Thursday, October 30, 2014

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"While I am writing, I am far away;
And when I come back, I've gone . . ."
                                                    --Pablo Neruda

DROWNING IN A DELUGE OF HOLIDAY BOOKS
 
  Water and I have an uneasy relationship at best.  Books and I, however, have long been fast friends.  Although, as my wife will attest, perhaps, I have too many friends.  There's just not enough room in our house for them to sleep comfortably.  But I'm working on it.  So as you can imagine, as I see the big name and lesser named author releases start to roll in for the holiday season, there is a bit of hand-wringing on my part and apprehension on hers.
  Presumably, this fixation on friendship would lead me to man's best friend, which is typified by a beautiful new photographic collection by Lara Jo Regan, Dogs In Cars (9781581572797) 19.95.  When it comes to visions, there is nothing more iconic than one of our canine friends head sticking out of a car or truck window with their tongues lolling in the breeze.  And this book does it justice.


  Speaking of dog whistle politics, when Michael Savage is lecturing us on states' rights or voter fraud, we all know who he's really talking about.  So it should come as no surprise that his book Stop The Coming Civil War (9781455582433) 26.00 should appeal to a certain segment of the American population.  It should also come as no surprise that a group so concerned with conspiracy theories is convinced that bookstores are conspiring against them by selling out of his book.  To alleviate their 'concerns', we now have his book back in stock, too.


  Speaking of a Napoleon complex, we have a new biography by Andrew Roberts called Napoleon: A Life (9780670025329) 45.00.  Both economically and militarily, Napoleonic France is considered the first example of an entire nation at war.  It's a good primer on what happens to a country obsessed with lionizing its soldiers and its need to lurch from one war to another to justify it's ever expanding military budget.  It's a good thing we don't have a nation like that today . . .


  . . . Or do we?  New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner James Risen has chosen to investigate the rise of the terrorist-industrial complex in his latest title, Pay Any Price (9780544341418) 28.00.  My favorite story is the skids of $100 bills we airlifted to Iraq right after the war began, which we were told would 'help' to jump- start their economy.  Apparently, out of the $20 billion we sent, we can't account for almost $11.7 billion of it.  Strike that.  In actuality, we know that $2 billion are in Lebanon, but they are so small potatoes to our military that they just don't believe it's worth the trouble.  As you can see, the business of fear is very, very lucrative.


Speaking of fear, I've waited 15 years for another of Anne Rice's Lestat books, and she has finally rewarded fans with Prince Lestat (9780307962522) 28.95.  The reviews have been less than overwhelming, but I would love to join Lestat for one more nostalgic romp down memory lane.  Beware the Devil . . .        


Odds & Sods

Mena, the owner of our best hometown bakery, Roma's Bakey, Deli, & Fine Foods has decided to  share her family recipes in the upcoming Cooking With Mena (9780692292594) 24.95. Her kickoff party at her store is on November 15, so we should have our copies shortly before that.  We already have a few backorders, so order accordingly . . .



Speaking of cookbooks, Ina Garten aka 'The Barefoot Contessa' has one of the few that will sell this upcoming season.  Her latest is Make It Ahead (9780307464880) 35.00 and it should be no exception.  'Rachael, oh Rachael, where art thou?'

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