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*News From the Glamorous World of Bookselling*

"He won't get far on hot air and fantasy . . ."
--Horatio Jackson, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

1) THE BROTHERS GRIMM (2005) . . . I would have bought Bruce Kaplan's Monsters Eat Whiny Children (9781416986898) 15.99 for my children if they were younger, but alas, they have outgrown this sort of book. It is for early readers. In a nutshell, it chronicles the story of monsters who have captured whiny children to eat, but the children end up escaping because the monsters are too busy arguing over what recipe that they should use to cook the kids. It is very reminiscent of the tale of the trolls who capture Bilbo in The Hobbit (9780345339683) 7.99. But it's still great fun. Also for the really, really young tykes, I was blown away by the artwork in The Boy and The Moon (9781585365210) 15.95 by James Christopher Carroll. The story's not too shabby either. I think I'll get this one for my nephew . . .

2) TWELVE MONKEYS (1995) . . . The shortlist for the Booker Prize were announced a couple of days ago. This year's titles are:

• Parrot & Olivier in America (9780307592620) 26.95 by Peter Carey
• Room (9780316098335) 24.99 by Emma Donoghue
• In a Strange Room (n/a) by Damon Galgut
• The Finkler Question (n/a) by Howard Jacobson
• The Long Song (9780374192174) 26.00 by Andrea Levy
• C (9780307593337) 25.95 by Tom McCarthy

 The winner will be announced on October 12. Good luck!

 

 3) JABBERWOCKY (1977) . . . These are a mishmash of titles that have been recommended to me over the last week and may have slipped through the cracks. First of all, the top movie at the box office is George Clooney's The American, which was based on Martin Booth's book, A Very Private Gentleman. The title has been reissued as The American (9780312430016) 14.00. Fans of well-written mysteries need look no further than the latest hardcover Vermilion Drift (9781439153840) 25.00 from William Kent Krueger. Mr. Krueger is a huge seller in the Upper Midwest and I keep expecting him to breakout nationally. This might be the book that finally does it. Who knew Jose Saramago had one more book in the tank? Set during the Reformation, his latest book The Elephant's Journey (9780547352589) 24.00 could be his funniest book yet. Deep down inside, I hope, much like Robert Bolano, they will unearth further titles that have never been released. Finally, we have signed copies of Eric Jerome Dickey's Tempted by Trouble (9780525950585) 26.95. First come, first served . . .

Sci-Fi Corner

The winners of the Hugo Awards were announced yesterday and there was a tie for Best Novel. China Mieville's The City & The City (9780345497529) 15.00 and Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl (9781597801584) 14.95 were the two winners. I really need to read both of these books . . .

Speaking of science fiction, the original cyberpunk, William Gibson, is back in fine form in Zero History (9780399156823) 26.95. He covers the usual, including hacker culture, paranoia, and viral marketing. He also features the Festo Airpenguin: http://www.festo.com/ext/en/12085.htm. Man, I love penguins . . .