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*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"Well, I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flying
in the yellow haze of the sun
there were children crying and colors flying
all around the chosen ones . . ."
--Neil Young, After the Gold Rush

THE SECOND MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD (Part 2)
by Cub Reporter Ranay Saltz

Welcome back! I'm on the set with B. Traven, Jr., who is shooting his latest installment in his wildly popular series of beer commercials. I just ambushed him with a question about the YouTube video that purports to show him confronting a hungry velociraptor with a raygun.

B. Traven Jr: Ahhh . . . Are you talking about that YouTube thing? C'mon Ranay! It's the internet. I've seen quite a few 'shops' in my day. And even I can tell by some of the pixels that this is an obvious fake. Surely, you don't believe everything on the internet is true. Ha, ha!

Ranay: Don't call me Shirley. (I laugh.) Let's talk about literature. I know you're a well-known literary maven. Are you excited about some of the recent awards?

B. Traven Jr: Well, the shortlist for the Diagram Awards has just been announced. This award is for the most ridiculous book title in the past year, and I must admit that I am a close friend of one of their nominees. Reginald Bakeley, the foremost expert on the Fairy realm, has been singled out for his latest, Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop (9781573245326) 14.95. You may laugh, but this is a real danger. With global warming, there has been a population explosion amongst the fey creatures, and they are beginning to encroach upon human territory more and more. And this, at least, is one award that Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies (9780805090031) 28.00 won't win this year. Ha, ha!

 

Ranay: Hobbies?

B. Traven Jr: You may find this odd, but I'm a huge flyfisherman. Seriously. As a matter of fact, I recently stumbled upon a great book for tying flies, Classic Michigan Flies: 16 Legendary Patterns (9780811711364) 19.95 by Jon Osborn. There is nothing I enjoy more than whipping my rod around in my waders while hip deep in a cold river, but I have to be careful . . . (He winks.) . . . I might be chased out of the water by a ravenous T. Rex. Ha, ha!

Ranay: Thank you. Next week, The third part of our interview will be on-line.


Odds & Sods

Until family members find unpublished manuscripts in her attic, A Week in Winter (9780307273574) 26.95 is Maeve Binchy's final novel. We were out of stock, but more copies arrived today . . .

Charles Edmund Wilson III had told you that Mr. Koch's The Dinner (9780770437855) 24.00 is the European Gone Girl (9780307588364) 25.00 and now, it appears he was right.

 

Tomorrow night, the major networks will pre-empt their normal primetime programming to air the National Book Critics Circle Awards show. Okay, not really, but the awards presentation is at the Lang Centre in New York. Here's the link: http://bookcritics.org

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"My Best Friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read . . ."
--Abraham Lincoln

BOOK ASSOCIATION (Continued...)

After the last Partners Page, David Swan pointed out that I hadn't mentioned former Michigander and now, since he lives in Montana, rugged individualist Jim Harrison's new title, The River Swimmer: Novellas (9780802120731) 25.00. The reviews have been laudatory, and both novellas take place in the great state of Michigan. He is a Master at the top of his game. "Till I can't, Till I can't take no more, Take me to the river . . ." Also, Edgar award winner Alex Berenson is back with his seventh thriller, The Night Ranger (9780399159725) 27.95. His popular protagonist John Wells is sent to uncharted territory in East Africa to track down four American hostages and, perhaps, avert an American invasion of Somalia. I am so, so sorry, but I cannot resist the siren call. "You're motorin', What's your price for flight?, In finding Mister Right, You'll be alright tonight." Please forgive me . . .

 

(Like many jobs, occasionally you wonder if your customers appreciate what you do for them. Last Friday, I was told something so inspirational by one of my favourite customers that I had to share it. She said, "Mick, sometimes you really do serve a purpose." High praise indeed. This is what keeps me going.)

1) CIVILWARLAND IN BAD DECLINE . . . There was a great disturbance in the Force yesterday when the second season of George Arr Arr Martin's A Game of Thrones was released on DVD. I have my copy and it's pretty good so far. Of course this means we should see an uptick in sales on his books yet again:

A Game of Thrones (9780553381689) 18.00

A Clash of Kings (9780553381696) 17.00

A Storm of Swords (9780553381702) 17.00

A Feast for Crows (9780553582031) 17.00

Also, to noone's great surprise, the fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons (9780553801477) 35.00 has been delayed in paperback until October 29. Don't hold your breath. However, in the meantime, this little ditty may amuse you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3RhzfgI . Oh, and Winter is Coming!

2) PASTORALIA . . . The hits keep coming from Hitsville, USA. Yet another book about Detroit, Heart Soul Detroit: Conversations on the Motor City (9781938018008) 44.95 edited by Matt Lee looks like it will rock our local bestseller lists. They are being printed overseas and we should have them in stock by mid-March. If you would like a preview, you can take a peek here: http://www.heartsouldetroit.com . Backorders are already piling up.

Odds & Sods

Beloved young adult author Ally Carter stopped in last Friday to sign copies of her latest title, Perfect Scoundrels (9781423166009) 17.99 and our remaining stock on her previous hardcover, Out of Sight, Out of Time (9781423147947) 16.99. As per usual, they are sold on a first come, first served basis . . .

  



Last week, Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the 5 Love Languages (9780802473158) 14.99 popped in on Oprah's Lifeclass^TM and gave her the 5 Love Languages test. And, of course, we sold out of his book shortly thereafter. We should have stock early next week . . .

Chris Kyle's American Sniper (9780062238863) 9.99 is in the warehouse . . . 

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*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking . . ."
--Haruki Murakami

BOOK ASSOCIATION

Our native son and television journalist, Charlie LeDuff has been pounding the pavement to promote his new title, Detroit: An American Autopsy (9781594205347) 27.95. He had his book launch at the Scarab Club, which sounds really cool, but I have no idea what they are all about. We have just about sold through our second batch of his book, but more are on the way and they should be here around Monday. "You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City . . ." Speaking of using the TV bully pulpit to promote your latest book, nobody does it better than Dr. Phil. He's back on the self-help train with his latest tome, Life Code (9780985462734) 26.00. Again, we've almost sold out of our second slurp of this title. "Nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest . . ."

While we're on the topic of creepy characters, the children's book that I believe was robbed, yes robbed, from winning the Caldecott, Aaron Reynolds' Creepy Carrots! (9781442402973) 16.95 is back in stock. Hey, I loved Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back (9780763655983) 16.95 just as much as the next bookseller, but This Is Not My Hat (9780763655990) 15.99 is not nearly as good as the original. Just sayin'. "Creepy, crawly, creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly . . ." And speaking of wild things, Maurice Sendak did not go quietly into the night. He may have saved his best for last with a moving tribute to his late brother in My Brother's Book (9780062234896) 18.95. Initially, I thought this was another case of the family 'finding' a completed manuscript in the author's attic, but in this case, Maurice actually did finish this book just before he passed away. "He ain't heavy, he's my brother . . ."

So to segue from children's books and back into the Land of Adults, there is this grey area that us bookselling folk like to call young adult, which as of late, has been a little quiet. However, Marie Lu is starting to make some noise. Her books Prodigy (9780399256769) 17.99 and Legend (9780399256752) 17.99 have been compared to the Hunger Games. Heck, the cover of Prodigy even has a bird logo on it. Albeit, not flaming. "I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence . . ." Ben Carson, the man with the Gifted Hands, has had his book America the Beautiful (9780310330912) 14.99 reissued, and it's making some hay. Unfortunately, the publisher is out of stock and they are reprinting it. They should be shipping it out in about two weeks. "It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw, I've gone to look for America . . ."

Odds & Sods

I think it's kinda creepy, but the movie based on Chris Kyle's American Sniper (9780062238863) 9.99 has been fast tracked by the studio. Bradley Cooper has been cast as Chris Kyle, so it will be a big deal. We have sold out of the premium edition (again!), but we should have more stock in a day or two. Back- orders are piling up.

We have another new addition for your Navy Seal's section. Rorke Denver has written Damn Few (9781401324797) 27.99. And Rorke isn't just a Navy Seal, he's the guy who trains them. This is the title that a lot of readers have been waiting for. It releases next Tuesday . . .

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"They called him a hero in the Land of the Free
But he wouldn't shake my hand boy, he disappointed me
So I got my handgun and I blew him away
That critter was a bad guy and I had to make him pay . . ."
--Queen, Put Out the Fire

Dearest Mick--

Chip, my loyal manservant, and I were trying on our new monkey suits when your package arrived via the parcel post. I was a tad disappointed; I was expecting the delivery of a bottle of Chateau Latour 1961, which, in my estimation, is the greatest wine ever created. But alas, it was merely your latest montage of bestselling books, and so somewhat sadly, I removed my monkey ears, perched myself upon my RascalTM scooter, and had Chip sift through the detritus in your box.

I was impressed by the timeliness of your inclusion of Chris Kyle's American Sniper (9780062238863) 9.99. I had been saddened to hear of his death at the hands of a fellow former soldier. There has been a long tradition of sharpshooters in the American military, and Mr. Kyle may have been the greatest one ever. I may not have mentioned that the original Charles Edmund Wilson had served with Daniel Morgan's Rifleman in the Revolutionary War. It was said that he could hit the center of a half-penny from 250 yards away. Charles Peale, his good friend, painted the portrait of my grandfather that now hangs in The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

I see you have sent me a copy of The Dinner (9780770437855) 24.00 by Herman Koch. Unfortunately, I have already read this in the original Dutch. I have heard that it is being touted in the states as the European Gone Girl (9780307588364) 25.00 by Gillian Flynn. This is a tried and true tactic by publishers to help publicize new authors. But I do believe this one will be big.

Speaking of big, short story master George Saunders is the toast of the literary world these days. And I was pleased as punch to see that you have included his latest book, Tenth of December (9780812993806) 26.00. Like many, I was astounded by Mr. Saunders' virtuoso performance in his first collection, Civilwarland in Bad Decline (9781573225793) 14.00. I've always been a fan of Civil War literature since I have family ties to the War Between the States. My maternal grandfather attended the Citadel, and he was thrust into action near the end of hostilities. He lost a leg and an arm in battle, but still fathered 15 children and lived to the ripe old age of 103.

And finally, I noticed you have included Charlie LeDuff's Detroit: An American Autopsy (9781594205347) 27.95. It reminded me of my halcyon days with Henry Ford and Thomas Alva Edison. Good times, indeed.

Warmest Regards,

Charles Edmund Wilson III

Odds & Sods

I had the privilege of joining Peggy Riley for dinner last week. Her debut novel Amity & Sorrow (9780316220880) 25.99 releases on April 16. The story involves a woman and her two daughters after a Waco-like event uproots them from their cult compound and sends them into the harsh reality of the real world. Peggy is a former bookseller and her mother owns a bookstore in Los Angeles. This is a book we can all get behind . . .

Stephen King's Under the Dome (9781439149034) 19.99 debuts as a TV mini-series in May. Fans will be buying his book now in anticipation. Check your stock . . .