We talk to some of the remaining independent booksellers in Philadelphia — an eclectic group representing local shops of all shapes and sizes, from new books to niche markets, from old veterans to spring chickens — and check into how they're getting through these hard times.

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson | Etta by Gerald Kolpan | Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith | Waveland by Frederick Barthelme | Fool by Christopher Moore | Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese | A Fortunate Age by Joanna Smith Rakoff | A Mad Desire to Dance by Elie Wiesel | Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner | Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine | Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead | American Rust by Philipp Meyer | The Believers by Zoë Heller | Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

China Underground by Zachary Mexico | The Scavengers' Manifesto by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson | I'm Sorry You Feel That Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother and Friend to Man and Dog by Diana Joseph | The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self by Thomas Metzinger | Like I Give a Frock by Michi | The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann | The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer | My Little Red Book edited by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff | Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins by Donald C. Johanson and Kate Wong | The Book of Dead Philosophers by Simon Critchley | Revolution in a Bottle by Tom Szaky

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower | Don't Cry by Mary Gaitskill | Dear Husband by Joyce Carol Oates | Big World by Mary Miller

Baseball Prospectus 2009 | Gerald Kolpan | Kenneth W. Milano | Elie Wiesel | Mary Gaitskill | Lisa Scottoline | Tobias Wolff | Free Library Festival | Warren Hoffman | Colson Whitehead

Fumo = guilty.

by Brian Howard

The down-and-dirty bullshitters were easy to spot at the Go Green Expo.

by Bruce Schimmel

What You Say

Passenger bicycles could be the future of green transportation in Philadelphia, with weary pedestrians hailing them when they need a lift. The idea is to combat traffic congestion, parking problems, emission damages and skyrocketing gas prices while providing advertisers a moving platform other than buses.

To ABC-6 for not renewing Don Polec's contract, all I can think of is "boing" and some sputtering noises. That's how Polec would've wanted it.

by Rob Brezsny

Use your newfound awareness of organ nomenclature wisely.

When Judge Idee Fox ordered that libraries remain open, opponents of the closures rejoiced. And though Nutter fought back, appealing the ruling and indicating that he'd replace closings with cuts, he eventually backed down on both fronts. The mayor, in other words, learned his lesson. But is it the right one?

As the city tries to cut another billion dollars out of its 5-year budget, City Paper is taking a look at how cuts and proposed cuts are affecting different services and functions — not to argue against any individual cut, necessarily, but to catalog the damage. This week's focus is public health.

Cousin Denny killed cousin Maura with a crossbow.

by Mike Newall

by E. James Beale

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

1812 Productions' The Karma Cookie

by Mark Cofta

Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey | Cabaret | Chip Kidd | They Are Summating | Birdy

John Vettese sees what develops

by John Vettese

by Mark Cofta

There's material here for a fine dark comedy, but Jeffs glosses over the surface. The movie is neat, which is the last thing a movie about cleaning up human waste should be.

"Can you imagine if I said the way I met Paul Rudd was he was walking down the street, and I told him I liked his slacks, and the next thing I knew we were having brunch?"

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

After playing with several bands, Chrissy Tashjian has found she likes tambourine and gang vocals, colorful outfits and confetti, and songs that don't just invite you to sing along, they demand it.

Idina Menzel | Paper Masques | Funky Fresh Old Skool Jam | Julius Hemphill Revisited | 1807 & Friends

"Suffocation"

by John Vettese

While multi-instrumentalist/monotheist Saft is clearly talented and there are some very interesting musical motifs on Black Shabbis, the CD, taken in total, is just this side of unlistenable.

Sun., March 22, 8 p.m., $10, Plays and Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St., bowerbird.org.

by Shaun Brady

Sat., March 21, 9 p.m., $10, with Hezekiah Jones, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com.

by Brian Howard

Some restaurateurs will tell you fearfully that the apocalypse is near, and that they'll soon be swallowed by the great hungry whale named Recession. Yet if you look hard enough, there are plenty of industrious chefs out there killing and cooking that whale, and divvying it up at a decent price so as to survive the new economy.

The "Zuni Method" may sound a bit like a sort of breathing technique a SCUBA diver might employ to alleviate decompression sickness. And it may seem daunting on paper — in the cookbook, the recipe spans more than four pages. But really it's so simple that it can be broken down in a single paragraph.

Eric Ripert Book Signing at 10 Arts | South Jersey Restaurant Week | Vegan Drinks Philly at Horizons | Edible World Tour: Port Richmond | ScrappleFest

Girasole | Little Italy Pizza | Lovers and Madmen

WOW! Superhero Day

by Jakob Dorof

8-Bit Sound Design Workshop

by Holly Otterbein

Philly Roller Girls Skate Workshop

by Andrew Amundson

Hello! Fashion: Kansai Yamamoto, 1971-1973 | Sunday Salutations at Lululemon Athletica | Fourth Annual Women's Clothing Swap at Germantown Jewish Centre | Nordstrom Pre-Opening Beauty Bash

Lord Whimsy

by Lauren Fleming

You Want Phil Collins to Be Stuck in Your Head

by Tiffany Jackson

You've Got a Lot on Your Mind

by Christina Shaffer