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==History==
==History==
Warren Farha, the founder of the bookstore, has written on the notion of bookselling as a vocation, citing a personal tragedy as the turning point in his life that led him to devote his life to the trade.<ref name="auto">Farha, Warren. [http://www.hchc.edu/hellenic/campus_life/vocation/octev_resources/vocation_life_resources.html Lecture on Vocation]</ref> The name of the store is drawn from the [[Patristic]] notion of the [[Eighth day (Christianity)|Eighth Day]], referring literally to Sunday, and metaphorically to the eternal "day" of [[Jesus]]' [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]].
Warren Farha, the founder of the bookstore, has written on the notion of bookselling as a vocation, citing a personal tragedy as the turning point in his life that led him to devote his life to the trade.<ref name="auto">Farha, Warren. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515231407/http://www.hchc.edu/hellenic/campus_life/vocation/OCTEV_Resources/vocation_life_resources.html Lecture on Vocation]</ref> The name of the store is drawn from the [[Patristic]] notion of the [[Eighth day (Christianity)|Eighth Day]], referring literally to Sunday, and metaphorically to the eternal "day" of [[Jesus]]' [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]].


==Philosophy==
==Philosophy==
According to their website, Eighth Day "offer[s] an eccentric community of books based on this organizing principle: if a book—be it literary, scientific, historical, or theological—sheds light on ultimate questions in an excellent way, then it's a worthy candidate for inclusion in our catalog."<ref>About Us. [http://eighthdaybooks.com/pages/about_us.html www.eighthdaybooks.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303174020/http://eighthdaybooks.com/pages/about_us.html |date=2011-03-03 }}</ref> The writer [[Lauren Winner]] reports that Farha defines the store's specialty as "the 'lasting' books...perennially important books."<ref>Winner, Lauren [http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/webexclusives/2010/august/winner082510.html Book Notes: A Visit to Eighth Day Books]</ref> Mark Oppenheimer suggests that is "filled only with books Mr. Farha would read."<ref name=Oppenheimer>{{cite news|last1=Oppenheimer|first1=Mark|title=Wichita Bookstore Expresses Its Founder’s Eclectic and Christian Tastes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/wichita-bookstore-expresses-its-founders-eclectic-and-christian-tastes.html?_r=0|accessdate=24 May 2015|work=[[New York Times]]|date=15 May 2015}}</ref>
According to their website, Eighth Day "offer[s] an eccentric community of books based on this organizing principle: if a book—be it literary, scientific, historical, or theological—sheds light on ultimate questions in an excellent way, then it's a worthy candidate for inclusion in our catalog."<ref>About Us. [http://eighthdaybooks.com/pages/about_us.html www.eighthdaybooks.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303174020/http://eighthdaybooks.com/pages/about_us.html |date=2011-03-03 }}</ref> The writer [[Lauren Winner]] reports that Farha defines the store's specialty as "the 'lasting' books...perennially important books."<ref>Winner, Lauren [http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/webexclusives/2010/august/winner082510.html Book Notes: A Visit to Eighth Day Books]</ref> Mark Oppenheimer suggests that is "filled only with books Mr. Farha would read."<ref name=Oppenheimer>{{cite news|last1=Oppenheimer|first1=Mark|title=Wichita Bookstore Expresses Its Founder's Eclectic and Christian Tastes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/wichita-bookstore-expresses-its-founders-eclectic-and-christian-tastes.html?_r=0|accessdate=24 May 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=15 May 2015}}</ref>


In addition, Eighth Day Books are known for their collection of religious—especially but not exclusively Christian—texts, particularly [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] works. Farha, who is [[Antiochian Orthodox Church|Antiochian Orthodox]], has summarized his vision for the bookstore as "about the unbreakable connections between all things that are true and good and beautiful. We'll live and die for [[Alexander Schmemann|Fr. Schmemann's]] insistence that you can't compartmentalize reality — separating things into 'religious' and 'secular, not religious.' We believe that doing so is a denial of God's 'very good' creation."<ref name="auto"/>
In addition, Eighth Day Books are known for their collection of religious—especially but not exclusively Christian—texts, particularly [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] works. Farha, who is [[Antiochian Orthodox Church|Antiochian Orthodox]], has summarized his vision for the bookstore as "about the unbreakable connections between all things that are true and good and beautiful. We'll live and die for [[Alexander Schmemann|Fr. Schmemann's]] insistence that you can't compartmentalize reality — separating things into 'religious' and 'secular, not religious.' We believe that doing so is a denial of God's 'very good' creation."<ref name="auto"/>
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==Influence==
==Influence==
Eighth Day Books is well-known within Christian intellectual and artistic circles, having been called by the writer Harold Fickett "surely the most idealistic (and one of the best) bookstores in America".<ref>Fickett, Harold. The Living Christ: The Extraordinary Lives of Today's Spiritual Heroes. New York: Doubleday, 2002, p. 206</ref> Former Dallas Morning News columnist and religion author [[Rod Dreher]] has written that Eighth Day Books is "the best bookstore in the world"<ref>Dreher, Rod. Crunchy Con Blog. "The Best Bookstore in the World." 11/7/2008. http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2008/11/the-best-bookstore-in-the-worl.html</ref> and the "Garden of Eden for Christian intellectuals–Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox–interested in the Permanent Things".<ref>National Review Online. "NRO Symposium: 2004 Gift-Giving Guide." 11/24/2004. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/212981/2004-gift-giving-guide/nro-symposium</ref> [[Image Journal]], which invites Eighth Day Books to host a book table at its Glen Workshop each year, has dubbed Eighth Day Books the "Miracle of Wichita"<ref>Image Update #57, 9/1/2004. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/57_040901.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124143443/http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/57_040901.htm |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> and "Heaven's Bookstore".<ref>Image Update #197, 4/14/2010. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/192_100414.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124174508/http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/192_100414.html |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> Other conferences at which Eighth Day Books' traveling book table is a regular fixture include Calvin College's Festival of Faith and Writing,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/festival/conference/exhibitors.php |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704091601/http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/festival/conference/exhibitors.php |archive-date=2010-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Trinity Arts Conference in Dallas, Texas,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennisimmons/3636330946/|title=trinity arts conference loot &#124; dreams of genevieve. &#124; Jenni Simmons &#124; Flickr}}</ref> Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture Fall Conference,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://herald.cornerstone.edu/2010/11/23/stevens-takes-students-to-notre-dame-conference/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719180250/http://herald.cornerstone.edu/2010/11/23/stevens-takes-students-to-notre-dame-conference/ |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baylor University's Symposium on Faith and Culture,<ref>http://www.tgdarkly.com/blog/?p=467</ref> and The CIRCE Institute.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.circeconference.com/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207121427/http://circeconference.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Eighth Day Books is well-known within Christian intellectual and artistic circles, having been called by the writer Harold Fickett "surely the most idealistic (and one of the best) bookstores in America".<ref>Fickett, Harold. The Living Christ: The Extraordinary Lives of Today's Spiritual Heroes. New York: Doubleday, 2002, p. 206</ref> Former Dallas Morning News columnist and religion author [[Rod Dreher]] has written that Eighth Day Books is "the best bookstore in the world"<ref>Dreher, Rod. Crunchy Con Blog. "The Best Bookstore in the World." 11/7/2008. http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2008/11/the-best-bookstore-in-the-worl.html</ref> and the "Garden of Eden for Christian intellectuals–Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox–interested in the Permanent Things".<ref>National Review Online. "NRO Symposium: 2004 Gift-Giving Guide." 11/24/2004. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/212981/2004-gift-giving-guide/nro-symposium</ref> [[Image Journal]], which invites Eighth Day Books to host a book table at its Glen Workshop each year, has dubbed Eighth Day Books the "Miracle of Wichita"<ref>Image Update #57, 9/1/2004. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/57_040901.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124143443/http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/57_040901.htm |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> and "Heaven's Bookstore".<ref>Image Update #197, 4/14/2010. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/192_100414.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124174508/http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/192_100414.html |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> Other conferences at which Eighth Day Books' traveling book table is a regular fixture include Calvin College's Festival of Faith and Writing,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/festival/conference/exhibitors.php |title=Exhibitors - 2010 Conference - Festival of Faith & Writing - Calvin College |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704091601/http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/festival/conference/exhibitors.php |archive-date=2010-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Trinity Arts Conference in Dallas, Texas,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennisimmons/3636330946/|title=trinity arts conference loot &#124; dreams of genevieve. &#124; Jenni Simmons &#124; Flickr|date=15 June 2009 }}</ref> Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture Fall Conference,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://herald.cornerstone.edu/2010/11/23/stevens-takes-students-to-notre-dame-conference/ |title=Stevens takes students to Notre Dame conference &#124; the Herald |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719180250/http://herald.cornerstone.edu/2010/11/23/stevens-takes-students-to-notre-dame-conference/ |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baylor University's Symposium on Faith and Culture,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tgdarkly.com/blog/?p=467 |title=Chrysostom — on Possession &#124; Through a Glass Darkly |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-date=2012-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913070919/http://www.tgdarkly.com/blog/?p=467 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and The CIRCE Institute.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.circeconference.com/ |title=2010 Circe Conference - July 14-17, 2010 - Arlington, Texas |access-date=2010-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207121427/http://circeconference.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Catalog==
==Catalog==
Eighth Day Books previously published an annual catalog following the model made famous by [[A Common Reader]], annotating each book with intimate, often whimsical, reviews.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D8163CF932A25754C0A96F958260|title=Personal Missions Fuel Small Publishers|last=Shapera|first=Todd|date=1999-07-11|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=2010-12-19}}</ref> Writer, theologian and activist [[Jim Forest]], in a blog entry titled "the vocational bookseller," singles out the book descriptions written for the catalog in saying "I know of no book shop so likely to have books -- new and used -- of special interest to Orthodox or Catholic Christians.".<ref>Forest, Jim. On Pilgrimage Blog. 10/26/2010. http://jimandnancyonpilgrimage.blogspot.com/2010/10/vocational-book-seller.html</ref> Eric Scheske, a lawyer and writer who keeps the noted ''Daily Eudemon'' blog says, "Their annual catalog isn’t just a catalog: it’s a piece of literature. Anyone who loves books and wisdom as much as these folks, anyone who passes along excellent reading advice by the shelf-load like these folks, merits patronage".<ref>Scheske, Eric. The Daily Eudomon. 5/27/2008. http://www.ericscheske.com/blog/?p=6072</ref> James Kushiner, Executive Editor of [[Touchstone Magazine]] has also singled out the writing of Eighth Day's catalog as worthy of mention, saying it's "the most fun I've had reading a catalog in a while".<ref>Mere Comments Blog. 12/28/2007. http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2007/12/eighth-day-touc.html</ref>
Eighth Day Books previously published an annual catalog following the model made famous by [[A Common Reader]], annotating each book with intimate, often whimsical, reviews.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D8163CF932A25754C0A96F958260|title=Personal Missions Fuel Small Publishers|last=Shapera|first=Todd|date=1999-07-11|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2010-12-19}}</ref> Writer, theologian and activist [[Jim Forest]], in a blog entry titled "the vocational bookseller," singles out the book descriptions written for the catalog in saying "I know of no book shop so likely to have books -- new and used -- of special interest to Orthodox or Catholic Christians.".<ref>Forest, Jim. On Pilgrimage Blog. 10/26/2010. http://jimandnancyonpilgrimage.blogspot.com/2010/10/vocational-book-seller.html</ref> Eric Scheske, a lawyer and writer who keeps the noted ''Daily Eudemon'' blog says, "Their annual catalog isn't just a catalog: it's a piece of literature. Anyone who loves books and wisdom as much as these folks, anyone who passes along excellent reading advice by the shelf-load like these folks, merits patronage".<ref>Scheske, Eric. The Daily Eudomon. 5/27/2008. http://www.ericscheske.com/blog/?p=6072</ref> James Kushiner, Executive Editor of [[Touchstone Magazine]] has also singled out the writing of Eighth Day's catalog as worthy of mention, saying it's "the most fun I've had reading a catalog in a while".<ref>Mere Comments Blog. 12/28/2007. http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2007/12/eighth-day-touc.html</ref>


At its height, the catalog was mailed to 25,000 recipients per year. After its suspension in 2012, the publication was revived in 2020. <ref name=Oppenheimer />
At its height, the catalog was mailed to 25,000 recipients per year. After its suspension in 2012, the publication was revived in 2020.<ref name=Oppenheimer />


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 22:21, 6 December 2023

The interior of Eighth Day Books

Eighth Day Books is an independent bookstore founded in 1988 and located in Wichita, Kansas. It is known for its books that are classics of their genres, or else modern or contemporary works linked to the intellectual, artistic, and religious traditions of the East and West.

History

[edit]

Warren Farha, the founder of the bookstore, has written on the notion of bookselling as a vocation, citing a personal tragedy as the turning point in his life that led him to devote his life to the trade.[1] The name of the store is drawn from the Patristic notion of the Eighth Day, referring literally to Sunday, and metaphorically to the eternal "day" of Jesus' resurrection.

Philosophy

[edit]

According to their website, Eighth Day "offer[s] an eccentric community of books based on this organizing principle: if a book—be it literary, scientific, historical, or theological—sheds light on ultimate questions in an excellent way, then it's a worthy candidate for inclusion in our catalog."[2] The writer Lauren Winner reports that Farha defines the store's specialty as "the 'lasting' books...perennially important books."[3] Mark Oppenheimer suggests that is "filled only with books Mr. Farha would read."[4]

In addition, Eighth Day Books are known for their collection of religious—especially but not exclusively Christian—texts, particularly Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox works. Farha, who is Antiochian Orthodox, has summarized his vision for the bookstore as "about the unbreakable connections between all things that are true and good and beautiful. We'll live and die for Fr. Schmemann's insistence that you can't compartmentalize reality — separating things into 'religious' and 'secular, not religious.' We believe that doing so is a denial of God's 'very good' creation."[1]

Eighth Day Press

[edit]

To date, Eighth Day Press has published seven books, focused primarily on works exploring or emanating from Catholic and Orthodox spirituality.[5] The Press publishes the two most significant works of German writer Max Picard, Flight From God and The World of Silence; Recovered Body, a collection of poetry by Scott Cairns; Discerning the Mystery: An Essay on the Nature of Theology, by Andrew Louth; Clinging:The Experience of Prayer, by Emilie Griffin; Orthodox Spirituality and the Philokalia, by Placide Deseille; and The Feast of Friendship, by Fr. Paul O'Callaghan.

Influence

[edit]

Eighth Day Books is well-known within Christian intellectual and artistic circles, having been called by the writer Harold Fickett "surely the most idealistic (and one of the best) bookstores in America".[6] Former Dallas Morning News columnist and religion author Rod Dreher has written that Eighth Day Books is "the best bookstore in the world"[7] and the "Garden of Eden for Christian intellectuals–Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox–interested in the Permanent Things".[8] Image Journal, which invites Eighth Day Books to host a book table at its Glen Workshop each year, has dubbed Eighth Day Books the "Miracle of Wichita"[9] and "Heaven's Bookstore".[10] Other conferences at which Eighth Day Books' traveling book table is a regular fixture include Calvin College's Festival of Faith and Writing,[11] Trinity Arts Conference in Dallas, Texas,[12] Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture Fall Conference,[13] Baylor University's Symposium on Faith and Culture,[14] and The CIRCE Institute.[15]

Catalog

[edit]

Eighth Day Books previously published an annual catalog following the model made famous by A Common Reader, annotating each book with intimate, often whimsical, reviews.[16] Writer, theologian and activist Jim Forest, in a blog entry titled "the vocational bookseller," singles out the book descriptions written for the catalog in saying "I know of no book shop so likely to have books -- new and used -- of special interest to Orthodox or Catholic Christians.".[17] Eric Scheske, a lawyer and writer who keeps the noted Daily Eudemon blog says, "Their annual catalog isn't just a catalog: it's a piece of literature. Anyone who loves books and wisdom as much as these folks, anyone who passes along excellent reading advice by the shelf-load like these folks, merits patronage".[18] James Kushiner, Executive Editor of Touchstone Magazine has also singled out the writing of Eighth Day's catalog as worthy of mention, saying it's "the most fun I've had reading a catalog in a while".[19]

At its height, the catalog was mailed to 25,000 recipients per year. After its suspension in 2012, the publication was revived in 2020.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Farha, Warren. Lecture on Vocation
  2. ^ About Us. www.eighthdaybooks.com Archived 2011-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Winner, Lauren Book Notes: A Visit to Eighth Day Books
  4. ^ a b Oppenheimer, Mark (15 May 2015). "Wichita Bookstore Expresses Its Founder's Eclectic and Christian Tastes". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. ^ Hilliard, Juli Cragg. Publishers Weekly. "Eastern Orthodox Books on the Rise," April 13, 2002
  6. ^ Fickett, Harold. The Living Christ: The Extraordinary Lives of Today's Spiritual Heroes. New York: Doubleday, 2002, p. 206
  7. ^ Dreher, Rod. Crunchy Con Blog. "The Best Bookstore in the World." 11/7/2008. http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2008/11/the-best-bookstore-in-the-worl.html
  8. ^ National Review Online. "NRO Symposium: 2004 Gift-Giving Guide." 11/24/2004. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/212981/2004-gift-giving-guide/nro-symposium
  9. ^ Image Update #57, 9/1/2004. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/57_040901.htm Archived 2010-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Image Update #197, 4/14/2010. http://imagejournal.org/imageupdate/192_100414.html Archived 2010-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Exhibitors - 2010 Conference - Festival of Faith & Writing - Calvin College". Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  12. ^ "trinity arts conference loot | dreams of genevieve. | Jenni Simmons | Flickr". 15 June 2009.
  13. ^ "Stevens takes students to Notre Dame conference | the Herald". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  14. ^ "Chrysostom — on Possession | Through a Glass Darkly". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  15. ^ "2010 Circe Conference - July 14-17, 2010 - Arlington, Texas". Archived from the original on 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  16. ^ Shapera, Todd (1999-07-11). "Personal Missions Fuel Small Publishers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  17. ^ Forest, Jim. On Pilgrimage Blog. 10/26/2010. http://jimandnancyonpilgrimage.blogspot.com/2010/10/vocational-book-seller.html
  18. ^ Scheske, Eric. The Daily Eudomon. 5/27/2008. http://www.ericscheske.com/blog/?p=6072
  19. ^ Mere Comments Blog. 12/28/2007. http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2007/12/eighth-day-touc.html
[edit]

37°41′11″N 97°18′09″W / 37.6865°N 97.3026°W / 37.6865; -97.3026

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