Ye Olde Partners Page

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

" 'The Man in the High Castle is one of [Philip K.] Dick's most imaginative

and captivating works, and certainly one of my favourites . . ."

                                    --Ridley Scott

1)  A GOOD YEAR . . .  Mrs. Mick and I went to see Jurassic World over the weekend, and if you like dinosaurs and Chris Pratt (and I like both), it was well worth the $21.50 we spent on two 3D tickets.  I had my Archimedes' Eureka! moment as I watched the upcoming movie trailers.  Of course, we weren't in the bathtub like the Greek mathematician, but I have to admit the faux leather lounge seats at the theatre were almost as comfortable.  Someone recently questioned me why there was a huge sales bump in The Martian (9780553418026) 15.00 by Andy Weir.  And there it was on the big screen -- the trailer for the Matt Damon movie.  Eureka!  Mrs. Mick's response, "Why is Matt Damon always stranded in space?"  (We just watched Interstellar.)  I'm sure I said something insightful like, "Yeah, that's just what he does."  By the way, the sales on Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park (9780345538987) 9.99 have picked up, too.

 

2)  KINGDOM OF HEAVEN . . .  We were saddened to learn that James Salter passed away earlier this week.  A writer's writer, he wrote well whether it was poetry, short stories, screenplays, memoirs or novels.  His most recent novel was All That Is (9781400078424) 15.95.  I was watching an old Charlie Rose the other day, and the author he had on (whose name eludes me) said that writing is basically a series of choices.  Whether it was word choices or sentence structure choices, Mr. Salter always chose the right one.  Coincidentally, I finished Mary Norris' Between You & Me (9780393240184) 24.95, which is a great book if you're interested in punctuation or the history of pencil making (I know, I know, why not both?), and one of her first acknowledgments is to James Salter, who allowed her to use their correspondence in her book.  Ms. Norris is impeccable in her writing choices.  Me?  Not so much.  I am not a 'ruggedly handsome landscape architect,' but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.  As Jill pointed out when I referenced Elin Hilderbrand's The Rumor (9780316334525) 28.00, I made a poor choice when I said, '[It] would appeal to romance readers.'  Jill's suggestion of 'women's fiction' was a more apt description, and after hearing her well-reasoned argument, I agreed.  I am not a presidential candidate; I have no problem admitting when I make mistakes . . .

  

3)  SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME . . .  A new title Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget (9781455554591) 26.00 by Sarah Hepola has been getting some buzz.  ( I don't know about you, but when I saw her name and what the book was about, I was immediately reminded of the Winnie-the-Pooh dream sequence with Heffalumps and Woozles.)  I have some words of advice for Ms. Hepola, you really don't want to know what you did when you blacked out.

Odds & Sods

This time of year people ask me questions like, "Hey Mick, what are the hot Great Lakes ship titles right now?"  And I'd respond, "Well, Bob Campbell's Classic Ships of the Great Lakes (9781933272504) 24.95 has been selling.  The new 40th Anniversary of Frederick Stonehouse's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (9781892384737) 17.95 will continue to sell through November.  And finally, Know Your Ships 2015 (9781891849206) 18.95 has been moving faster than any time in recent memory . . ."

  

 I saw an ad yesterday which said,  'Discover Ideal (9780451473172) 16.00-- Ayn Rand's lost novel.'  And I thought, 'How about No?'

B. TRAVEN JR.

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

" Up above, Aliens hover,

Making home movies for the folks back home . . ."

                                        --Radiohead, Subterranean Homesick Alien

B. TRAVEN JR. -- CONSPIRACY THEORIST AT LARGE

  B. Traven Jr. here.  I wanted to say a few words before we get into my introduction for the latest episode of my History Channel show, A Question of Conspiracy.  I was saddened to learn my good friend Christopher Lee passed away last week.  There was no better companion to have with me on our many capers.  Not only was he a world class fencing expert, fluent in six languages, a WWII hero, and a brilliant actor, he was a dear, dear friend.  From Dracula to Sherlock Holmes, he took iconic characters and put his own unique spin on them in his roles.  There is a good summation of his career here (and, as a warning, there is some colorful language on the site):  www.badassoftheweek.com/christopherlee.html .  He accomplished more in one lifetime than I have in three lifetimes.  Ha, ha!

  After the flood in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia in the former Soviet Union, had inadvertently allowed most of their zoo to be released into the general populace, some people are questioning whether James Patterson had a hand in it.  Could this just be more publicity for his new TV series based on his book, Zoo (9781455591237) 8.00?  We'll have more after this commercial message.

**********************Paid Advertisement************************

B. Traven Jr. here.  If you've watched my show, you know I live on a steady diet of chipotle and rumor.  So to say I was merely intrigued with the new title, The Rumor (9780316334525) 28.00 by Elin Hilderbrand, would be an understatement.  Unfortunately, this book is not filled with half-baked conspiracy theories, but instead, a healthy dose of upper class romance.  With phrases like 'ruggedly handsome landscape architect' and 'successful island real estate developer', it will appeal to romance readers and Mrs. B. Traven Jr.  It is available at all fine bookstores.

***************************************************************

  

  Welcome back!  Sometimes, I am proud to say, we are able to debunk suspect conspiracy theories.  The fine folks at The Soup have asserted that in E.L. James' new title Grey (9781101946343) 15.95, which is the story of Fifty Shades of Grey (9780345803481) 15.95 told from Christian's perspective, that the author merely switched the 'he' in the text to 'I' and the 'I' to 'she'.  Our due diligence crew has been, er, tied up with this one for the past several days and they say that this is patently false.  Ha, ha!

  Next week, we will examine how many more characters can be killed on the TV show A Game of Thrones (9780553593716) 9.99 by George R.R. Martin before there are no characters left to kill.  Until then 'Keep on Questioning!'

  

Odds & Sods

Our favourite Labrador Retriever is back in his sixth installment in Tyler Benson's series, 'The Adventures of Onyx.'  In The Battle of the Bay Class Dogs (9780989284653) 14.99, Onyx may have met his match with a new Coast Guard morale dog called Remi.  This series is a 'must' for any bookstore along the Third Coast . . .

 It's not Jorge nor Victor, but Marco Borges who has the hit the latest bestseller lists with his new tome, The 22 Day Revolution (9780451474841) 27.95.  We received more stock today.  Endorsed by Beyonce -- Let the revolution commence!

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

" Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away,

Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air . . ."

                                               --Roger Waters, Sheep

1)  GRANTCHESTER MEADOWS . . .  At first, I thought that James Rebanks' Shepherd's Life (9781250060242) 25.99 might be a memoir by several of my co-workers, but instead, it is actually a book about raising sheep in northern England.  I guess there is truth in advertising.  This is not shepherding in the Aesop fable or biblical sense; this is a family-owned farm with a healthy dose of modern technology.  Originally a daily blog, it has been codified into chapters by topic.  As Helen MacDonald, the author of H is for Hawk (9780802123411) 26.00 said, "It's bloody marvelous."  We have sold out on our first batch, but we should have more in stock shortly . . .

 

2)  A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS . . .Compared to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (9780307588371) 15.00 and Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train (9781594633669) 26.95, Jessica Knoll's Luckiest Girl Alive (9781476789637) 25.00 has been getting a lot of buzz.  Throw in the fact that Lionsgate Films has already bought the movie rights and tapped Reese Witherspoon to produce, and I would not be surprised to see this one turn into a nationwide blockbuster.  We have just received more stock today.  The rumor that this is the name of Mrs. Mick's autobiography has proven to be unfounded . . .

  

3)  FEARLESS . . .  Speaking of movies, I finally had to look on-line to to find out why everyone is interested in Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (9781419719608) 9.95.  First of all, this movie, which releases Friday, was the darling of the Sundance Festival, where it won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize.  Secondly the the reviews have been uniformly positive.  Thirdly, according to the glowing review in USA Today, it is being hailed as more than just another teen movie.  There is also some controversy with the cover.  Some people really dislike the movie cover and prefer the original.  I won't name names.  However, just in case, that ISBN for the movie tie-in is (9781419719462) 9.95.  This could be the next Fault in Our Stars . . .  

 

4)  YOUNG LUST . . .  Supposedly, a finished copy of E.L. James' Grey (9781101946343) 15.95 has been stolen in Kent, England, before its June 18 release date.  The Kent police have been making inquiries.  Sgt. Pepper of Scotland Yard was asked if there were any leads.  He laughed and said, "Leads, yeah, sure.  I'll just check with the boys down at the crime lab; they've got four more detectives working on the case.  They got us working in shifts!"  Shaking his head, he laughs again, "Leads!"1  The publicity machine grinds ever onward . . .

  

1  Quote from the movie The Big Lebowski

Odds & Sods

Melissa de la Cruz has generally been a solid author for teen books, so I was a little baffled as to why her latest title, Isle of the Lost (9781484720974) 17.99, has been so huge.  I scoured the internet, and it turns out that this is the prequel to the Disney Channel original movie 'Descendants.'  It's hard keeping up with the kids these days . . .

When I was a young adult, we played 'The Legend of Zelda' and we liked it.  Now, we have a graphic novel with all the original artwork by Shotaro Ishinomori called The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (9781421575414) 19.99.  It really brought back some memories.

Ye Olde Partners Page

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

" It took a long, long, long time

Now I'm so happy I found you . . ."

                                               --George Harrison, Long, Long, Long

1)  SEXY SADIE . . .  Just when you thought June was going to be boring, E. L. James of Fifty Shades of Grey fame comes along and screws it up for everyone.  And I mean that jokingly; her new book should give us a blockbuster that will make June's sales tough to beat. The new one will be called Grey (9781101946343)  15.95 and it will tell the Fifty Shades story from the perspective of Christian Grey.  Not so coincidentally, it releases on Christian's birthday, June 18.  Uh-oh, it looks like Home Depot better start stocking up on duct tape, chains, and rope again.  "We need more Calgon!"  Also, as a reminder, we are lucky to have another blockbuster for July, when Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman (9780062409850) 27.99, which is the long anticipated prequel to To Kill A Mockingbird (9780446310789) 8.99, releases on July 14.  Let the book selling begin . . .

 

 2)  THE CONTINUING STORY OF BUNGALOW BILL . . .  Bill O'Reilly has found a niche.  It's questionable whether it's a necessary niche, but nevertheless, it's his niche.  Bill's new children's title Hitler's Last Days (9781627793964) 19.99 will be available on Tuesday.  No, that's not a typo.  This is really a kid's book on Hitler.  Rumor has it that Bill claimed to be listening at Joseph Goebbel's bunker door as he and his wife Magda poisoned their six children.  He says he remembers jockeying for position with Brian Williams at the bulletproof barrier.  Also, the title of the latest entry in Bill's Killing series has been announced and it will be called Killing Reagan (9781627792417) 30.00.  I feared that Ronnie had become a zombie after the John Hinkley attempt on his life.  Apparently, the former President hadn't survived and Bill has the proof to back it up.  "Reagan smash!"

 

 3)  DON'T PASS ME BY . . .  The way things are going, it won't be long before we have a new book category:  The YouTube Sensation. After the success of  Shane Dawson's I Hate Myselfie (9781476791548) 16.00, publishers have been scrambling to find their own YouTube stars to herald as the next big thing.  In rapid succession, we've had Connor Franta's Work In Progress (9781476791616) 16.99.  Joey Graceffa, he of the dreamy eyes, and his new book is In Real Life (9781476794303) 16.00.  Much like Connor's book, Joey's book seems to be a lot about their own and others acceptance of their homosexuality.  The most recent title in this genre, Mamrie Hart's You Deserve A Drink (9780142181676) 16.00 highlights her funny stories, but each one also has a recipe for one of her favourite drinks, so it's both entertaining and useful.  The forward is by Grace Helbig, who may have started this whole internet movement with her title, Grace's Guide (9781476788005) 17.99.  Man, do I feel old . . . 

  

 

Odds & Sods

Back before Charlie Sheen lost his mind, he starred in the greatest baseball comedy movie of all-time, 'Major League.'  It was the story of a bunch of baseball misfits who took the lowly Cleveland Indians straight to the top.  And now to commemorate this Cleveland classic (and just in time for Father's Day), Jonathan Knight has written The Making of Major League (9781938441646) 15.95.  "Wild Thing, I think I love you . . ."

M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson's Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes (9780996217309) 40.00 will be arriving here on Thursday or Friday.  Backorders are piling up . . .