Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"[Vietnam] only made billionaires out of millionaires. [Iraq] is making trillionaires out of billionaires. Now I call that progress . . ."
--Kurt Vonnegut

BRAVO Presents: THE REAL BOOKSELLERS OF INGHAM COUNTY
(Camera pans Double D's studio library and settles on Stoner Bill and Double D leaning on opposite sides of a table.)

Stoner Bill: (Under his breath) Dude, how long are we locked into this contract? All the money in the world isn't worth this corporate crap. I hate this show . . .

(Knocking on a door offstage)

Double D: Shush! Oh hey, Bill, who could that be at the door? Oh look, it's B. Traven Jr., the second most interesting man in the world. Oh, and he has brought a six pack of Colt .45. I bet it is smooooooooothalicious!

B. Traven Jr: Hi, Bill and Dolby Dee. It is so great to be back in the states. I've returned from exploring Swamplandia! (9780307276681) 14.95 in search of The Pale King (9780316074223) 16.99 on Train Dreams (9781250007650) 12.00. Ha, ha! See what I did there? It was like a literary Mad Lib of rejected Pulitzer Prize in Fiction nominees from last year. Ha, ha!

Double D: You are quite the card B.T. That reminds me, this year's winners for the Pulitizer Prizes sponsored by Progressive Auto Insurance were announced on Monday. Adam "You doesn't have to call me" Johnson won for his fiction title, The Orphan Master's Son (9780812982626) 15.00. Gilbert "Don't call me Stephen" King was awarded the non-fiction prize for Devil in the Grove (9780061792267) 15.99. Fredrik "of Hollywoods" Longevall was honored in the History category for Embers of War (9780375504426) 40.00. In biography, Tom Reiss "Pieces" garnered the award for The Black Count (9780307382467) 27.00. And finally, Sharon "This is not your father's" Olds took home the coveted trophy in the poetry category for Stag's Leap (9780375712258) 16.95. Now, that's Progressive!

Stoner Bill: So what brings you to our neck of the woods B.T.?

B. Traven Jr: Ha, ha! I'm so glad you asked. I was inspired by Moses Gates' new book Hidden Cities: A Memoir of Urban Exploration (9781585429349) 16.95 to visit Detroit and do a little urban exploration of my own. I've found that the Linn's Belle Isle to 8 Mile (9781467557528) 22.00, which gives a great overview of the Detroit area, to be an excellent guidebook.

Double D: Say yes to Michigan! We'll be right back after these messages.

Odds & Sods

Later in today's episode of The Real Booksellers, B. Traven mentions his favourite book of the year, Mark Mazzetti's The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth (9781594204807) 29.95. And from the Partners' Weather Centre, I have noticed a recent uptick in sales over the past few days . . .

In what I assume is a logical progression, we have moved from The FastDiet (9781476734941) 24.00 by Michael Mosley to Haylie Pomroy's The Fast Metabolism Diet (9780307986276) 26.00, which should be back in stock next week . . .

Have a Happy Earth Day!