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*News From the Glamorous World of Bookselling*

"Now I can't climb the stairs
Pieces missing everywhere
Prozac painkillers . . ."
--Radiohead, Bones

1) I'VE JUST SEEN A FACE . . . Okay, there's an advertisement for the new Penguin hardcover The Gendarme (9780399156342) 25.95 by Mark Mustian, which doesn't come out until the Fall season. It says, "Each season, the Penguin Hardcover sales reps (all two of them) select one work of fiction as their 'pick' of the list. Blah, blah, blah . . ." That's not what interests me. What is driving me crazy is that this cover is a crop of another bookcover and for the life of me, I can't remember which title it was. Please Help!

2) FATHER MCKENZIE WIPING THE DIRT FROM HIS HANDS . . . With Father's Day fast approaching, I figured I'd do a quick roundup of potential Dad-oriented bestsellers. So here goes:

• Sh*t My Dad Says (9780061992704) 15.99 by Justin Halpern -- This is a no brainer. By far the funniest book that I have read in a long, long time.
• The Passage (9780345504968) 27.00 by Justin Cronin -- Cronin's new one has created quite the buzz. Ballantine has been giving this title a huge media push. I've heard nothing but good things about it from other readers, too.
• Picturing Hemingway's Michigan (9780814334478) 39.95 by Michael Federspiel -- Generously illustrated with period photographs. Hemingway was the man's man. 'Nuff said.
• The Pacific (9780451230232) 26.95 by Hugh Ambrose. The tie-in to the HBO miniseries of the same name. This one has shown some legs and we should see another spurt of sales for Father's Day.

3) HER MAJESTY'S A PRETTY NICE GIRL . . . El Becko has been hawking George Washington's Sacred Fire (9780978605261) 24.95 by Peter Lillback on his show for the past week or two. Unfortunately, the reprint won't be here before Father's Day, but it should be here by the end of the month. We are getting backorders. Personally, Mary Ann from Penguin sent me an ARC for Ron Chernow's Washington: A Life (9781594202667) 40.00, which isn't due out until October 5, but I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. If it's even half as good as Alexander Hamilton (9780143034759) 18.00, I will be a happy man.

Odds & Sods

We were saddened to learn that legendary UCLA college basketball coach John Wooden passed away last Friday. McGraw-Hill will release his last book, The Wisdom of Wooden (9780071751162) 24.95 in July.
Good night, funny man . . .

Kathy-jo Wargin's new picture book is Scare a Bear (9781585364305) 15.95. She's teamed up again with illustrator John Bendall-Brunello, who Kathy-jo collaborated with on her title, Moose on the Loose (9781585364275) 15.95.

Robert Cameron's  Above Mackinac (9781891143984) 30.00 is available once again from our good friends at Thunder Bay Press.