Ye Olde Partners Page

Ye Olde Partners Page

*A Collection of Antiquarian Curios & Relics*

"They don't notice there's people like me,

Write lightly, yours truly, dear diary . . ."

                                                --Dear Diary, Ray Thomas

Dear Diary--                                                                           Thursday, July 2

  For my vacation, I flew into Naples to visit my Great-Uncle Sir Charles Edmund Wilson III.  His loyal manservant Chip helped me haul my baggage into what he jokingly calls the presidential suite.  It has several Monets and a Van Gogh painting on the wall as well as a nice master bathroom.  The grounds have five different species of mango trees, which I don't believe are indigenous to southern Italy.  There are also roving packs of adorable golden tamarins imported from South America frolicking amongst the trees.  Maybe they're bands?  Or are they troops?  I'm sticking with packs.  After I put on my dinner jacket, I joined them downstairs for supper and Uncle Charles suggested we crack open a bottle of Chateau Margaux 2009 Balthazar.  The topic of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman (9780062409850) 27.99, which releases next Tuesday, came up, and of course, Uncle Charles went on a long tangent about how he and his friend Truman Capote assisted in writing To Kill a Mockingbird (9780446310789) 8.99.  There were also a series of boring stories about Gregory Peck.  We finished the bottle of wine and went to bed.

 

Dear Diary--                                                                           Friday, July 3

  I slept soundly, perhaps, too soundly.  Apparently, during the night, the pack of golden tamarins struck.  My suitcases were ripped apart, and my clothes and toiletries were strewn throughout my room and balcony.  They also deposited a copious amount of rodent-like feces inside my shoes.  When I went down for breakfast, I was surprised to see Milan Kundera, author of The Festival of Insignificance (9780062356895) 23.99 digging into a grapefruit at the breakfast table.  Why does it always have to be intellectuals?  Why couldn't it be someone like Holly Madison, who wrote Down The Rabbit Hole (9780062372109) 25.99?  Heck, I'd even settle for Dolly Madison.  With my limited knowledge of French, I gleaned from their conversation that Mr. Kundera was on a book signing tour and had just stopped by to visit.  Trying to sound relevant, I mentioned how outstanding I found Stewart James' new collection of short stories, Writing With Hemingway At City Park Grill (9780988501157) 24.95.  As soon as the word 'Hemingway' left my mouth, I knew I was doomed to regret it.  Uncle Charles, of course, taught Ernest to fish at Walloon Lake when he was a youngster.  Later they were inseparable as journalists in the Spanish Civil War and WWII.  Alas, there is no escape from his anecdotes.  Help!  He talked and talked and I finally went to bed.   

  

Odds & Sods

Good news for the Land of 10,000 Lakes!  Kevin Revolinski's Minnesota's Best Beer Guide (9781933272535) 16.95 has finally arrived.  From the man who brought you Wisconsin's Best Beer Guide (9781933272344) 16.95 and Michigan's Best Beer Guide (9781933272382) 16.95, and as painful as it must sound, Kevin has researched first-hand every brewery in Minnesota.  It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it . . .

  

In other exciting news, the long awaited Thunder Bay Press catalog is now available upon request.  Partners carries all Thunder Bay Press titles.  By the way, it's real . . . and it's spectacular!