Ye Olde Partners
Page
*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"I still
remember the time you said goodbye . . ."
--Jon
Anderson
1) LONG DISTANCE
RUNAROUND . . . Once Harper Lee passed away, it was only a matter of
time until the publisher shenanigans would begin in earnest. For many years, Grand
Central had licensed the mass market edition of To Kill A Mockingbird (9780446310789)
7.99 from Harper Collins. On Monday, we learned that the license will not
be renewed, so there will be no mass market edition available. Much like Ray
Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (9781451673319) 15.99, as soon as the author
dies, the major corporation who holds the copyright will remove the consumer
friendly mass market and saddle readers with the tradepaper edition, which in
many cases is much more expensive. In Mr. Bradbury's case, ironically,
the author prevented the mass market edition from being removed by the
publisher while he was still alive. So today, after a round of negative
publicity, Harper Collins has announced that it will only be charging $8.99 for
To Kill A Mockingbird (9780060935467) 14.99 in the tradepaper edition to
direct school accounts for a limited time. How limited? The publisher is
saying that like any sales promotion they 'will evaluate it on a ongoing
basis.' Or in other words, they will wait until no one is paying attention and
then jack the price back up again . . .
2) SOUTH SIDE OF THE SKY . .
. With the popularity of comic books, er, graphic novels, I guess
it was just a matter of time until the Baby Boomers resurrected their childhood
love of coloring books, too. From Hachette, we have received their
version of the Colored Pencils Set (9780735346994) 13.99. It has
24 colored pencils in a nice box. We have also received a couple of new,
inexpensive coloring books from Rebecca Jones; The Coloring Book of Cards
and Envelopes: Flowers and Butterflies (9780763692445) 10.99 and The
Coloring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature (9780763692452) 10.99.
As a bonus, you can color the cards as well as the envelopes. I guess I
can cross that one off my bucket list . . .
3) 5 PERCENT FOR NOTHING . .
. Finally, Bob Mehr has told the real story behind one of the
most underrated bands of all time (and that is not hyperbole) in his new book, Trouble
Boys (9780306818790) 27.50. My friend Dennis turned me on to The
Replacements many moons ago and they have become one of my favourites.
Over the years, I have heard second hand about their legendary drinking
habits. For example, one of my friends saw them perform live twice; she
said the first concert was one of the best shows she'd ever seen, but they were
so drunk the second time she saw them that she wanted her money back. I
always thought they should have been bigger than they were, but between their
alcoholism and their total lack of business acumen -- which is shown in this
book with warts and all -- they really never had a chance. Long Live The
'Mats!
Odds
& Sods
"Come out
and see the Tigers, everybody!" Baseball season is right around the
corner and what better way to celebrate than purchasing a copy of William
Anderson's The Detroit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest
Players and Moments, 5th Edition (9780814341575) 39.99. With their
acquisitions and if everyone stays healthy, it looks like the Tigers can make
one more run at the World Series this upcoming season. Also, at this price, it
truly is a bargain . . .
We would like to
wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Stay safe and be careful out
there on the roads tonight . . .
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