*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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