Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Ye Olde Partners Page

*God Save The Queen Edition*

"The one thing we're all waiting for
is peace on earth and an end to war
It's a miracle we need -- the miracle . . .
That time will come one day you'll see when we can all be friends."
--Queen, The Miracle
1) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST . . . My friend Melissa was in my office last week. She noticed my copy of 40 Years of Queen (9781250005687) 35.00, and she said, "I would have loved to have seen Queen live." That was her first mistake. Suddenly, I became Charles Edmund Wilson III and replied, "Actually, the first concert I attended was Queen on 'The Game Tour' back in 1980. I don't know if you remember it, but the Detroit Lions had won their first five games that year and they had been using the Queen song Another One Bites the Dust as their unofficial anthem. So needless to say, Joe Louis arena erupted like Krakatoa in 1883 when John Deacon played the first distinctive bassline notes to that song. Everyone was dancing in the aisles and I thought to myself, 'Man, I hope every concert I go to is like this.' They weren't. This concert would become the yardstick that I used to measure every concert afterward. Good times." I shook Melissa awake and said, "Yeah, you would have loved seeing them."

2) THE MILLIONAIRE WALTZ . . . My friend Neal has a new book called Chicago's Classic Restaurants: Past, Present & Future (9780985273316) 29.50 tp and (9780985273309) 39.50 hc. It came out right before the holidays and was a surprise bestseller for us. I don't know about you, but I have never had a bad meal in Chicago. Two summers ago, I took my family to my favourite Greek restaurant, The Pegasus. We were seated, placed our order, and received our meals quickly. About halfway through the meal, my daughter Holly says, "Dad, why do you keep closing your eyes after every bite?" I set my fork down for a moment and responded, "Because this chicken is so good, I am savoring every single mouthful." One day she will understand . . .

3) WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS . . . It is a great time to be a sports fan in Michigan. Both Michigan and Michigan State won thrilling bowl victories in overtime. We still have stock on Three and Out (9780809094660) 28.00 by John U. Bacon, which chronicles the dark years under former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. Also, we have done well with Michigan Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard's I Wore 21 (9780984134717) 21.00. And finally, for the first time since 1999, the Detroit Lions have made the playoffs, so I need to talk to my friend Brad Epstein and see if he's publishing a new Detroit Lions 101 book. Even though the Bears haven't won squat since 1985, Brad has the Chicago Bears 101 (9781607301059) 11.95 and now, the new Chicago Bears Doodle Book (9781607303053) 9.95. Hey Brad, the Roar has been Restored!

Odds & Sods

Shockingly, there are still some titles that are MIA since Christmas. The latest update on Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret (9780439813785) 24.99 is that Scholastic will have stock on January 22. If only someone had warned the publisher that there was a movie coming out . . .

And how about Chad Harbach's Art Of Fielding (9780316126694) 25.99? The publisher is expecting stock on January 12, so maybe we'll have some copies in before the pitchers and catchers report for spring training . . .

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