While one might suspect that "midsummer" refers to the middle of summer (say, late July or early August), the historical precedent actually refers to the time around the summer solstice, which is the beginning of summer. These and many other interesting, often unsolicited facts can be had from anyone who works at Powells.com for the price of one, or many, beers.

POWELLS.COM INTERVIEWS AND SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS: HELEN THOMAS
Many Americans came to know Helen Thomas as the woman who closed countless press conferences with her trademark, "Thank you, Mr. President." Nine presidents and their press secretaries know her as the one who asked tough questions. In Watchdogs of Democracy?, the longtime White House bureau chief recalls the stories that helped define nine administrations and introduces the journalists that brought the news home. But journalism has changed since Thomas covered JFK, and in Watchdogs Thomas questions her peers, arguing that since 9-11 reporters have failed to protect the public's right to information. "I want the press to start questioning the administration. Every administration," she explains. "I want us to do our jobs better. I think we owe it to the people."

SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS: WATCHDOGS OF DEMOCRACY?
"Thomas is as engaging as she is wise and passionate in this invaluable history of White House reporting," Booklist applauds. Order signed first editions of Watchdogs of Democracy? while they last.

SIGNED EDITIONS: FARMER JOHN'S COOKBOOK
Join the real food revolution with a true pioneer in the Community Supported Agriculture movement — Farmer John Peterson and his farm, Angelic Organics. Farmer John's Cookbook is an invaluable resource on growing, cooking, and storing real food and a guidebook to starting a biodynamic revolution in your hometown. Get your signed editions while they're ripe on the vine.

WANDERLUST: FREE TRAVEL BAG!
July is Wanderlust month at Powells.com. Whether you're planning a road trip, traveling abroad, or just dreaming from your armchair, we've got a host of special offers to suit you, from 30% off selected bestselling audio books to 30% discounts on travel guides from Time Out, plus discounted titles from Pimsleur that help you learn a foreign language with ease. And, while supplies last, purchase any two titles from our Broadway Abroad featured selection and receive a free smart, snappy travel bag!

ORIGINAL ESSAY: WENDY JAFFE
In The Divorce Lawyers' Guide to Staying Married, Wendy Jaffe explains why divorce occurs and what can be done to immunize today's marriages from the ever-growing divorce epidemic. Read her original essay for Powells.com and get 30% off the cover price when you buy The Divorce Lawyers' Guide to Staying Married.

We've got wanderlust on our minds, for obvious reasons... but we've also been dwelling a lot on Johnny Depp and pirates and the like. The two courses of thought have been crashing together, forming the notion that what we'd really like to do is take a road trip on a pirate ship. Perhaps to the legendary Barbary Coast, or maybe just the Oregon coast — or, for that matter, down the street, just to get a twist-cone from Dairy Queen.

INK Q&As: JULIA GLASS AND CLARE SAMBROOK
Julia Glass is the author of the bestseller Three Junes and, most recently, The Whole World Over. Clare Sambrook's novel Hide and Seek has drawn comparisons to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Observer). Read their INK Q&As and save 30% off the publisher's price when you buy The Whole World Over or Hide and Seek for a limited time.

FUP TURNS 18!
Hard to believe our beloved store cat is already 18. Seems like only yesterday she was playing with string and coughing up hairballs... wait, that was yesterday. Some things never change. Help us celebrate Fup's 18-karat birthday with these fabulous T-shirts, available now for only $14.95, and if you're lucky enough to be in Portland, come by the Tech store on Saturday, July 15, at 1 p.m. for her party! And while supplies last, you can get Fup's 17th birthday shirt for just $8.95.

OSCON
Our own Technical Bookstore is mighty thrilled to be the official bookseller of the 8th annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention, held in Portland from July 24-28 at the Oregon Convention Center. If you're in town, swing by the Powell's booth, where we'll have a wide selection of our bestselling open source titles at 35% off the cover price (an exclusive deal for OSCON attendees during the conference), as well as authors signing books at our table.

GUEST BLOGGERS: LAURA DAVE AND BRIAN DOYLE
Bursting out of our blog right now is Laura Dave, author of London Is the Best City in America, a courageous, big-hearted portrait of love, loyalty, and heartbreak — buy it now at 30% off the cover price. Next week we're pleased to welcome Brian Doyle, author of The Grail: A Year Ambling and Shambling through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World. Check out their blog entries and get up to speed on the latest book news in the process!

NEW IN STORES
T. C. Boyle, bestselling author of Drop City, returns with Talk Talk, a timely new novel about a woman in desperate pursuit of a man who has stolen her identity. In the spirit of Richard Russo and Tom Perrotta, Mark Childress's One Mississippi is an uproariously funny and deeply moving novel about growing up in the South. In Hit Parade, Lawrence Block's charming killer-for-hire, Keller, returns for more clever plotting, humor, tricky twists, and ironic turns. Now in paperback, Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men is "an entertaining novel from one of our best writers" (Washington Post).

DVDs
Harrison Ford defends his family from ruthless cyber-thieves in Firewall. In 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis is a New York police officer who has to escort a witness (Mos Def) to the courthouse — alive — while under siege by renegade cops. Sharon Stone uncrosses her legs again (and sharpens that ice pick) in Basic Instinct 2. A new doctor and new adventures make Doctor Who: The Complete First Season a must-have for fans of the British sci-fi classic. These and all other DVDs ship for free — no minimum purchase required!

eBOOKS
New in eBook: David Moody's Autumn has been called a Night of the Living Dead for the 21st century — and you can download it from us for free! Kim Harrison's sexy witch bounty hunter, Rachel Morgan, returns in A Fistful of Charms. And don't miss Hit Parade, the latest John Keller novel from bestselling author Lawrence Block.

In our next edition:
An interview with Sara Gruen, signed first editions of Water for Elephants, and an INK Q&A from Jason Roberts (A Sense of the World).

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Coming to Powell's in the next two weeks: Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants ("A delightful gem," praises the Denver Post); bestseller Phillip Margolin returns with Proof Positive; and Robert Sullivan takes a journey through our collective love affair with long-distance trips in Cross Country. On top of that, Superman Returns illustrator Matt Haley, Alison Clement (Twenty Questions), Gautam Malkani (Londonstani), a new episode of Live Wire!. Plus, every Saturday through the summer, sell us your books at our NW warehouse — free parking! Check out these and many more exciting events in our calendar.

FUP. STORE CAT.
Three months it's been since Fup overheard a couple at the store's front window, calling out the best quality in each stranger that passed outside, man or woman. "Hair," one would say. And the other would counter, "Sense of humor." (How could you tell from just a glimpse? Fup wondered.)

But after a bit of reflection, she thought: Fantastic! Not that Fup ever would have claimed to be the most optimistic cat in the world — a dark side, she has, and a propensity for occasional blues — but everyone must have a redeeming quality, right? So find it.

Three months of bright skies and silver linings, and now here comes Dinah, the new cat in town. Such a sweet name and yet such a sour disposition.

"I figured a woman of your reputation would have a soft carpet to save her legs instead of this clawforsaken tile," Dinah complains in the Engineering aisles.

Up till now Fup's blue skies vision has been a revelation, as if some new, peculiar light reliably broke through passing clouds. But Fup's friends and acquaintances... perhaps they're not so representative. Bagheera is unceasingly kind, Oreo somehow makes you feel more alive, and Bear — Fup has trouble singling out one quality she admires in him, but brave and funny rank high up.

"You call this a bed?" Dinah asks in the back office. "Have you been sleeping on this rock all your life?"

Dinah, Dinah, Dinah. Nice whiskers, Fup considers. Except, no, Dinah's the only cat Fup knows with split ends.

POWELLS.COM BESTSELLERS (UPDATED HOURLY)

1. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Graphic Novels) 2. Heat by Bill Buford (Cooking and Food) 3. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America by National Geographic (Ornithology) 4. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Sociology) 5. HarperCollins Beginner's ESL Dictionary by HarperCollins (Foreign Languages) 6. Official Scrabble Players Dictionary by Merriam Webster (Games) 7. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Literature) 8. A History of the Modern Middle East by William L. Cleveland (Middle East) 9. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Metaphysics) 10. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Environmental Studies)