Thursday, July 25, 2013

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"Change in the weather, change in the weather
Somethin's happenin' here, well
Change in the weather, change in the weather
People walkin' around in fear, well . . ."
                                                               --John Fogerty, Change in the Weather

NEWS FROM THE PARTNERS BOOKS WEATHER CENTRE

Rock Anderson: . . . And there were nothing but smiles all around after local firefighters retrieved Snuggles the cat from the top of an old oak tree on the 400 block of Paris Avenue.  Earlier today, they presented the adorable kitten to her rightful owner, The Crazy Cat Lady.  And now here's our literatologist Sonny with Lansing's most accurate  weather forecast.  So, Sonny, should we be expecting cooler weather any time soon?

Sonny Idiot:  Rock, I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here.  But in answer to your question, I thought we were experiencing a cooling trend on Phil Robertson's Happy Happy Happy (9781476726090) 24.99, but it's starting to heat up again.  We saw a spike in sales in the low 90s this week . . . 


Rock Anderson:  Hey!

Sonny Idiot:  Let's see what we have on Lansing's #1 Doppler radar right now.  As you can see, the Midwest is blanketed with a serious weather pattern that will pummel us with J.K. Rowling's Cuckoo's Calling (9780316206846) 26.00 for the rest of the evening.  It will be interspersed with a smattering of Aslan Reza's Zealot (9781400069224) 27.00.  And I'm sure you know what happens when you get a summery mix of Cuckoos and Zealots.  Nothing good.  We are extending our severe weather warning until 6:00am tomorrow.

 

Rock Anderson:  Great!

Sonny Idiot:  Well, let's take a look at the long-range forecast.  Fortunately, it looks like it will be relatively mild.  The only titles of consequence released by next week's storm front will be Clive Cussler's The Tombs (9780425265079) 9.99 and J.D. Robb's Calculated in Death (9780425250730) 7.99.  It will be raining blood and gore in C.J. Box's The Highway (9780312583200) 25.99.  There is a likely chance we will be innudated by David Gilbert's & Sons (9780812993967) 27.00 at the end of next week.  Thanks for stopping by and here's sports model Jacques with the latest on the Lugnuts.


 

Jacques Stapp:  Bonjour!    

Odds & Sods

The long list for the Man Booker Prize has been announced here: www.themanbookerprize.com .  Even though Hilary Mantel isn't on the list and won't release a new title this year.  London bookies have her pegged as the favourite  at 5 to 2 odds.  May the best author win . . .

Partner's favourite Ferrari owner, Jonathan Rand is back with Michigan Chiller #16: Catastrophe in Caseville (9781893699472) 5.99.  We are still waiting on Freddie Fernortner #12: Frankenfreddie (9781893699649) 4.99.  Don't hold your breath; you'll turn blue . . .



Thursday, July 18, 2013

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman . . ."
                                                                                     --Virginia Woolf

HARRY POTTER & THE CUCKOO'S CALLING (BOOK 8)

  So I walk down the street to Double D's house, stroll up to his porch, and pound on his front door.  I can see the curtains move off to the side in the front window and then slide back into place.  Dressed in her usual attire of lime-green robe, hair curlers, fuzzy bunny slippers, and a Pall Mall unfiltered cigarette dangling from her lower lip, Doctor Delay's mom opens the door and motions for me to come in.
  I ask in my best Eddie Haskell voice, "Hi, Mrs. D.  Is Double D here?"
  She exhales a cloud of smoke, "Yeah, Bill.  He's downstairs getting ready for his busy day."
  "Thanks Mrs. D.," I say as I scurry past her into the kitchen.
  I take the stairs two at a time into the basement.  At the bottom landing, I nearly stumble on the last step and land face first on the floor.  I'm flabbergasted.  There are rows of giant computers with mulit-colored blinking lights lining every wall of his basement.  There are ribbons of white tape regurgitating from some of the machines, and digital reels are whirling around in circles on other ones. 
  Double D sits at a half circular desk and he's on the phone, "I swear J.K. Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling (9780316206846) 26.00.  No, I'm not some kind of crank.  I've analyzed word selection, sentence structure, and syntax.  It's definitely Rowling.  Hey, I don't care what the back cover says.  I can't find any record of a Robert Galbraith . . ."


  "Dude, did someone sell you the set from Lost in Space?"
  Double D covers the phone receiver with one hand, "Dude, good one.  Hang on, I'm talking long distance with someone at the Sunday Times about J.K. Rowling."
  I start thumbing through the stack of books on his desk.  There's a copy of Brad Thor's Hidden Order (9781476717098) 27.99.  Hmmm, terrorists again.  Man, I miss the old days when the Commies were the bad guys.  Or Nazis.  Nazis were great boogeymen.  The next title is This Town (9780399161308) 27.95 by chief national correspondent for New York Times Magazine, Mark Leibovich.  From the backflap, it sounds like everyone in Washington, D.C. is a millionaire politician or lobbyist.  Who says crime doesn't pay?  I look at the cover of his next book.
  "Dude, are you reading Danielle Steel's First Sight (9780385338301) 28.00?"
  He covers the phone receiver again, "Wha?  Oh, no.  Dude, that's my mom's book.  These jerks at the Sunday Times have got me on hold . . ."
  "So what's up with the computers?"
  The Doctor explains, "Dude, they're NASA surplus computers.  I got a great deal on them.  And NASA is really hard up for cash.  So I've been putting them to good use by investigating the similarities of various authors' writing styles.  I think I'm about to break the biggest story in literature since the Bachman books."
  I shake my head, "Dude, you really need a hobby."

 

Odds & Sods

For the ChillersTM fans out there, we are expecting Jonathan Rand's Michigan Chillers #16: Catastrophe in Caseville (9781893699472) 5.99 to arrive today.  Back orders have been piling up . . .


We are expecting Sleeping Bear Press' reprint of Kathy-Jo Wargin's The Legend of Sleeping Bear (9781886947351) 17.95 to ship from the publisher on Friday.  Our stock should arrive here by Wednesday . . .



Sleeper Alert:  You might want to keep an eye on Aslan Reza's Zealot: The Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth (9781400069224) 27.00.  Heavenly books sell well . . .

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty, and Dracula. We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity God save little shops, china cups, and virginity . . ."
               --The Kinks, Village Green Preservation Society
So yesterday morning, I was leaving for work and I was just about out the door, when my beautiful wife walked down the stairway, clutching her copy of M.L. Stedman's The Light Between Oceans (9781451681758) 16.00, (which she really likes a lot), to kiss me goodbye. Trying to impress her, I said, "That's our bestselling trade paper book right now."


She stopped, her foot hovering in the air before the next step, and replied, "Really? What about Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (9780316204262) 14.99?"


She got me.  I hemmed and I hawed, "Well, that's a good one.  They probably are neck and neck.  It would be really hard to say which one is doing better . . ." I was regretting my comment.  I should have known better than to try to match wits with someone who is responsible for the fiction category in their bookstore.

She continued, "Okay, how about Beautiful Ruins (9780061928178) 15.99 by Jess Walter?"


I exhaled in resignation, "You got me.  I better get going before I'm late for work."

Suddenly, we heard loud crying from our baby's room.  It looked like there wouldn't be any reading for my wife this morning.

I smiled, "You better get that.  I'll see you tonight."

1)  SCHOOLBOYS IN DISGRACE . . .  As a Detroit Red Wings fan, I begrudgingly acknowledge that our rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, won the Stanley Cup in a strike shortened season.  I will admit that they were the best team in hockey in this abbreviated season.  However, with the winning of the Stanley Cup, there comes great responsibility and, much to my chagrin, their franchise has already dropped the puck.  I was greeted on MSN.com this morning with a photo of JUSTIN BIEBER not only posing in the Chicago Blackhawks' dressing room with The Cup, but actually touching hockey's most sacred shrine.  Fortunately, the two commemorative titles we are stocking, Unstoppable: The Chicago Blackhawks 2013 (9781600788918) 14.95 and The Year of the Chicago Blackhawks (9780771051357) 19.99, are completely BIEBERless.  Shame on you, Blackhawks!  Shame on you . . .



2)  MUSWELL HILLBILLIES . . .  initially thought that Alida Nugent's Don't Worry It Gets Worse (9780452298187) 14.00 would be the best title that I'd hear all day, but then Deb asked for How to Honey Boo Boo (9780062288509) 19.99 by Shannon & The Thompson Family.  Really?  I don't even . . .    

  
Odds & Sods

Daniel James Brown's (Ha!) The Boys in the Boat (9780670025817) 28.95 has been getting some buzz.  It's the true story of nine Americans with hardscrabble beginnings who comprised the U.S. rowing team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  Was there anything that Jesse Owens couldn't do?


A sleeper children's title to keep an eye on is Drew Daywalt's The Day the Crayons Quit (9780399255373) 17.99.  It's been trickling out of here on a regular basis . . .


Steve Lehto has updated and written the 2nd edition of Death's Door (9781938018039) 24.95 for the 100th anniversary of this U.P. tragedy . . .

Monday, July 8, 2013

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"We need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide.  A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us..." 
--
Franz Kafka

OUR REPTILIAN OVERLORDS

In a secret office, deep in the bowels of the United Nations Secretariat Building, Raaikaii and Krrocrick, two intelligent humanoid reptilians from the Peleiades star cluster, were seated across from each other at a large mahogany desk.  The desk was home to a computer keyboard, a monitor, and a large aquarium.  In the aquarium were hundreds of giant hissing cockroachs clambering all over each other.  They seemed to be highly agitated.

Raaikaii said, "Krrocrick, how was your trip from Arcturus?  Oh, and you can turn off your disguise scrambler.  We're safe here."

Krrocrick slumped in his chair and replied, "I've seen things you wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.  All those moments would be lost in time . . ."

"Sounds rough.  Here have a cocktail. . .," Raaikaii reached into his aquarium,  plucked out a wiggly cockroach, and handed it to his companion, "Enjoy!"

Krrocrick grabbed the proffered bug and swallowed it in a single gulp, "Thanks.  I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about relieving you here.  I had a real good gig in Arcturus.  The sapiens there are still at the drawing pictures with sticks in the mud level.  But they seem a lot more advanced on Earth.  I tried to read a few of their books on my space flight.  I thought it would give me some insight into their 'great civilization.'"

Both of their crocodile like snouts opened and closed repeatedly in a close approximation of a human's laugh.

Raaikaii blurted out, "Good one!  So what books did you read?"

"There was Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane (9780062255655) 25.99.  It appears that humans can be quite cruel to their younglings.  I finished James Rollins' Eye of God (9780061784804) 27.99 around Alpha Centauri.  I see that even their God can be a tough one.  Next, I delved into their high brow literature with Colum McCann's Transatlantic (9781400069590) 27.00.  I always enjoy stories about the first technological stumbles of any culture.  In non-fiction, I tackled Bill O'Reilly's Keep It Pithy (9780385346627) 21.99.  He's one we should probably keep an eye on.  He could figure out that we're working with the United Nations to take over the world."



Raaikaii replied, "Don't worry about him.  He's one of Rupert Murdoch's lackeys and we already have him on a short leash . . ."

Suddenly, the door flew open.  B. Traven Jr. stood in the doorway with a laser pistol in each hand and crowed, "Party's over, Peleiadians!"  
 
Odds & Sods

Our good friend Steve Hamilton stopped in yesterday to sign our copies of his new release, Let It Burn (9780312640224) 25.99.  These signed copies are available upon request . . .


Speaking of Michigan mystery guys, Aaron Stander's new one, Death in a Summer Colony (9780978573294) 15.95 arrived earlier this week.  This is his seventh title in the Ray Elkins' series . . .


 And finally, former MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Pride of Holland, Michigan, has written an inspirational children's title called The Game Changer (9780310739043) 16.99.  We are almost sold out . . .

 Happy 130th Birthday Franz Kafka!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"With the stars all glinting in the shiny Chrome,
Then I suddenly remembered what I left at home,
Now I shan't be peddling any higher,
'Cos a sharp Sputnik has given me a cosmic flat tyre . . ." 
--Dukes of Stratosphear, Bike Ride to the Moon
Dearest Mick--

Chip, my loyal manservant, and I had just returned from the Bilderberg conference in Watford, Hertfordshire (where I completed my presentation on the domination of the world economic markets), when your package arrived via the parcel post. Chip popped the cork on a bottle of 1961 Chateau Palmer Margaux and then we perused your boxful of books.

I must admit that I have become an old sentimental fool at times, and the Saki title, The Unrest-cure and Other Stories (9781590176245) 14.95 brought a tear to my eye. Alas, I served with George in The Great War, and he was one of the many young lads who fell fighting the Boche on the muddy fields of France. His book has never been released on your side of the pond before, and it features the original illustrations by Edward Gorey. I could pontificate for hours on the many virtues of my late friend Eddie, but I will save those for my memoirs.

When you have lived as long as me, the names of friends appear more and more frequently in the obituaries, which is the case for my former student Richard Matheson. Richard passed away this past Sunday at the age of 87. You may be unaware that I was the inspiration for his classic episode of the Twilight Zone, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. Of course, he is more well-known for I am Legend (9780765357151) 7.99 and the Mackinac Island based Somewhere in Time (9780765361394) 6.99, which were both made into movies. I swear there was something on the wing of that airplane.


I spoke with Vicki Erwin, the owner of Main Street Books, on the speaking telegraph last week, and she mentioned her husband James had written a new title called Guerrilla Hunters in Civil War Missouri (9781609497453) 19.99. And lo and behold, there was a copy of it in your gift box. Coincidentally, my paternal grandfather served with the Ninth Missouri Cavalry during the Civil War, and he helped chase Johnny Reb up and down the great state of Missouri. His cavalry sword still hangs above my fireplace.


Speaking of Missouri, I found Kenneth Kieser's Missouri's Great Flood of '93 (9780989481311) 24.95 to be a riveting read. In fact, Charles Edmund Wilson II almost drowned in the Great Missouri Flood of 1851. He couldn't swim, but fortunately, he was able to hitch a ride on his outhouse door and ground ashore several miles down the river. True story.


Warmest Regards,

Charles Edmund Wilson III



Odds & Sods

Apparently, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Sunday night. We are carrying two titles to commemorate this auspicious event. Triumph is pushing out Unstoppable: The Chicago Blackhawks 2013 (9781600788918) 14.95 and Random House has The Year of the Chicago Blackhawks (9780771051357) 19.99 slated to arrive within days. Humph . . .


Becky, our indefatigable children's buyer has brought in two nifty kits for summer fun. A Walk on the Beach (9781935703242) 19.99 & A Walk in the Woods (9781935703235) 19.99 will keep them out of your hair for a bit . . .