Hi All, Given what was going on in the US last month when I wrote you, I'm going to assume that you didn't read the last sponsor note. If I were in your shoes, it's quite likely that I would have, at the best, skimmed over it. I'll not bore you with a complete recap, but I'll hit the high points again. 1) Sponsorship renewals are ready to go and, this year more than just about any other, your…
Happy New Year! Given that I'm writing on the evening of Wednesday, January 6th, I've got to say that 2021 is starting off in a way that is, shall we say, "In tune"?, with 2020. But, I'm cautiously hopeful that this year will be better than the last. At other times, I might say, "Hey, it can't be any worse," but after the past two years it would seem too much like tempting fate, so I shan't. So,…
Dear Sponsors, I hope that the beginning of the holiday season has been happy and peaceful for you all. I hope that you'll forgive the lack of a sponsor note last month but, as I mentioned in the store newsletter, though the year has been pretty crazy, the day-to-day at the shop is pretty boring so I didn't have much to tell you about. However, this month I do have a few things to mention.…
Hi Folks, Honestly, I'm a bit at sea about what to write this month. The last few weeks have been kind of a blur. But, I do have something kind of neat that might interest some of you and I figure that an update on what's going on at the shop might be nice. So, here we go . . . . Something Neat As you'll see in the regular newsletter this month (which will be out shortly), Borderlands is…
Hi All, So, when I went to write this note, I went looking for the one that I sent out in May. And . . . couldn't find it because I didn't send one. This really has been a weird time (I'm sure for all of you as much as for me). Anyway, sorry for the silence. Though there is a note this month, it's going to be a short one. I'm still juggling quite a bit of stuff despite having gotten everything in…
Dear Sponsors, This will be a short note because . . . oh my . . . is work busy right now. But, mostly in a good way. I'm rushing to get ready for the sheetrock at the new building, as well as getting the plans in place for our big event with N. K. Jemisin next month. Speaking of that event, I've got some information and a question for you. Information first. The seating at the event is not going…
Dear Sponsors, I've got some great news -- though it's taken a bit longer than it did last year, we hit 300 sponsors for 2020 exactly one week ago! So, we're certainly going to be open for the rest of this year. Right now the sponsor count is at 310 and I do hope that it will continue to rise. By way of comparison, we had 547 sponsors last year and 639 the year before. My sincere thanks to all of…
Hi Everyone and Happy New Year! I hope that your holidays were good and that 2020 is treating you very well thus far. At the shop we've all been catching our breath (and catching some sleep . . . finally). Looking back, 2019 really was one hell of a year. It actually had all the earmarks of being a pretty awful one (starting with Cary's death last January and continuing from there) but,…
Hi Everyone, Due to a few things coming up and the time it took me to write the piece for the main store newsletter, this note is going to be short. But, at the end of this email you'll find a story that might entertain. It's something I wrote back in 2007 for a series we were doing for the store's ten-year anniversary. It's particularly appropriate now since I'm starting the pre-planning for the…
Hi You All, Please forgive a very, very short note this month but I've been quite busy with some family matters and I am. So. Behind. On. Everything. But, I'll have a nice year-end piece for you next month and I'll hope to see you around the shop sometime soon. All Best, Alan The winter solstice version: (1) TOMORROW! Wednesday, November 20th at 6:00 pm -- A Fundraiser for Reading Partners!,…
Hi Lovely Sponsors As you can see from this note, I managed to survive the last few weeks. It was quite a thing though. Catch me at the next social or at the Haight St. Open house on the 20th and I'll be happy to tell you a few stories. But, all is good in Alan-land (and Border-land). I also had time to write a little thing this month. You'll find it right after this and before the upcoming events…
Hi Dear Sponsors, It's been a busy couple of months. In case you were wondering, you didn't miss last month's sponsor note -- there wasn't one. I kept hoping that I'd have time to write a followup to the article about local businesses that I wrote back in July but the chance kept slipping past me. And then I looked up and it was the 24th of August, so I figured that it didn't make sense to send a…
Hi You All, I've got something a little thoughtful for you this month but, before I get into that -- a quick reminder. This Saturday we'll be doing a San Francisco Ghost Walk for you guys. All the details are below but, the tl;dr version is, 1) It's cool. 2) Starts at 7 pm. 3) Costs $21. And 4) We extended the deadline to sign up 'til this Friday. So, if you feel like an evening stroll around the…
Because of requests from several sponsors, we have begun to include our public events in our events listings. Please note that general public events will be noted with a (PUBLIC) in the description. And, to help us plan, please RSVP to any sponsor event that you are planning to attend, so that we might best accommodate y'all! The shot-glass version: (1) Saturday, June 22nd, 3:00 pm (PUBLIC) -…
The micro version: (1) Friday, May 31st, 7:00 pm - New Horizons talk with sponsor (and NASA geologist) Orkan Umurhan, Borderlands Cafe (2) Saturday, June 22nd, 7:00 pm - Sponsor Social at Borderlands Books (3) July 2019, date to be determined - San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour (4) Saturday, August 10th, 9:30pm (recommend arrival at 8:30 to secure a table) -- Drinks with Dueling Pianos at…
Hi Dear Sponsors, First off, we made our goal of 300 sponsors by March 31st! In fact, on the 31st we had exactly 500 sponsors. Thank you all so very, very much for continuing to support Borderlands in 2019! Second, and perhaps equally importantly, I handled something badly in the last note that I sent and I want to apologize. The first line of that note was, "We're heading up to the March 31st…
Hello All, We're heading up to the March 31st deadline to have 300 sponsors and I'm confident we will make it. So, thank you to all of the folks who have supported and continue to support the store! If you haven't renewed yet this year, you're certainly welcome to do so now . . . or later if you like. Although the deadline to make the determination about whether to continue to operate the store is…
Hello Everybody, I hope you'll forgive me for the short note today. Cary's passing has made a number of things pretty challenging, not the least of which is getting all the work done at the shop. So, I didn't have much time to write anything this month. I'm looking forward to the social this Saturday, though it'll be very strange not to have Cary working the register as she has every other time…
Happy New Year! I hope that 2019 is treating you all very well thus far. For me the end of the year was almost unprecedented -- I took four days off and did nothing at all. It was exciting in only the way that napping, reading, and watching TV can be (i.e. not exciting in the slightest and all the more lovely for that). But now I'm back in the saddle and ready to dive into 2019. (Or at least ready…
Hello Dear Sponsors, Here we are at the end of the year. I don't know about you but, for me, it's gone blindingly fast. Being busy as hell with our new building probably had a fair amount to do with that, along with participating in a local World Science Fiction Convention. But, whatever the reason, the year has blown by and I expect that next year will be much the same. As I usually do in…
Hello Dear Sponsors, I've heard from a few folks that the bit I wrote last month (Gods! Was it just last month? Seems like a year ago.) . . . anyway . . . the Tale of the Beam of Eye seemed to entertain you all. I'll try to send some other stories about the construction work at Haight Street, as time allows. But, right now, time does not allow at all, really. I've managed to catch up on everything…
Hi Everyone, Before getting into other stuff, I want to point out a few quite special things that are going on this month. First, The Locus Foundation is hosting an evening with George RR Martin and John Picacio. John's one of my oldest friends in this business, and besides that he's an articulate and charming speaker. He'll be interviewing George Martin, who has had quite a history in our…
Hi All, I wish I had time to write something clever for this note but . . . I'm so tired. As you'll see in the store newsletter, it was quite a weekend and I'm still a bit shattered. I'll truly make an effort to be smart and clever next month. But, speaking of next month -- I'm wondering, are you coming to the World Science Fiction convention? I'd love to have a general idea of how many of us will…
Hi Everyone, As you've probably just seen in the store newsletter, progress on the new building was slow-ish last month. But, for all that it was slow, there was a lot of work (who knew that staggered fences would take so much damn time?). So, I'm a bit rushed today and this'll be another short note. For our local folks, I want to draw your attention to the screening of "The Incredibles 2" that…
Hello, Dear Sponsors! Yet another brief sponsor note this month due to building commitments. If for some reason you're not on the standard bookstore mailing list, you can read the newest building update here: http://borderlands-books.blogspot.com/2018/05/may-building-news.html (and you can join the standard mailing list here, if you want: https://borderlands-books.com/ )! Also, if you requested an…