The Haunted Bookshop
@bookshopghost.bsky.social
Iowa City's home for 47,000 used/rare books, puzzles, games, and two famous cats. 😷 Masks required - 12-6 Central, Mon-Sat - https://www.thehauntedbookshop.com
Pinned
Welcome! Make yourself at home!
A few things to know:
1. In this house, love wins.
2. There are no signs on our one-stall bathroom.
3. There are two trusting, loving cats here. Be worthy of their trust.
4. We wear masks here.
5. We will continue to treat our guests with kindness and respect 📚🫂❤️
A few things to know:
1. In this house, love wins.
2. There are no signs on our one-stall bathroom.
3. There are two trusting, loving cats here. Be worthy of their trust.
4. We wear masks here.
5. We will continue to treat our guests with kindness and respect 📚🫂❤️
Important update:
Here is Esk accepting an afternoon's worth of affection 🐈❤️
Here is Esk accepting an afternoon's worth of affection 🐈❤️
December 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Important update:
Here is Esk accepting an afternoon's worth of affection 🐈❤️
Here is Esk accepting an afternoon's worth of affection 🐈❤️
Esk would love to see you tomorrow. We are normally closed on Sundays, but he didn't get enough chin scratches today on account of the snow, so...
We're open 12-6pm Central time, every day, until December 24.
...I am available to pet the cat for you if you can't be here in person 🐈
We're open 12-6pm Central time, every day, until December 24.
...I am available to pet the cat for you if you can't be here in person 🐈
December 14, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Esk would love to see you tomorrow. We are normally closed on Sundays, but he didn't get enough chin scratches today on account of the snow, so...
We're open 12-6pm Central time, every day, until December 24.
...I am available to pet the cat for you if you can't be here in person 🐈
We're open 12-6pm Central time, every day, until December 24.
...I am available to pet the cat for you if you can't be here in person 🐈
Today's tasks include cataloguing several volumes of the Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science.
Articles in 1907-1914 were mostly taxonomy, geological features, agrarian interest, etc.
Then came electrical engineering, ornithology, soil surveys, and science pedagogy.
And then we hit 1968...
Articles in 1907-1914 were mostly taxonomy, geological features, agrarian interest, etc.
Then came electrical engineering, ornithology, soil surveys, and science pedagogy.
And then we hit 1968...
December 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Today's tasks include cataloguing several volumes of the Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science.
Articles in 1907-1914 were mostly taxonomy, geological features, agrarian interest, etc.
Then came electrical engineering, ornithology, soil surveys, and science pedagogy.
And then we hit 1968...
Articles in 1907-1914 were mostly taxonomy, geological features, agrarian interest, etc.
Then came electrical engineering, ornithology, soil surveys, and science pedagogy.
And then we hit 1968...
Armed with snow shovels, we're clearing the way to a lonely cat in need of cuddles.
(Her name is Sophie. She's our boss.)
(Her name is Sophie. She's our boss.)
December 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Armed with snow shovels, we're clearing the way to a lonely cat in need of cuddles.
(Her name is Sophie. She's our boss.)
(Her name is Sophie. She's our boss.)
😂
Darnit.
Next thing you are going to say is that broadsides don't involve cannons.
Next thing you are going to say is that broadsides don't involve cannons.
December 13, 2025 at 4:13 PM
😂
TIL 😮
“Gift brains turn on” is a clever example of Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT):
Snow and holiday gifts is a Pavlovian mental association (Stimulus-Outcome)
”Transfer” is a triggering of an “instrumental” response, to generate the Response that yields the outcome (R-O) by buying gifts.
Snow and holiday gifts is a Pavlovian mental association (Stimulus-Outcome)
”Transfer” is a triggering of an “instrumental” response, to generate the Response that yields the outcome (R-O) by buying gifts.
The secret lore of book and toy shop owners holds that it is good to have a "Hollywood snow" in early November so that people's Gift Brains turn on, and they start shopping.
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
December 12, 2025 at 6:33 PM
TIL 😮
I regret to inform you, friends new to the used & rare book trade, that FAE does not mean a book comes from Under the Hill 🧐
It's just a First American Edition.
It's just a First American Edition.
December 12, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I regret to inform you, friends new to the used & rare book trade, that FAE does not mean a book comes from Under the Hill 🧐
It's just a First American Edition.
It's just a First American Edition.
You know those bankers' boxes? Fifty of them. Full of poetry.
POETRY.
We're talking about more than 2,000 books. Easily fifty 3' shelves. We'll have to rearrange a room and add 6 x 9' tall bookcases.
Arriving in 5-7 days, depending on weather.
POETRY!
🤩
POETRY.
We're talking about more than 2,000 books. Easily fifty 3' shelves. We'll have to rearrange a room and add 6 x 9' tall bookcases.
Arriving in 5-7 days, depending on weather.
POETRY!
🤩
December 12, 2025 at 4:57 AM
You know those bankers' boxes? Fifty of them. Full of poetry.
POETRY.
We're talking about more than 2,000 books. Easily fifty 3' shelves. We'll have to rearrange a room and add 6 x 9' tall bookcases.
Arriving in 5-7 days, depending on weather.
POETRY!
🤩
POETRY.
We're talking about more than 2,000 books. Easily fifty 3' shelves. We'll have to rearrange a room and add 6 x 9' tall bookcases.
Arriving in 5-7 days, depending on weather.
POETRY!
🤩
The secret lore of book and toy shop owners holds that it is good to have a "Hollywood snow" in early November so that people's Gift Brains turn on, and they start shopping.
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
December 11, 2025 at 11:12 PM
The secret lore of book and toy shop owners holds that it is good to have a "Hollywood snow" in early November so that people's Gift Brains turn on, and they start shopping.
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
This year... we're just going to enjoy the flurries around our icicles, and do whatever we can to reduce others' stress. ❄️📚❤️
62 seconds of adorable Folkmanis puppets demonstrating the season's hottest gift item. 😂
The Book Seat. Available in Beige, Charcoal, Cinnabar, Dusty Rose, Earth, Navy, Sage, Sky, and Teal.
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
December 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM
62 seconds of adorable Folkmanis puppets demonstrating the season's hottest gift item. 😂
We are one of the thousands of American families struggling with grocery bills 40-60% higher than they were in January 2025.
Yes, times, technologies, and prices change.
But this?
This is evil.
Yes, times, technologies, and prices change.
But this?
This is evil.
A new investigation has revealed that grocery delivery service Instacart is using a covert, AI-powered dynamic pricing scheme to charge customers different prices for the same items — potentially costing households over $1,000 more a year.
Instacart Reportedly Using Secret AI-Powered Dynamic Pricing to Jack Up Prices
In an experiment, investigators found that the same grocery basket at a Seattle store cost between $114 and $124.
truthout.org
December 10, 2025 at 5:39 PM
We are one of the thousands of American families struggling with grocery bills 40-60% higher than they were in January 2025.
Yes, times, technologies, and prices change.
But this?
This is evil.
Yes, times, technologies, and prices change.
But this?
This is evil.
Reposted by The Haunted Bookshop
Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
December 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
The Book Seat. Available in Beige, Charcoal, Cinnabar, Dusty Rose, Earth, Navy, Sage, Sky, and Teal.
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
December 10, 2025 at 2:07 AM
The Book Seat. Available in Beige, Charcoal, Cinnabar, Dusty Rose, Earth, Navy, Sage, Sky, and Teal.
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearchRes...
Video by @bozzle.helianthus on IG
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️📚❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I will never see all the weird books this world holds, which is melancholy, but at least I'll never run out.
Sad to say farewell to this weird lil guy.
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
December 10, 2025 at 12:19 AM
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️📚❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sad to say farewell to this weird lil guy.
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
December 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Sad to say farewell to this weird lil guy.
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
70 pages of chemistry with stick figures in place of atomic symbols 😮
Shop from home at thehauntedbookshop.com - but also remember, we have 40,000 more items in the shop. (Working on it! 😅)
NEW ARRIVALS!
Email [email protected] or call 319-337-2996 to order. We ship! In-person shopping 12-6 Mon-Sat.
NEW ARRIVALS!
Email [email protected] or call 319-337-2996 to order. We ship! In-person shopping 12-6 Mon-Sat.
December 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Shop from home at thehauntedbookshop.com - but also remember, we have 40,000 more items in the shop. (Working on it! 😅)
NEW ARRIVALS!
Email [email protected] or call 319-337-2996 to order. We ship! In-person shopping 12-6 Mon-Sat.
NEW ARRIVALS!
Email [email protected] or call 319-337-2996 to order. We ship! In-person shopping 12-6 Mon-Sat.
Can't officially discuss the collection I'm looking at right now, but it's got a stack of Archipelago Press novels.
I'm both eager to share and fighting my natural impulse to hoard.
If you diagrammed the brain of a bookseller, the frontal lobe would be social, the midbrain not lizard, but dragon
I'm both eager to share and fighting my natural impulse to hoard.
If you diagrammed the brain of a bookseller, the frontal lobe would be social, the midbrain not lizard, but dragon
December 9, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Can't officially discuss the collection I'm looking at right now, but it's got a stack of Archipelago Press novels.
I'm both eager to share and fighting my natural impulse to hoard.
If you diagrammed the brain of a bookseller, the frontal lobe would be social, the midbrain not lizard, but dragon
I'm both eager to share and fighting my natural impulse to hoard.
If you diagrammed the brain of a bookseller, the frontal lobe would be social, the midbrain not lizard, but dragon
THIS.
Books: the last true luxury, the space into which the mind can unfold, unhindered by the shrill and constant scream of money.
Books: the last true luxury, the space into which the mind can unfold, unhindered by the shrill and constant scream of money.
December 8, 2025 at 7:26 PM
THIS.
Books: the last true luxury, the space into which the mind can unfold, unhindered by the shrill and constant scream of money.
Books: the last true luxury, the space into which the mind can unfold, unhindered by the shrill and constant scream of money.
Oh... this is dangerous 🙀🎧
@libro.fm is offering a SALE on credit bundles, which means you can buy yourself... oops I mean a friend... basically a bunch of deeply discounted gift certificates for AUDIOBOOKS.
And now those credit bundles are 10% off?!?!
libro.fm/gift?booksto...
@libro.fm is offering a SALE on credit bundles, which means you can buy yourself... oops I mean a friend... basically a bunch of deeply discounted gift certificates for AUDIOBOOKS.
And now those credit bundles are 10% off?!?!
libro.fm/gift?booksto...
Digital audiobook gift cards
Gift our version of audiobooks gift cards with audiobook credit bundles.
libro.us8.list-manage.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Oh... this is dangerous 🙀🎧
@libro.fm is offering a SALE on credit bundles, which means you can buy yourself... oops I mean a friend... basically a bunch of deeply discounted gift certificates for AUDIOBOOKS.
And now those credit bundles are 10% off?!?!
libro.fm/gift?booksto...
@libro.fm is offering a SALE on credit bundles, which means you can buy yourself... oops I mean a friend... basically a bunch of deeply discounted gift certificates for AUDIOBOOKS.
And now those credit bundles are 10% off?!?!
libro.fm/gift?booksto...
Reposted by The Haunted Bookshop
We need a groundswell of customers insisting on books being read by real people.
And we need a union for the performance artists currently doing quality audiobooks, with a very recognizable logo that can be placed significantly on the 'cover' of qualifying audiobooks.
And we need a union for the performance artists currently doing quality audiobooks, with a very recognizable logo that can be placed significantly on the 'cover' of qualifying audiobooks.
December 8, 2025 at 6:51 PM
We need a groundswell of customers insisting on books being read by real people.
And we need a union for the performance artists currently doing quality audiobooks, with a very recognizable logo that can be placed significantly on the 'cover' of qualifying audiobooks.
And we need a union for the performance artists currently doing quality audiobooks, with a very recognizable logo that can be placed significantly on the 'cover' of qualifying audiobooks.
Reposted by The Haunted Bookshop
‘F shaped reading’ kicks in on ebooks, and engagement with the text is harder than print. And to quote Michael Rosen. “No one ever cried over an ebook.”
December 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
‘F shaped reading’ kicks in on ebooks, and engagement with the text is harder than print. And to quote Michael Rosen. “No one ever cried over an ebook.”
We have a separate section in the Green room for books, mostly American, that blend memoir with natural history. The section is called "Biologues".
I'm just starting Jay Parini's "Promised Land". He obviously knows about biologues, if not by that name.
(My favorite: "The Meadow" by James Galvin)
I'm just starting Jay Parini's "Promised Land". He obviously knows about biologues, if not by that name.
(My favorite: "The Meadow" by James Galvin)
December 8, 2025 at 3:04 AM
We have a separate section in the Green room for books, mostly American, that blend memoir with natural history. The section is called "Biologues".
I'm just starting Jay Parini's "Promised Land". He obviously knows about biologues, if not by that name.
(My favorite: "The Meadow" by James Galvin)
I'm just starting Jay Parini's "Promised Land". He obviously knows about biologues, if not by that name.
(My favorite: "The Meadow" by James Galvin)
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
IOWA CITY:
REWARD OFFERED for information leading to the identification and profuse thanking of whoever plowed our parking lot.
Until then we'll refer to this beneficent person as The Snow Angel.
REWARD OFFERED for information leading to the identification and profuse thanking of whoever plowed our parking lot.
Until then we'll refer to this beneficent person as The Snow Angel.
December 7, 2025 at 10:15 PM
IOWA CITY:
REWARD OFFERED for information leading to the identification and profuse thanking of whoever plowed our parking lot.
Until then we'll refer to this beneficent person as The Snow Angel.
REWARD OFFERED for information leading to the identification and profuse thanking of whoever plowed our parking lot.
Until then we'll refer to this beneficent person as The Snow Angel.
I cannot take any industry seriously if part of its case for its use is claiming that "little by little, people... are using these tools, but it's still not fully acceptable for them to say so."
Ditto anything claiming that its use will allow "a reduction in [book] prices of around 25%"
Ditto anything claiming that its use will allow "a reduction in [book] prices of around 25%"
December 7, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I cannot take any industry seriously if part of its case for its use is claiming that "little by little, people... are using these tools, but it's still not fully acceptable for them to say so."
Ditto anything claiming that its use will allow "a reduction in [book] prices of around 25%"
Ditto anything claiming that its use will allow "a reduction in [book] prices of around 25%"