"pity this busy monster, manunkind . . ."Dearest Mick--
--e.e. cummings, 1x1
Chip, my beloved manservant, and I were anticipating the delivery of my RascalTM scooter when, to my great surprise, your box of books arrived via the parcel post. Chip had already picked up a 'Glenn Beck '12' bumper sticker to put on the back of my new scooter, so alas, we were a tad disappointed initially. However when Chip plucked out the first book and it was Bill O'Reilly's Pinheads and Patriots (9780061950711) 27.99, our sadness turned to gladness. Of course, Bill has become a little too liberal for our tastes, but we appreciated the thoughtfulness of your selection.
I understand from your accompanying letter that Emma Donoghue stopped by your establishment and signed copies of her Booker Prize nominated title, Room (9780316098335) 24.99. You also mentioned that they are in Partners' 'stash' and customers can buy them on a first come, first served basis. You may be aware that Emma originally hails from Dublin, Ireland. I am not sure if you know that after I graduated from Big Green that I did my graduate work at University College Dublin, and while there I became fast friends with James Joyce. I have been told that he based the character of Stephen Dedalus in Ulysses (9780679722762) 17.95 on myself. Not only could ol' Jimmy drink just about everyone under the table, he could sing like a bird, too. I sure do miss him . . .
I see you've also included Thunder Bay Press' new title, Haunted Travels of Michigan II (9781933272238) 14.95 by Kathleen Tedsen and Beverlee Rydel, as well as, the first Haunted Travels of Michigan (9781933272184) 14.95 by the same authors. I heard that you are a big fan of the TV show 'Ghost Hunters.' Unbeknownst to you, I was the one who trained Jason and Grant and put up the money for their ghost hunting business. The rest is history as they like to say.
Finally, I see that the new Oprah Book ClubTM title is Jonathan Franzen's Freedom (9780312600846 or 9780374158460) 28.00. I taught Jonathan at Swathmore College, and even then, I thought the young lad had a lot of potential. The last time I spoke with him was during that whole Oprah Book ClubTM The Corrections (9780312421274) 16.00 fiasco. I believe my words of wisdom to him were something to the effect of 'do not bite the hand that feeds you.' So obviously I'm glad to see that they have made up. There is nothing wrong with getting fine literature into the hands of the unwashed masses. Thank you again, Mick.
Warmest Regards,
Charles Edmund Wilson III
Odds & Sods
Last Friday, Terry McMillan dropped by to sign Getting to Happy (9780670022045) 27.95, which is the sequel to Waiting to Exhale (9780451215291) 9.99. I'm not sure what I expected, but I must admit she was one of the more enjoyable authors that we've had in here . . .
Becky has a couple of fun book picks for the kids. Poke-A-Dot: Old McDonald's Farm (9781601690241) 12.99 is a board book that has plastic dots on each page. You poke the dot and it sounds like you're popping bubble wrap. It's sure to be annoying for parents but guaranteed to keep a toddler busy for hours. Also, we've been passing Dick & Jane & Vampires (9780448455686) 9.99 around the office and everyone is getting a good laugh . . .
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