*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"Socialism
never took root in America because the poor see themselves
not as an
exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires . . ."
--John
Steinbeck
Dearest Mick--
I have decided to throw my hat in
the ring as a presidential candidate for the Grand Old Party. Chip, my
loyal manservant, and I had just returned from meeting with my lawyer and our
exploratory committee in New York, when we found your package delivered
courtesy of the parcel post. Mick, I can already see you making an
obscene hand gesture and rolling your eyes, but hang on a moment and listen to
my argument. People like Donald Trump because he is rich and he is not
afraid to offend people. I buy and sell Donald Trumps daily and I can
offend people so well that I make Don Rickles look like a choir boy.
Sounds like presidential timber to me.
The other likely candidate for
the upcoming election is Hillary. Her strength seems to be that she is
unlikeable. (And I have that in spades.) In fact, Ed Klein is back
to do a hatchet job on Ms. Clinton with his new title Unlikeable (9781621573784)
29.99. As for your hippie Bernie Sanders, Americans do not want the
government to actually help them. They want their America to be the beach
bully in the Charles Atlas commercials -- an America that will kick sand in the
face of every country and dare them to do something about it.
As for your books, I was excited
to see the new Jack Reacher novel, Make Me (9780804178778) 28.99 by Lee
Child in your box. Jack Reacher reminds me of my good friend James T.
West, who was immortalized in the TV show Wild Wild West. If you are
looking for a donut shop, call a cop -- if you want your crime solved, call
Jack Reacher.
I see you have also sent a copy
of Brian Selznick's new work The Marvels (9780545448680) 23.99, which is
perfect for children from 9 to 100 years old. You may not know this, but
I grew up with his grandfather's cousin David O. Selznick, who asked me many
years ago if he should take a chance on a movie based on a book by a first-time
author named Margaret Mitchell. The rest, as they say, is history.
Finally, Chip was excited to get
his hands on the Guinness World Records 2016 (9781910561027)
28.95. You may be unaware that I have twelve different entries in the
current Guinness Book. [Ed. note: I am well aware.] But I
will not bore you with that right now. I have a presidential campaign to
launch. And I am still trying to unearth my birth certificate. As
always, thank you so much for the books, hockey puck.
Warmest Regards,
Sir Charles
Edmund Wilson III
Odds
& Sods
I was excited to
get my hands on the new China Mieville short story collection, Three Moments
of an Explosion (9781101884720) 27.00. There is nobody better than
Mr. Mieville in the sci-fi / fantasy genre right now. It is next on my
docket after I finish Jeff Vandermeer's Area X (9780374261177) 35.00,
which is also known as the Southern Reach trilogy . . .
I just finished Ron Geesin's book about
his collaboration with Pink Floyd on the album 'Atom Heart Mother' called The
Flaming Cow (9780752486154) 29.95. The foreward was by Pink Floyd
drummer Nick Mason. Maybe Steve Hamilton does need to write a book on
Nick . . .
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