*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"Everywhere
I go I'm asked if the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they
don't stifle
enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been
prevented if
they had a good teacher . . ."
--Flannery
O'Connor
Dearest Mick--
As a pip, Chip, my loyal
manservant, had ventured onto the intrawebs and purchased a bottle of White
Silk 2012, which the label claims was inspired by E.L. James' Fifty Shades
of Grey (9780345803481) 15.95. It also states, '[Our wine offers]
floral aromatics of lychee, honey and pear tempered by flavours of grapefruit
with a faint hint of butterscotch.' Humph. I should have reined in
my enthusiasm, but being the intrepid explorer that I am, I instead thumbed my
nose at good sense, and apprehensively put glass to lips. It did not end
well. In fact, Chip is still attempting to remove wine stains from our
lampshades, our Plume Blanche Diamond Encrusted sofa, and any other furnishings
that were in my immediate field of fire.
So when your package
arrived via the parcel post, Chip and I certainly welcomed the diversion.
On one hand, I was initially shocked by the premise of Steve Luxenberg's Annie's
Ghosts (9781401310196) 15.99, but I will admit that mental health issues
were treated quite differently in my youth. On the other hand, I am
pleased that the Michigan Humanities Council has chosen it as the Great
Michigan Read for this year. Point of interest, I was knighted by the
Grand Duke of Luxenbourg for saving his life during an avalanche in the French
Alps in the 1950s.
Ten years ago, my friend Mary
Casanova wrote the now classic One Dog Canoe (9780374356385) 17.99, so I
was pleased as punch that you included her new companion volume, One Dog
Sleigh (9780374356392) 16.99. I am glad that I mentioned our
storytime at a nearby fountain with the youngsters of Napoli and this title is
definitely apropos. Also, much like Moliere, Chip has quite a penchant
for miming along with the stories, and it needed to be encouraged.
I also noticed that you snuck in
one of your liberal polemics, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privitization
Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools (9780385350884) 27.95
by Diane Ravitch into the box. Well played. Fortunately, I attended
the Deerfield Academy.
("Chip, how many times
have I told you not to use $20 dollar bills to light the fire in the
fireplace? Use the $100 dollar bills! They are not as combustible
and they are much better as kindling!")
As always, I would like to thank
you for the care
package.
Warmest Regards,
Charles Edmund Wilson III
Odds
& Sods
Mark Twain, my
second favourite cantankerous author has a new release, The Autobiography of
Mark Twain Voume II (9780520272781) 45.00. You may recall that two
years ago his first volume sold like gangbusters; I don't expect this one to do
much worse . . .
Stephen Hawking,
who was the original Hoverround guy and a world reknowned physicist to boot,
shares his memories and the genesis of his seminal work, A Brief History of
Time (9780553380163) 18.00 in his new autobiography, My Brief History (9780345535283)
22.00. His nickname in college was Einstein. Go figure . . .
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