"We speak for the trees" was the theme at our Lorax Party with tons of eco friendly fun! Almost 200 people sprouted up in our instrument section to get excited about Dr.Seuss's famous book The Lorax and the upcoming animated film. The party started with a gracious BookPALS volunteer reading Hop On Pop in a full Cat in the Hat costume.

A couple of weeks ago Bookmans Flagstaff hosted Wayne Ranney, a Grand Canyon author, expert and geologist to discuss the formation of the canyon. I was captivated all the way through, particularly about the new controversy about whether the canyon is 6 million or 70 million years old. Afterward he handed me a free booklet explaining how different landmasses are formed. I read through it and learned a few things about arches, mesas, etc.

If you start telling me about A. Hitchchock related anything, I'll drop what I'm doing and be all ears. From The Ring to The Birds, I adore almost everything he's associated with. When I found out that the Arizona Theater Company got their hands on The 39 Steps and would be bringing it to Phoenix, I knew that I could not be a true fan without seeing what the great local theater made of the story. I've heard about the Arizona Theater Company and the wonderful shows they put on at the beautiful Herberger Theater in Downtown Phoenix so I was giddy that my first show is associated with Hitchcock.

Bookmans Phoenix hosted our first author fair in celebration of our Love of Reading Month, an annual celebration in Februrary to explore the world of books. Arizona has raised, fostered and attracted numerous authors from all around the globe and this was our chance to showcase some of the talented writers we've come across in our book-loving journeys.

The Konamis is a webcomic by Jack Crawford and Bookmans own Tavis Maiden (@tavismaiden). Updated each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, follow the adventures of The Konamis, a real comic tale about the real comic adventure of The Konamis (meaning "little waves"), the little ol' rock band that makes a big splash!

The Konamis: All Charged Up

The Konamis is a webcomic by Jack Crawford and Bookmans own Tavis Maiden (@tavismaiden). Updated each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, follow the adventures of The Konamis, a real comic tale about the real comic adventure of The Konamis (meaning "little waves"), the little ol' rock band that makes a big splash!

The Konamis: Around the Bend

Hello gamers! Family Game Night now introduces The Tucson GO Club. GO is a very strategic board game over taking your opponent and gaining territory! Visit the official Tucson GO Club website for more information.

Tucson Go Club will be featured from 7 to 10 p.m. every second Wednesday of the month. Find us on Flickr to check out pictures from the first session. Join us and get on the game board! PeaceLove

Memorial Day 2012 Phoenix Comicon will celebrate its 10th Anniversary. 2012 also marks the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Imagine the excitement of several hundred Phoenix Comicon attendees as we hungrily awaited the big announcements of 2012. Yes, we waited through the comic book, author and anime guest announcements but what everyone was really after were the celebrity announcements. Jaime Paglia, Gigi Edgley, Casper Van Dien and John Bernthal were announced to everyone's delight. However, you couldn't imagine the tension as Phoenix Comicon Director Matt Solberg began to list Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner. Everyone was on the edge of his or her seats as Solberg hinted at the last guest that would be attending. Then he made it so. All our dreams came true as Patrick Stewart was announced. I've not experienced screams so loud since attending a Twilight panel at San Diego Comicon.

Categorizing themselves as an indie/alternative classical group, Tetra String Quartet brought a new sound to Bookmans with their lively and dramatic playing style. Made of members Heidi Wright, Chrystal Smothers, Louis Privitera and Jenna Dalbey, this quartet is unlike anything we've heard. The band covered modern songs from popular artists such as Journey and Lady Gaga, and more traditional pieces like Go Tell it on the Mountain. Their range and intensity music drew a crowd and kept folks interested.

Thanks to the help of local musicians our first Bookmans Phoenix Block Party and Music Festival rocked! We invited local legend Boys and Frogs and newcomers Bogan Via who set up in our new instrument section for a free live performance that blew the block away.

My daughter Max recently turned three and I'm finding myself in the thick of parenting choices I never knew I'd have to make. Do we spank? No, although we're often tempted. Do we do time outs? Sort-of. Do I yell? Sometimes but I always regret it.

Parenting is hard business and takes as much strategy and control over one's emotions as described in Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Not that parenting is war, in fact a peace treaty is often the way to go, but I often feel like a commander, plotting my next move on the battlefield and making sure the troops (her father and I) present a united front.

Every last Monday of the month Desiree and I host Adult Craft Night at Bookmans Flagstaff. We're starting to get a pretty good crew! So far we've made barrettes and shrines for Halloween, owl and bacon ornaments for Christmas, aprons and tarot recipe cards for January's "Here's to Your Health Month" and this February for "Love of Reading" we're offering book and paper crafts for our readers and scribblers.

Check out these images from Adult Craft Night and don't forget to join us from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27. All supplies are provided and the instruction is free. Don't be shy. You don't need to have crafting skills…yet. These events are for people aged 18 and up only because we use hot guns and sharp stuff like needles. Also our chat isn't always kid appropriate!

Christmas Owl Ornament