*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"Rainy day,
dream away
Ah let the sun
take a holiday
Flowers bathe
an' ah see the children play
Lay back and
groove on a rainy day . . ."
--Jimi Hendrix, Rainy
Day, Dream Away
1) WAIT UNTIL
TOMORROW . . .
Poetry. Sweet, sweet poetry. It's not even National Poetry Month
and there are a couple of poets on the bestseller lists. There are three
poets that actually sell well: Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, and Seamus
Heaney. And Seamus Haney is dead. [Julie mentioned that our own
Joyce Benvenuto, author of A Grand River (9781933272320) 15.95 could
replace Mr. Heaney on my list, but we'll check back when she has a more
extensive body of work.] Fortunately for poetry lovers, Mary Oliver has
released Dog Songs (9781594204784) 26.95 and Billy Collins is featuring
his collection of greatest hits in Aimless Love (9780679644057).
[Not only is Aimless Love a brilliant title, but I believe it would make
a great name for a rock band. Protip: Women really dig his poem The
Lanyard.] I expect both of these titles to continue popping through
the holidays. Poetry is the gift that keeps giving . . .
2) CASTLES MADE OF SAND . .
. Well, I'm sure you've heard the kerfuffle novelist MacKenzie
Bezos has created with her book review of Brad Stone's The Everything Store
(9780316219266) 28.00 on her husband's Amazon.com website. Most other
reviews I've read were impressed with Mr. Stone's even-handed portrayal of the
behind the scenes machinations at the online behemoth. Not so for Ms.
Bezos. She is not happy. You can read her scathing response on his
bookpage on Amazon.com under the header: I wanted to like this book.
Oh snap! Unfortunately, Ms. Bezos is unaware of a thing we call the
'Streisand effect' or what I like to call the 'Satanic Verses effect'.
Even negative publicity is better than no publicity, and consequently, Ms.
Bezos has drawn even more attention to a book that probably would have already
left our consciousness if she had left well enough alone. Instead, it has
shot up to #82 on Amazon's own bestseller list. [As an aside, both
articles I read emphasized the fact that she is a novelist. I had to do a
little research and I found her first title is a bargain book and her second
book Traps (9780307950291) 14.95 just came out yesterday as a Vintage
tradepaper. Hmmm, maybe she's a bit more clever than I realized.]
3) IF 6 WERE 9 . . . It
seems fitting to cap off this Partners Page with another wonderful poetry book
from the fine folks at Western Michigan University. Poetry in Michigan
/ Michigan in Poetry (9781936970162) 40.00 edited by William Olsen and Jack
Bell is so well done that the amalgamation of authors in here might qualify as
the third author in my triumvirate of bestselling poets (see above). By
the way, Literarti Books in Ann Arbor will be hosting an event with many of
these poets on December 4 at 7:00. Don't forget your beret . . .
Odds
& Sods
Flyfisher
extraordinaire Bob Linsenman has written his first novel, Snowblood's
Journal (9781933926018) 19.95 It is the story of American soldier
scout dog handlers during the Vietnam War. The bonds between man and dog
can last a lifetime. It reminded me of the same kind of connection
as George C. Scott and his charges in The Day of the Dolphin . . .
My main man
Michael Baisden is back! Granted, the title of his new self-help book, Raise
Your Hand If You Have Issues: If You Didn't Raise Your Hand You're Lying and
That's an Issue (9780984776580) 22.95 is a bit unwieldy, but it's TV show
host Michael Baisden so we're good.
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