Set a House on Fire" (Factory: Bay Area Video Coalition) recently finished production and is in national distribution. At present, he is a writing instructor at Emmanuel College and Grub Street as well as writer-in-residence at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

Sue Williams is both an Assistant Editor at Narrative Magazine and a writing instructor at Grub Street. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Narrative, Night Train, Salamander, Redivider, Gargoyle, Blue Earth Review, The Yalobusha Review, Even More Tonto Short Stories, Hint Fiction: a Norton Anthology, Hacks: Ten Years on Grub Street, and elsewhere. She was two-time prizewinner in this year's Soul Making Competition, where she was awarded first place in Flash Fiction and third in Short Story. Sue was also a winner in the 2009 Tonto Books Short Story Contest, received the Glimmer Train Best Start Award, and won Flashquake's 'Less is More.' She recently completed a linked collection, "Touch Me, I'm a Monster," and is working on the final draft of a novel. Sue keeps a writing blog at www.suewilliams.co.uk

Saturday February 27th at 7pm
Dwayne Raymond and MORNINGS WITH MAILER

Dwayne Raymond worked with Norman Mailer during the final four years of the Pulitzer Prize winner's life, and now offers an intimate, surprising portrait of him in MORNINGS WITH MAILER: A Recollection of Friendship (Harper Perennial, January 2010, ISBN 9780061733598, $13.99). In the spring of 2003, Norman Mailer, who was then eighty years old, invited an improbable companion into his life: Dwayne Raymond, a young writer who was waiting tables at a restaurant in Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, where Mailer spent most of his final years. Raymond became Mailer's aide in all matters professional and private, assisting the author on the four books he published during this time, including his last novel, The Castle in the Forest. As Raymond's responsibilities grew, so too did his closeness to Mailer, who in turn taught him how to navigate his own personal challenges. Raymond presents Mailer in his twilight years, depicting a quirky and complex but achingly human man so unlike the Mailer of disquieting legend.

"In this moving memoir, Dwayne Raymond provides an intimate look at the daily routine of a great writer in the last years of his life. Raymond poignantly describes how Mailer fought like a lion to continue writing even as age and illness slowed him down." --Doris Kearns Goodwin

About Cornerstone Books

Cornerstone Books, located at 45 Lafayette Street in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts, is Salem's newest community bookstore. In addition to selling books, it is a place where neighbors and visitors can meet, exchange experiences, and energize their imagination. Open 7 days a week from 10am to 9pm, with extended hours in the summer on Friday and Saturday to 10pm, it is one of the finest merchandisers of books, games, music and entertainment in the North Shore. Customers are treated to a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere with fireplace and cozy seating. The store's amenities include free wi-fi for laptops, beverages and fresh baked goods for purchase, book discussion groups, author readings, lectures, children's hour, games and even live music. Cornerstone is available for hosting local business meeting or book clubs too.