Thursday, April 22, 2010

Ye Olde Partners Page

*News From the Glamorous World of Bookselling*


"Mother, you had me but I never had you,
I wanted you but you didn't want me
So I got to tell you, goodbye, goodbye . . ."
--John Lennon, Mother
MOTHER'S DAY EXTRAVAGANZA

Last night I turned on the television to watch 'Lost' and I caught the tail end of 'Dancing with the Stars.' Much to my surprise, America's favourite mom, Kate Gosselin, was voted off of the show. She was teary-eyed and contrite and said all the right things. I was hoping Kate would squeeze in a plug for her new book, I Just Want You to Know (9780310318965) 22.99. But alas, she didn't mention her book and she lost out on an excellent opportunity to publicize it in front of a national audience. C'est la vie. And what's up with Sayid on 'Lost'? It's like he's Darth Vader or something . . .
Mothers like Oprah. Don't ask me why, I find it completely baffling. You may not have noticed that Kitty Kelley, author of Oprah: A Biography (9780307394866) 30.00 has been unable to get any media publicity whatsoever on her new bio, which is her bread and butter. Other than 'The Today Show,' just about every talk show has rejected an appearance by Kitty since they fear that Oprah will blacklist them in the future. So here I am trying to do my part and give Kitty a little limelight in the Partners Page. Ironically, I caught a clip of Gayle King, Oprah's 'best friend', on another talk show promoting something for 'O magazine', and the interviewer asked, "What do you think about this Kitty Kelley book and the fact that she interviewed 850 people?" And Gayle responded, "Oprah doesn't even know 850 people." Really? I am now wearing my incredulous expression . . .
I thought the GeicoTM cavemen and Teabag Party members were the only people who still read newspapers, but if this were the case, I don't believe Cleveland Plains Dealer columnist Regina Brett's God Never Blinks (9780446556521) 21.99 would be selling so well. She has been signing at a bunch of events in the Cleveland area, too. If you're unfamiliar with her book, it features Ms. Brett's thoughts on life and becoming a better a person. She is a single mom and a cancer survivor, so her title would not only work well for Mother's Day, but it would be a great choice for a graduation gift.

Finally, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (9780805092257) 14.00 by Rhoda Janzen was a regional bestseller in hardcover, but in tradepaper, this account of her disasterous divorce and moving back home with her Mennonite parents might just become a national bestseller. Oh wait, and Larry King. I bet Larry King still reads the newspaper.


Odds & Sods

As Yakoff Smirnoff once said, "I love this country!" And I can not think of a better book to share your love of America with your kids than Klutz's The Slightly Odd United States of America (9781591747512) 12.95. This book is full of wacky facts that will amaze your friends and neighbors . . .
Paul Harding's Tinkers (9781934137123) 14.95, a year and a half old tradepaper from an obscure publisher was the winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for fiction. We are expecting stock around the end of next week. I would recommend backordering this title if you want to get in on the action . . .

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