Ye Olde Partners
Page
*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"They can
keep their Heaven.
When I die, I'd
sooner go to Middle Earth . . ."
--George
R.R. Martin
1) A GAME OF
THRONES . . . One thing the late David Foster Wallace and I had in
common is our addiction to television. As he once said, "It's
more like it, [TV 's] got to do with this -- here's this easy, passive,
I-can-feel-like-other-people-are-in-the-room, but I don't really have to do
anything." I know what he means. It's addictive. I
have to watch every episode of every show that I get started on. Right
now, my wife has me hooked on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander (9780440212560)
9.99 on Starz. It's a Scottish version of Game of Thrones and the
show runner is Ronald D. Moore, who was the showrunner for the re-boot of Battlestar
Galactica and Carnivale. Since those are probably two of my
all-time favourite shows, Aubrey didn't have a hard time selling Outlander to
me. I've also hunkered down with Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis in Hilary
Mantel and PBS's Wolf Hall (9781250077585) 16.00. Mr. Rylance is
brilliant as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as King Henry VII. It's
sort of a Game of Thrones-lite without the gratitous violence and nudity
but with the requisite political intrigue. I like to think it's 'smart'
TV. Whereas with George R.R. Martin's A Game Of Thrones (9780553386790)
18.00, I believe my justification is that since I read the novels, I need to
watch the HBO series, and thus, I can say annoying things like, 'Well, it was
different in the book' or 'That's not how I imagined it.' You know it's
the same thing we did with Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Nobody really likes that guy . . .
2) A CLASH OF KINGS . .
. Speaking of television, Dana Perino, who was formerly the press
secretary for George W. Bush and is currently a Fox News talking head has
released her memoir on the grand old days of the Bush administration. It is
entitled And The Good News Is . . . (9781455584901) 26.00. This is
the same Dana Perino who said without a trace of irony on national TV, "We
did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's
term." Seriously? If she can get such a fundemental fact
like that wrong, how can I believe anything in her book? Needless to say,
this hasn't stopped it from becoming a huge bestseller amongst the Conservative
crowd. Just tell me what I want to hear . . .
3)
A FEAST FOR CROWS . . . Don't get me wrong, I still read, but
mostly on my breaks or during my lunch at work. I have found Mary Norris'
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen (9780393240184) 24.95
to be nearly un-put-downable. Not only am I learning interesting
idiosyncrasies about the English language (and there are many), but Ms. Norris
has a wonderful and engaging voice. In fact, I find it amazing that this
is her first book. Her stories about pronouns and her transgendered
younger brother were hilarious. I hope with the success of this title
that we will be hearing more from her in the future . . .
Odds
& Sods
Mother's Day is
right around the corner and I'm happy to announce that we will have copies of
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Pioneer Girl (9780984504176) 39.95 in
tomorrow. As I'm sure you are well aware, the availability has been
sporadic at best on this title. Get yours before they're gone . . .
Our good friend
Neal Samors and his co-author Christopher Lynch are back with a new title, Now
Arriving: Traveling To and From Chicago by Air -- 90 Years of Flight (9780996141703)
39.50. This is obviously a must-have title for stores in the Chicagoland
area . . .
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