This morning the doorbell rang and Elizabeth greeted the driver from FedEx who was holding a box of ten of my books.  The other 2,000-odd copies of A Portrait of Grinnell: The Architecture and Landscape of Grinnell College will set sail on 2 May.  I was too anxious to wait another month until 30 May when they get trucked into Grinnell, Iowa to see how they turned out.  I am both relieved and elated by how good they look!  I simply couldn’t travel to China to oversee the printing, so it is wonderful to see that this new printing is faithful to the original and the updates, while subtle in most cases, certainly enhance a book I was already proud to call my own.

Both Saints Rest Coffee House (641.236.6014) and the Grinnell College Bookstore (641.269.3424) will begin accepting pre-orders soon.  Note that these are the only two official stores for this book.  I’ve seen the odd (used) copy on Amazon, but at astoundingly–and amusingly–high prices.  The recommended retail price remains $29.95.  I was very happy that we were able to maintain the price from 2006.  In an age when the price of everything seems to be going up, it’s nice when some things stay the same!

Also, as a thank-you for purchasing the book, the first 125 copies sold at each store will contain a special promotional code for 30% off my personally-printed and signed photographs of Grinnell College ordered at my other Web site, lightsedgeprints.com!