Halloween

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

Ah, Boston in November. The surf, the sun, the palm trees...oops, wrong mental image. Let's start over.

Ah, Boston in November. Cold winds off the harbor, brittle leaves leaves sweeping down historic streets, books waiting to be bought by eager bookies. Next month the 32nd Annual Boston Book Fair will be held at the Hynes Convention Center for any of you bookies who figure rare books are a better investment that stocks right now. A huge book fair, what's not to love?

http://www.news-antique.com/?id=785393&keys=antiquarian-books-boston-literary

*** Yesterday we here at BBG headquarters brought you the news of the oldest Hebrew text ever discovered. (Hundreds of you wrote in wondering what that has to do with books. Well, written text is written text, where it's five lines or five hundred pages) This was and will remain major news and today's link has some really nice photos from AOL.

http://news.aol.com/article/israeli-archaeologists-find-ancient-text/233027?icid=100214839x1212506023x1200749390

*** Anne Rice is furthering her efforts to promote Christianity with a new memoir. For those who closely read her vampire novels her background in Christian beliefs is obvious, even if she has back-burnered it for a while. I strongly suspect this will be a very interesting read.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081030/ap_en_ot/books_anne_rice

*** Dutton has just signed crime writer Harlan Coben to a three book deal, no doubt for enough money to retire the national debt. (And that's great, by the way. Authors are almost always underpaid) Now, for those who don't know the story, I no longer read this author. For one thing, I'm just not into reading the same book over and over again, although if that's the sort of thing you like Coben does it as well as it can be done. But there is another reason I will not read this writer and my friends on AOL know the story. I won't go into that here except to give some advice: never, ever tell this writer that you don't like one of his books. Or even write that on a message board, where a snitch is waiting to tattle. It doesn't matter if you love every other book he has written (and of the dozen or so I did read, I loved 11 of them), you are not allowed to dislike even one. So beware, lest the wrath fall upon you.

*** Reuters reports that Sandra Brown has just finished her 71st novel. While not up to Robert J. Randisi type numbers, that's still awfully prolific.

*** Obituary: The New York Times reports that William Wharton, author of the critically acclaimed Birdy, has died at age 82, in Encenitas, CA.

As October comes to an end, it reminds me that I forgot to re-read one of my all-time favorite novels, A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. If you haven't read this one, dig up a copy and do so. The protagonist is Jack the Ripper's dog and it's Zelazny at his finest. Sure, I love his classics as much (or more) than anyone, Amber, of course, Lord of Light, et al. But for sheer fun none of that compares to October. Do yourself a favor and read it. Or re-read it.

Back in action

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

First, on a personal level, I'm sorry that I haven't been on top of this blog for the last week or so. My last uncle died Thursday and we have been saying goodbye. He was of that generation that won World War II and served his country for 34 years, was a gourmet cook, grew his own vegetables, fished...well, the Greatest Generation. We're going to miss men such as he.

*** And now, on to book news! If you own a Brick & Mortar bookstore, beware. Who knew it was such a dangerous occupation? I mean, come on. The British are supposed to be known for their polite reserve, somebody needs to tell this clod.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/7696215.stm

*** ABEbooks is once again having issues with some of its features that are used by sellers. In particular, sellers are unable to print shipping manifests, making it impossible at the moment to ship their orders. This has happened many times in the past and never lasts long, but is another indication for customers that sometimes a bookseller is dealing with things behind the scenes that cause their orders to ship late.

*** With our never-ending fascination with all things Nazi, in an effort to understand how such a regime could come to power, we have examinations of just about everything that happened before, during and after the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. But new topics are still coming to light and intrepid authors are digging up forgotten but important subjects.

In 1931 Hans Litten prosecuted four Brown Shirts (SA men) for assault and attempted murder. The Weimar Republic may have been a weak democracy but it did have the gears and machinery in place to protect all of its citizens, and there were brave men who stood against the rising tide of violence and tried to impose law and order. Few survived the coming years. This book seems to overplay the actual threat that Hans Litten posed to Hitler and the Nazis, a forgiveable stance that many non-fiction authors take.

http://blog.oup.com/2008/10/crossing-hitler-who-was-hans-litten/

And, since we're talking Nazis again, surely fans of films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (Nazis in 1935 chasing about jungles and looking for artifacts) and The Boys From Brazil (Nazis building an empire in South America) will read this story and understand where the concepts for those movies (and the book of The Boys From Brazil) came from. There really were Nazis mucking about the Amazon basin and promoting its use as a place for expansion.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1080071/The-Boys-Brazil-Nazi-graveyard-discovered-deep-Amazon-rainforest.html

*** Another bookstore is passing into history, this time in Amherst. Your friendly neighborhood BBG never had the pleasure of visiting the store, but he would have if he could have.

http://www.masslive.com/chicopeeholyoke/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-16/122518048565920.xml&coll=1

*** Obituaries: Last Thursday, photo-journalist Alex Rivera, famous for his work covering the Civil Rights Movement, died at age 95 in Durham, N.C. Hal Roth, author of 12 books and an avid sailor who circumnavigated the world three times, died in Easton, MD., after a 2 1/2 year battle with lung cancer. He was 81.

*** I find it very encouraging that in this age of aesthetically bereft non-art such as ebooks, there are still people who go about lovingly making books the way that books have been made for centuries, as crafted objects that are not only beautiful but will stand the test of time. That's just one small part of the 3rd annual New York Art Book Fair, held last weekend, but to me it's quite an important part. Humans in general are losing our ability to make things, to actually construct something the way it has always been done, something with endurance. I find this whole Art Fair most satisfactory.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/56456

*** Remember Joe Eszterhas, screenplay writer for 'Basic Instinct', 'Showgirls' and many other movies? In 2001 he was diagnosed with throat cancer and has been battling the disease ever since. But not alone. His new book, Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith, tells of his re-connection with his Catholic faith and subsequent survival. Living now in Ohio, if you see him watching his kids play Little League, don't be surprised.

*** Yes, like billions of others, I'm a James Bond fan. Not in every shape and form, mind you, Sean Connery has no equal (not even a pretender to the throne) until now, but while I didn't particularly love Roger Moore or the other Bonds, I didn't hate them, either. So if I had the time I think I probably would read Sir Roger's new Bond biography My Word is My Bond. Stuff like this might be thought of as trashy, but then, who cares?

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/10/30/2008-10-30_roger_moore_to_bond_with_readers.html

*** And who knew that the next big thing would be business books? Not me, but such appears to be the case in the wake of the credit crisis/Congressional mis-management of their duties/Bailout/recession. Personally, I like it. Somebody makes money no matter what the economy does, might as well be authors.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1854426,00.html

*** This just in: archaeologists have found the oldest Hebrew text ever unearthed on a pottery shard near the valley where David slew Goliath. preliminary dating puts the age at 3,000 years old and, while it has yet to be fully translated, a few words can be made out.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE49T52620081030?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews&rpc=22&sp=true

A little news for a Monday

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

*** I hate author obituaries but seem them as part of the job. Not only do you lose the essence of what that person is in their private life, but with writers you also lose their public life, that part of their creativity they share with us. Death ends that once and for all. And so today we say goodbye to Tony Hillerman, master of the modern western detective story and creator of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Hillerman but I did correspond with him briefly and he was very kind in his letters. I know I'm saddened today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_tony_hillerman

*** In her latest newsletter, veteran novelist Joan Wolf lets her fans know that her next novel is something quite different, for her, a story of Mary Magdalene, and seemingly a bit less ostentatious treatment than Mary received in The Da Vinci Code. As Joan says in her newsletter, it's interesting how much influence this woman has had, considering she is mentioned only three times in the Bible.

www.joanwolf.com

A note

Bookies, I'll be away for a day or two attending to some family business, but your friendly neighborhood bookseller won't be gone long! Please keep checking back for more thrilling book news and comment.

BBG

Beginning the long fall into Fall

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

Today is gloomy, wet and chilly, the first cold day of this season here in West Tennessee, the type of weather that clogs the old blogging juices and channel's your friendly neighborhood bookseller's already sluggish brain into new culverts and drains, diverting it from its normal obsession with books. So today we start with a story on another obsession, autographs.

*** Dorothy Phillips lost her suit against the Avon & Somerset Police. It seems that her signed photograph of Adolf Hitler was seized in 2006 during a police raid (an illegal one, by the way. She was later award 7500 pounds in compensation) and she claims that it faded while in police custody and lost half its value. Well, maybe, maybe not. Certainly fading could cause that much harm, but without before and after photos how could you know? Anyway, I bring this up because I, too, am an autograph collector and this story brings up the old rule that autograph collectors must be non-political in their hobby. Hitler may have been in the handful of most evil men of the 20th century, but there is no denying his influence on history. To me, however, a much more interesting story would have been how Ms. Phillips came to have the autograph in the first place. Hitler signed photos have never been cheap.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1079707/Pensioner-sues-police-damage-signed-picture-Hitler.html

*** Since BBG is also a baseball fan from way back, he remembers Jose Canseco from his playing days. A big, strong home run hitter with a Barry Bonds complex. Yawn. So when Canseco wrote Juiced, accusing just about every baseball player within living memory of using steroids, it was unimpressive on several levels. First, coming from a washed-up under-achiever it seemed like sour grapes. Second, is sounded mostly untrue. Thirdly, who cared? (Yes, I know much of the world did care, just not me. However, writing about it gave me the chance to switch from third to first person in the same paragraph) Indeed, had the book not been so successful, it would not have made today's blog. But it was, it made huge changes to baseball, thus today's follow up.

So with Juiced a fading memory, the also fading Canseco needed to feed his ego some more and is now publicly regretting the effects of his book. Poor Jose seems to have been mis-understood by his fellow ball-players. Boo-hoo.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2008/10/jose_canseco_regrets_writing_j.html

*** In the season for book awards comes a new Canadian prize for historical writing, cut down to three entries. It goes almost without saying that one will be on Economics, although I like that it's Economics during the Dutch Golden Age (did you know there WAS a Dutch Golden Age?), and one must be about either WW2, Hitler or the Third Reich. In this case, the latter.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/10/22/cundill-shortlist.html

*** On the list of 'books-I've-never-heard-of-but-now-want-to-read' comes John Birmingham's Without Warning. The setup is fairly simple: on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a freak energy wave wipes out the United States homeland, but leaves the army intact in the Middle East. If this were the typical (and boring) 'it's-America's-fault' (what does 'it' mean? Fill in the blank) fantasy I would not be mentioning it. But that does not appear to be the case. The scenario sounds like fun in a brutal, end of the world sort of way.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24495166-5001986,00.html

Poets, Dons and Burros

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

*** Roberto Saviano, whose tale I have been following for a few days now, is leaving Italy. Marked for death by the Neopolitan Mafia for his expose Gomorrah, Saviano has been under 24 hour police protection for 2 years now and apparently enough is enough.

*** As Paul Harvey would say, its' not one world. A Jordanian poet is in jail for insulting Islam by incorporating quotes from the Koran into his poetry. The poet, Islam Samhan, did not have approval of the Jordanian government to publish his book, which appears to be a big no-no in that part of the world. And Jordan is one of the more progressive regimes. On the other hand, there are certain subjects in the West that are equally taboo and can have just as harsh a consequence.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/10/21/jordan-poet-arrest.html

*** And since you are reading the news and comments of your friendly neighborhood bookseller via the internet, here's a timely book from Mafiaboy, the one time hacker who tells us all how to stay safer while doing exactly what you are doing right now. And he should know. In his day, Michael Calce was about as good (or bad) as you can get at your craft, namely, hacking websites.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/10/20/mtl-mafiaboy-cp-1020.html

*** If I had a burro...well, probably not even then. I'm just not that good handling animals with hooves. But I must applaud Luis Soriano for being one good guy!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/19/world/20081020BURRO_index.html

*** The Woman Who Censored Churchill by Ruth Ive. I have to admit that I had never before considered that during World War II the transatlantic cable connecting the USA and the UK needed to be monitored, but obviously that would, in fact, be necessary, to make sure no intelligence was given away, that no one had tapped the cable (pretty unlikely, I admit) and to record what was said. And, since I had never considered the need for this to be done, I had never considered the need for a Ruth Ive. But there she was here she is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1079389/Churchills-secret-girl-THE-WOMAN-WHO-CENSORED-CHURCHILL-Ruth-Ive.html

Of battleships and DeathStars

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

*** In the category of both 'I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it' and 'now-I've-heard-everything', it appears there is a movement afoot to re-float the largest battleship ever built, Imperial Japanese Navy Musashi, and turn it into a tourist attraction. Uh-huh. Now, I'll be the first to admit that if such a thing were ever done I'd be all over seeing it, damn the cost. But come on! Musashi went down on Oct. 24, 1944, in a blizzard of bombs and a school of torpedoes during attacks from Admiral Bill Halsey's mammoth fleet of aircraft carriers. Aside from weighing more than 70,000 tons, how are they going to plug all of the holes and get them much weight to the surface? Are the turrets still attached? Because if you don't lift the main batteries to the surface you won't have much of an attraction. The whole thing sounds like a scam to me. But you be the judge.

And yes, I know it's not book related.

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV20081021138571.html

*** The Tales of Beetle the Bard, J.K. Rowling's latest book, will be released in Scotland on December 4, with all sorts of special editions, collector's editions, non-collector's editions, you name it, scheduled for every nook and cranny in the known world. And one hopes that books such as this will continue spurring young people to read, even if one gets a bit cynical about the marketing end of things.

*** Support is pouring in for Italian anti-Mafia author Robert Saviano, whose expose of organized crime in the Naples area has left him marked for death. It seems the Italian government hasn't been all that excited about protecting him, leading 6 Noble prize winners to sign a petition drive urging the Italian government to keep him alive. Good luck with that. Salman Rushdie says Saviano is in far more danger than he ever was. All he had to endure was a fatwah from some barbarians, Saviano is up against the Mob. My thoughts are that as long as he's in Italy, he's in deep doo-doo.

*** Never let it be said that your friendly neighborhood bookguy isn't constantly on the lookout for new, innovative and terminally yummy products to compliment your book addiction. Think about it, the winter winds are curling and swirling outside, a light freezing mist is falling, a fire is crackling in the hearth and you're comfortable in your favorite chair with a terrific book and a chocolate covered bacon bar. How could life be better?

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars#

*** I Like 'Star Wars' as much as any non-fanatic-general-public kind of guy, I like Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, I have nothing against her. And, since tell-all Hollywood biographies aren't really my reading matter of choice, I doubt I'll ever read Ms. Fisher's apparently very gossipy biography. But if I did want to read something trashy this certainly sounds like it would do the trick.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10202008/gossip/pagesix/princess_carrie_settles_scores_134343.htm

*** As the financial markets tanked people turned to the one thing that reminded them the world was not, in fact, coming to an end: books. Yep, people are reading more now that they can't afford the latest gizmo (or the electricity to run it). Good news. Gizmos come and go but books are forever. The snots in their ivory towers will intone about the masses reading drivel and what a shame it is that serious writers can't get noticed (by serious writers, they mean them) for all of the drek, the science fiction, the witches and goblins and comic books and other opiates for the under-educated. I know they will say this because they always say this as way of explanation for why nobody wants to read anything they write.

But your friendly neighborhood bookseller has a different view of things: if you like it, read it. Who gives a damn what anybody else thinks about it?

http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSTRE49J81Q20081020

Monday October 20

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news!

64 years ago today Gen. Douglas MacArthur's invasion to liberate the Philippines began with an attack on the island of Leyte, which prompted a Japanese counter-offensive that lead to the largest naval battle of all time, The Battle of Leyte Gulf.

*** Following up the continuing story of the fire-bombing attack in England on the home of the publisher for The Jewel of Medina, it seems three men were in court at the Old Bailey in the case. (Aside: whenever I hear of someone going to the Old Bailey, I wonder if perhaps Horace Rumpole will be their barrister)

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/69210-jewel-of-medina-three-in-court.html

*** Sunday, October 19, saw the demise of Acres of Books in Long Beach, CA. Founded in Cincinnati in the 1920's, legendary bookseller Bertrand L. Smith moved the store to Long Beach in 1934. It seems that such classic buildings are no longer wanted in 21st century California, probably too much history, not enough glass, and so the store is now gone. I never had a chance to visit this mythic oasis and now I never will. Had I been there, I would have taken a sleeping bag and slept in the aisles for the last week or so.

http://www.acresofbooks.com/

*** It seems that ABEbooks is having difficulty keeping staff. As an ABE seller, it makes you wonder what they are doing with the fees they charge their sellers. We have known for some time that they encourage workers to take frequent breaks for company supplied diversions such as foosball, but Wii? Seriously? I'm paying fees so these people can play Wii? No doubt there is some logic behind this. No doubt. Okay, there is some doubt.

The Vancouver Sun had a long article about this, which had drawn some pretty sarcastic comments, and it was mysteriously pulled down after a day. Interesting. Perhaps ABE's notoriously thin skin for criticism came into play?


*** William Christopher, aka Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H*, is 76 today. Gack!

*** Historian Nicholas Rankin has a new book that is right up my alley, Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945. To date it seems the only edition is the English from Faber & Faber. I'm not sure exactly how you justify Churchill in the title, since of that 31 year period he was only PM for 5 years, but I'm sure it helps sell the books.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article4954406.ece

*** I've laid off of Ebay for a while, but since it is a legitimate venue for new and used books, both buying and selling, it seems appropriate to follow its continuing demise. On July 26, 2008, I wrote this: "Ebay stock this week is trading around $24.30 or so. I think it was around $32 when they started this idiocy of wiping out their customer base. Maybe their strategy will work. Maybe they will bounce back to become dominant again. And maybe not. And the Motley Fool has declared it their stock to dump. Good. I'm always glad to see Corporate Arrogance rewarded."

As of today, Monday, October 20th, 10:11 am CDT, Ebay is trading around $15.30. More and more articles are appearing in the financial sectors publications about the company not responding to the market and having serious underlying issues. In other words, these financial gurus are beginning to figure out what we peasants in the trenches have known for 6 months, that Ebay's declaration of war on sellers was not just bad business, it was suicidal. And until they reverse direction, assuming at some point that they do reverse direction, it will not get better. Indeed, it may already be too late.

Saturday, despite the date

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

This is Saturday's update, regardless of the weirdness of Googleland time.

*** Paul Brickhill wrote a book about a heroic event of WW2, The Great Escape, in which a large group of mostly British POWs escape from Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner of war camp. I remember reading this book as a kid and that copy is still in a box somewhere around here. The book was then made into a terrific film, a British film, which was then made into a thrilling American film (in which Americans played a much bigger part than in reality.) The US film starred James Garner, Sir Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson...and was written by two of our great novelists, James Clavell and W.R. Burnett.

The last survivor of the actual Great Escape had died in Portugal. Wing Commander Tim Thomas has suffered from a long illness. For my part the most encouraging thing is that he was living in such a lovely country as Portugal, hopefully making his final years happy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1078662/Last-survivor-Great-Escape-camp-dies-87.html

*** Yesterday in the Memphis Commercial Appeal there was a nice article about US troops supplying books to the children of Baghdad. I was going to link to it and make some nice comments about our local paper doing something right for a change, but, of course, this front page story wasn't on their website. So instead let me link to a very worthy project that I learned about while searching the net for the afore-mentioned article.

Books for Baghdad is exactly the sort of thing the USA is known for, generosity not only of wallet but of spirit. I am mightily impressed.

http://www.booksforbaghdad.org/

*** The Memphis Commercial Appeal today had a nice write-up on one of our very own bookies, Karin Morley, who recently opened The English Major Book Store in midtown. Karin has the official BBG stamp of approval, whether she wanted it or not, but the ink is washable.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/oct/18/it-speaks-volumes/

Falling into Fall

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

The morning dawned bright, cool and crisp here in West Tennessee, the air washed clean by yesterday's rain, the sun refracting from the wet grass in rainbows of color. And your friendly neighborhood bookseller wishes he had a winter home where it's hot in January and has a nice white beach. Remember, you can decorate a palm tree for Christmas.

*** The story below fascinates me. Essentially, it's a nice little piece about the Bishop of Wrexham visiting a Welsh school and holding a copy of a very rare book, Catholic Mirror, produced in 1586-87. Now, I love old books as much as anybody else, but what really interested me was the realization that if you were caught with this book by the Queen's agent, Elizabeth, that is, then you were dead, Catholicism being illegal. Earlier this year I listened to an impressive audio of Will in the World, How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare and gained a new understanding of this era in English history, just how gory and vicious it was, how the slightest slip could lead to a brutal death at the hands of the Queen's men. A book such as this is a relic of that era.
http://www.eveningleader.co.uk/news/Bishop-of-Wrexham-impressed-by.4597763.jp

*** Time is rolling forward and once again the Miami Book Fair is almost here and once again I'm not going. Some day, maybe. The festival is so enormous that mentioning any sort of author list is pointless. I do note that personal favorites Greg Iles and James W. Hall will be there, and that Gore Vidal is listed, the status of his recent injury apparently being healed enough to let him attend. I wouldn't bank on that one until it happens.

http://www.miamibookfair.com/

*** Did you know that Starbucks is in the book business? I didn't. I knew they sell expensive coffee that I don't like, I knew they sometimes give away coffee grounds for gardeners and composters (like me), I knew they sold CDs and just closed a bunch of stores. But books? Apparently so. And apparently it's a big deal to be selected to grace their stores, and so I'm certain that Daniel and Daren Simkin, co-authors of The Traveler, the book Starbucks is pushing this Christmas season, are pretty happy about the extra attention and sales this will bring. Starbucks spokeswoman, Nikkole Denson, thinks the book will "inspire and awe our customers... a perfect gift for family and friends this holiday season." Maybe it's just me, but I'm fairly hard to awe, so I'll chalk that one up to hyperbole.

Of Turks, Brits and the Mexican War

Good morning, bookies! Stand by for news.

*** British SFF writer Barrington J. Bayley died Tuesday, October 14, from complications associated with colon cancer. Bayley was first published in 1954 and was known for hard-edged SF that rarely had a happy ending, and for a style that took some getting used to, being labored, if not stilted. Your friendly neighborhood BBG remembers vaguely reading The Star Virus many moons ago, although little remains of what the book was about. (This was long before the days of keeping a book journal) I also have some notion that I read The Fall of Chronopolis. Both seem possible, for those were the halcyon days of college when I often read more than a book a day.

*** Even in Frankfurt, during what is arguably the world's most important book event, politics rears its ugly head. Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, speaking before a packed house during the Fair's opening ceremonies, ripped his native Turkey for its long-term persecution of writers with whom it disagrees. Turkey is the honored country this year and the Turkish president was in the audience. Mr. Pamuk also blasted his country's refusal to address the massacre of the Armenians during WW1 and the Kurds during the 1980's.

I do find the timing of this interesting. Turkey is a secular Muslim dominated country, and for a long time has proudly boasted of its separation of church and state. In recent years, however, the political parties dominated by those wanting a Muslim state have grown quite powerful, putting great pressure on Turkey to remain secular.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/16/book-fair-turkey-censorship-frankfurt

*** And from the 'If you loved The Godfather, move to Naples' Department comes the story of Roberto Saviano, who wrote the mega-best-seller Gomorra in 2006 and has been in hiding ever since it was published. Gomorra is the story of how Naples, Italy, is dominated by the mafia, told by a man who saw his first murder at age 13 and told the world everything he knew. This does not make him terribly popular in certain circles in his native city and so he has decided to leave Italy, hopefully soon, since the mob apparently wants him dead by Christmas. In 2005 your intrepid correspondent was in Naples and I saw no evidence of mafia influence, unless they are to blame for the awful traffic, but admittedly Saviano probably knows more about the city than I do.

*** Gore Vidal fell recently and fractured his spine. At 83, he is currently working on a novel about the Mexican War of 1846-1849. I find this particularly interesting, as some great but overlooked works have been produced about what was, in fact, a fairly major war, with enormous influences upon history. Those who love southwestern or Texas history, and can't wait for Vidal to recover and write his book, should try Jeff Shaara's terrificly entertaining Gone For Soldiers, a novel of the Mexican War starring such luminaries as Robert E. Lee.

THE JERICHO COMMANDMENT by James Patterson

The Jericho Commandment by James Patterson. Crown, 1979. Quarto in full black boards. Jacket paper is fairly thin but laminated, fairly typical for mid-level authors of this period. First edition is established by no additional printings on the copyright page, which Crown still used until 1980. Of interest is the jacket photo on the rear. Contrast this turtle-neck wearing, bohemian Patterson with the doe-eyed conformist of The Thomas Berryman Number. Without knowing even a little of his biography, it appears that he has begun to take himself quite seriously as a writer with this, his third book. Indeed, while his photo on Thomas Berryman bears quite a striking resemblance to Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate', here he looks like Jerry Garcia after a stout bath.

VIRGIN by James Patterson

Virgin by James Patterson. McGraw Hill, 1980. Quarto. Quarter bound in navy cloth, textured white paper boards. First edition noted by McGraw Hill's rather odd number line sequence beginning with '1.' Jacket paper is rather tin and prone to chipping, tearing and damage. Colors have held up fairly well, though. Patterson's 4th novel shows that he was still searching for an audience, as McGraw Hill followed Crown and Little, Brown as his publishers. It wasn't until Along Came A Spider introduced Alex Cross that he began to acquire a loyal readership. Virgin is also known as Cradle and All.

A little of this...

Good day bookies. Stand by for news.

*** Churchill bribed Franco's generals? I like that image, Winnie with a cigar clenched in his teeth offering 100 pound notes to a Spanish general, maybe while sipping whiskey. Cool. INstead, however, we are told that he used an intermediary. Or, at least, that's the gist of a new book, Juan March: The Most Mysterious Man in the World by Pere Ferrer. The review listed below makes one wish for time to read this, as it looks fascinating. Like most WW2 buffs/scholars, I have always believed that the cagey Franco was smart enough not to get sucked in by Hitler's tempting request to join the war in return for Gibraltar. But maybe there was more to it than that.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4944902.ece

*** Reports from the Frankfurt Book Fair indicate a rather mundane, business-like affair. It's October, they probably just can't wait to hit the beer halls.

*** The Man Booker Prize was won by Aravind Adiga for his debut novel The White Tiger.

*** There are reports in every news service I've seen about Maureen McCormick's biography, focusing mainly on the titillating news that she traded sex for drugs. It will probably sell a gazillion copies.

*** According to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau, bookstore sales rose 5.4% in August. Huh. College book sales may have helped here, or maybe people are turning to the cheapest (and still the best) form of entertain-per-dollar available: books.

*** Ridley Scott has signed on to film Joe Haldeman's classic SFF novel, The Forever War. Having read (and enjoyed) the novel lo, those many years ago, it seems that Scott is likely the right man for the job. At least it isn't Paul Veerhoven completely re-writing and destroying Heinlein's classic Starship Troopers.

Once again, bookies, if you have any book news, suggestions or comments, please let the man behind the curtain know.

Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane

Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane. Morrow, 1996. First edition slug with full number line to '1' on Copyright page. Like most Morrow offerings of this period, the book's construction leaves something to be desired. Full green paper covers, no cloth at all. Wear will show easier on paper covers and so Fine copies will be at more of a premium as time goes by. Jacket is on good stock and should hold up well. Lehane's signature, as seen here, is an early version. I've seen later ones that aren't so legible as actually being a name and look more like a scrawl. With as many books as he signs, that shouldn't come as a shock.

FLORIDA ROADKILL by Tim Dorsey

Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey. Morrow, 1999. Dorsey's first book is a standard Morrow issue for the period. Green paper spine backstrap and orange-red paper covers. First edition is identified by the First edition slug and a number line complete to '1'. Dorsey's signature may appear to be a frantic scrawl, but compared to later examples this is quite restrained. The jacket front is not quite so psychedelic as it appears here, the flash combined with the mylar protector make for a colorful show. In reality it's more of a uniform metallic orange.

Squares and Fairs

Good morning Bookies! Stand by for news.

*** Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick. That's right, today is the day the entire world can find out the truth about Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Was she really the wholesome girl next door, the squarest of the square, or was she secretly into sex, drugs and big brother Greg, as the gossips have been saying for years? Well, according to her, she was secretly into sex, drugs and big brother Greg. (In reality, Barry Williams, who also has a biography out there somewhere) Okay, that kind of makes your stomach queasy, but they are more or less the same age and all. What's really gross, however, is that apparently she dated Hugh Hefner, too. That's a mental image I did not want.

*** Your friendly neighborhood bookseller notes that the Frankfurt Book Fair opens tomorrow in, of all places, Frankfurt. The hot topic this year appears to be e-books. One need not turn to politics to find signs of the apocalypse, one need only look at the hell-spawned e-book to consider that the end may be near. What's next, a virtual book fair? Wouldn't that be fun? Can't you see authors holding virtual book-signings for your e-books?

*** Cashing in on fame is really what winning the big awards is all about. The Booker, for example, could easily be re-named the Bucker, except the slang 'Bucks' really doesn't work for Euros and Yen and Rupees. But you get my drift.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081013/en_nm/us_books_booker;_ylt=Amv8Ob_i0WsF3DQrzKaU6sFREhkF

*** BoucherCon was last weekend in Baltimore. Yes, BBG would have loved to have gone. Life intrudes, however. As many Bookies know Baltimore is the city of Tess Monaghan, PI hero of Laura Lippmann, surely one of the nicest, hardest working authors out there. I've had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions and she is never less than funny and gracious.



This was in July of 2005 at Davis Kidd here in Memphis. For a brief overview of the convention, here's a link.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6604701.html

This Saturday at 1 PM, Davis Kidd in Memphis is hosting Tom Graves, author of a new biography of blues Legend/God/Devil Robert Johnson and his influence on American music. I suspect he will draw a good crowd, but Saturday afternoon is a tough time, especially if the weather is nice.

The Thomas Berryman Number

The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson. Little, Brown & Co., 1976. First edition has the slug
T 03/76 under 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Octavo in blue and black paper boards. Jacket price on $7.95 in the upper corner of the front fold. Rear photo of Patterson makes him look like some lovelorn dope who just got gilted by his high school sweetheart.

This copy is ex-library, as it's a difficult book to find in non-library markings. Little, Brown used a heavy stock for the jacket, which means that it resists edgewear better than many first novels of this period. The book, however, being in full paper binding, including the spine backstrap, means that the book does not fare quite so well. Finding a truly Fine copy would be very expensive and difficult.

One option for such a rare book is to buy an ex-library copy such as this, then have it rebound with a high-quality material, such as leather, to not only restore its glory but make it a unique copy.

Books, Bibles and Beasts

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

For future reference, NR means Now Reading and JF means Just Finished.

NR: Black Hats by Patrick Culhane, nom de plume for Max Allan Collins, who seems bent on challenging Robert J. Randisi for world's most prolific writer.
JF: Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter. Bob the Nailer is back and not at all happy that someone tried to kill his daughter. Full review will be in the next iloveamysterynewsletter.
And just so Sally, my editor, doesn't panic, yes, I know I'm supposed to be reading Germania. Have faith. And for those of you who have not read ILAM yet, check it out and read my Tana French reviews. The Likeness will, in all likelihood, be my Crime Book of the Year, for which Ms. French will receive an old newspaper with my autograph.

*** Specialists in used and rare books are seeing an upswing in people selling not only individual books, but also collections, to try and make it through a slower economic period. Been there, done that. If you've read any of my history of collecting and selling on this site, you'll know that at one time I had a pretty extensive comic book collection that would be worth a fortune today, but when times were tough food took priority. It happens, no shame. It's why people like me are around, to help those who need to sell their collections to make ends meet. We're altruists.

Anyway, out of North Carolina comes this story of the economy's effects on some collectors.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20081011/ARTICLES/810110256/0/ENTERTAINMENT11?Title=Some_willing__to_sell_rare_books_for_gas_money

*** When is a Bible not a good thing? Ever? (It's a rhetorical question. If you're an atheist, fine, I get it, you don't need to reiterate your stance) Over the years there have been a number of Bible editions that seek to draw in disaffected youth, to make it seem relevant to those who might otherwise overlook it. There's nothing new in this. Try owning a Catholic Bible in Elizabethan England and keeping your head; good luck with that. And whenever such a new edition appears it raises hackles and generally irritates a certain segment of believers who believe that their beliefs and method of belief are the 'right ones.' Thus it is with this newest edition of the Bible. Call it a genuine attempt to interest young people in Christianity. Call it cynical marketing. It could be both, or neither.

http://www.illuminatedworld.com/products/

*** A special treat for you SFF fans out there. Rudy Rucker has a short story you can read online at Tor's website. Go immerse yourself in some entertaining high level math.

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=story&id=6644

*** I really hesitated before filing this next bit. As you may already know, Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. It almost seems that if you are a really, really talented humorist from the UK, then you are cursed to a shorter career than you deserve. I'm thinking Douglas Adams here. Anyway, Pratchett has written a piece on what it's like to have this horrible disease. Be warned, however, this is not going to have a happy ending. NOTE: If you want to read the story, use the below link. For some reason you cannot link directly to the story. So type in Terry Pratchett at the search box and it's the first story that comes up in the list.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1070673/Terry-Pratchett-Im-slipping-away-bit-time--I-watch-happen.html

*** Finally, it seems to be a bad period to be a dead Beatle. John Lennon is excoriated as a 'misogynistic beast' in a new biography. I'd like to hear his side of the story.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10122008/news/nationalnews/give_beast_a_chance_133215.htm

Signing off for now.

AOL disconecting life support?

As most bookies know, Sundays do not generally have updates or news. However, it is rumored that AOL is considering obliterating the one last reason anybody would ever have for visiting their site, the message boards. That's right, as bad as the web based boards are compared to the older versions, they are still the same groups of friends coming to the same outdated website. And AOL is tired of this! Can't these people go somewhere else and let AOL die in peace?

Well, yes, they can. And if they shut down the message boards, they will find other boards. And all the happy little AOL employees can go home and watch TV and start collecting unemployment. One wonders if John Donahoe has decided to destroy AOL during his breaks from dismantling Ebay.

So, how is this book related? Simple. AOL is the home of my book boards, the friends I have had online since at least 1995. In those days, the Hardboiled board was the coolest message board on the net. No less than 33 authors posted there in those halcyon early days, from Anthony Bourdain to Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, James W. Hall, Randy Wayne White, Bob Randisi, Laura Lippmann...the list goes on. Every day you would wake up to posts from these great writers and their friends. Indeed, for one glorious period we had Jim Hall writing a short story every holiday about PI James Holliday and his unlikely adventures. Amazing, a best selling author throwing out hilarious stories just for our benefit.

Until one day, some nameless AOL bot deleted one of Jim's stories as being too racy. (It was only 'racy' because the idiot didn't understand some of the words Jim used and assumed they were forbidden.) And that was that. When it became obvious that any idiotic simpleton could edit the works of some of the best writers of our times, they decided to find greener pastures. The Triumph of the Stupid.

There was also the Heinlein board, which collected SFF writers and readers and was, in its way, every bit as exciting as the Hardboiled board. Steve Stirling posted there occasionally, Harry Turtledove was a regular, Micheal Flynn was (and still is) there...another amazing interaction between fans and authors they will probably never meet face to face, but came to know very well through AOL's message boards.

But even to this day the fans remain, mostly now on the Mystery/Thriller board, although Bob Randisi does, on rare occasions, drop in at the Hardboiled. The Heinlein board has the occasional post. Most are gone already, though, as AOL chose a slow death many years ago when they changed the simple, functional boards for something 'better', which is to see slow, counter-intuitive and clumsy.

When you see companies like Ebay and AOL self-destruct, the real question is who hired these people in the first place?

Ah, well, change comes, is rarely as good as those who clamor for it think it will be and is often much worse. And so it goes.

BBG

MidSouthCon , the Beatles, the Booker, the hooker

Good morning, bookies! Stand by for news. This is the Blog for Saturday, October 11. I have no idea why Blogger is datelining this for Friday. Is time different in Googleland?

First, a request. If you like this blog, please send a link to anyone you think might be warped enough to find it entertaining and/or informative. If you are so inclined, subscribe. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller would certainly appreciate it. The content will grow as time goes by, but this past week has been tough because aged relatives have needed some attention.

*** MidSouthCon is slowly, but surely, filling out their guest roster for next year. Yesterday Stanton Friedman was added to the lineup. If you've ever watched a show on UFOs, Area 51, Roswell or Alien Abductions, you will probably recognize Friedman. The GOH is Mike Resnick and the Artist GOH is Vincent DiFate. A good lineup so far, I suppose. Let's see who else gets added.

For Memphis and Mid-Southerners who are fans of SFF (Science Fiction Fantasy) and don't know what MidSouthcon is...shame on you. Get ye hence to yonder website and put aside your errors!

http://www.midsouthcon.org/

*** Obituary- Peter Vansittart died October 4 at age 88, reports the Guardian. Known for his imaginative historical novels, Vansittart always seemed to stitch the most unlikely epochs separated by centuries into a cohesive whole. His last novel, Secret Protocols, was published in 2006.

*** Heresy or truth? Although not strictly book related, your friendly neighborhood bookseller finds the linked story below interesting. A Cambridge professor opines that the Beatles weren't folk or youth heroes, they were just capitalists cashing in on the hysteria they generated.

I certainly hope so.

I was never a big Beatles fan. I had no ill feelings toward them, but there was always this vaguely uneasy feeling that something wasn't on the up and up. This is why I preferred The Stones, there was never any doubt about their motivation. Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and money. The Beatles always implied they were somehow above all of that, and I never bought it. Apparently I wasn't the only one. You'll need to log in to read the link. If you don't want to log in, ignore the link, the commentators' name is David Fowler, he's an historian at Cambridge University. The quote you need to know is this: "They did about as much to represent the interests of the nation's young people as the Spice Girls did in the 1990s." Perfect.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/09/youngpeople.history

*** The Booker Prize will be awarded in London on Tuesday and there are dozens of articles to choose from previewing the event. I've picked one a bit off the beaten track, highlighting two Aussies who are up for the prize. My reasoning? I like Aussies.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24460816-5001986,00.html

Oh, and there is no hooker. That was just to jazz up the blog title for the day.

Shadow Trade by Alan Furst

Alan Furst's 4th book is another in the series of rare books that only come along once in a blue moon, if not a lifetime, that I will be posting on this blog from time to time. The book a typical US edition of the early 80's, octavo, black cloth backstrap and black paper boards. No decorations to the endpapers. The jacket is not so fragile as some of this era.

Around the Horn

Good morning, bookies! Stand by for news.

*** Dateline: England. The publication of The Jewel of Medina has been postponed in Britain at the request of the author, who apparently wants to concentrate on its American launch instead. Let's hope this is simply a business decision and not one made because of threats from barbarians.

*** Dateline: Tennessee. The estate of the late, great SFF writer Andre Norton has been settled in a Tennessee Appeal's Court ruling. Unless a further appeal is made to the Tennessee Supreme Court, this should mean that Ms. Norton's works can get back on the market and some unpublished manuscripts may now see the light of day. The dispute was between her caregiver and one of her fans, both of whom were named in the will. It seems the will was not particularly well-written and caused confusion. Follow the money.

I never met Ms. Norton, although I probably could have if I'd gotten off my lazy butt, she lived in Murfreesboro, after all, and I will always regret that. They just don't make 'em like her anymore.


*** Dateline: Boston. In the category of 'sometimes-the-bad-guys-get-away-with-it', Misha Defonseca, who in 1997 wrote a chilling memoir of surviving the Holocaust entitled Misha, a Memoire of the Holocaust Years, who saw her tragic, terrifying work translated into 18 languages and made into a feature film in France, yesterday won a lawsuit brought by her publisher. See, the book was horrifying and told the story of surviving the Nazis by living with wolves. As awful as it was untrue. Defonseca made the whole thing up. But the publisher waited too long to file the suit, so says the judge. Too late, so sorry, so long. It seems Massachusetts has a one year statute of limitations on such things. Who says crime doesn't pay?

->->-> Here's one I'd like to read. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller is a big fan of Anthony Bourdain, all the way back to the days on AOL' s Hardboiled board when nobody knew who, or what, he was. (Yes, for all of my old AOL buddies, Tony was one of us in the days of Gone Bamboo) Anyway, I wouldn't miss 'No Reservations' these days for anything, even if he is starting to drag politics into it. And in the vein of irreverent restaurant humor comes a book titled Waiter Rant: Thanks For the Tip- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublinica. This tells us all of the dirty little secrets your wait-staff doesn't want you to know...wait a minute. Maybe I don't want to read this, after all.

Mark your calendars: Michael Connelly will be in Oxford on October 30th at 6 pm, reading and signing The Brass Verdict at Square Books. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller considers Connelly to be among the top five crime writers working today, his series about LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch to be among the great series of all times. But Connelly has other characters and isn't afraid to mix two series when the mood strikes him. (Example: A Darkness More Than Night teamed former FBI agent Terry McCaleb with Bosch) Following the success of The Lincoln Lawyer and its sort-of-hero attorney Mickey Haller, Connelly now brings Bosch into the mix, since he just happens to be Haller's cousin. This is one BBG will try not to miss. I've met Connelly several times before and he is always worth the trip.

BBG

Ian Rankin's first Rebus novel- Hide & Seek

One part of my website (assuming such ever actually gets up and running) will be looks at rare books that pass through my hands. I've always loved such articles from others and will do this whenever possible. First up is Hide & Seek, the first Inspector Rebus novel, from my personal collection, which is now up for sale. (Yes, that's a plug. I am a bookseller, after all. But in case I sell it quickly I wanted to take and post some photos while I could) This is the UK edition published by Barrie & Jenkins.

The covers are a bright red cloth. Unlike US editions, which since the 80's have rarely sported whole cloth covers but instead have cloth backstraps with cardboard covers, UK hardback editions almost always are full cloth. Probably this reflects the higher relative cost of hardbacks in the UK. The paper used was quite cheap, it's doubtful anyone saw the Rankin phenomenon coming, and so it has tended to tone at the edges, just as with this copy. Visible on the front cover, this copy has a scuff to the front but overall grades Very Good+ in Very Good+ Jacket. And while some might find that conservative, I'd rather grade too low than too high.

I love the rear flap photo, Rankin looks like he's about 12.

Note that the paper is pretty white everywhere except the edges, quite typical of high acid papers.



Note also that the jacket is in mylar, so the reflections are mostly because of my poor camera skills and the shiny plastic. I scouted this book up last year around Memphis and highly doubt that I will ever come across another copy of the UK edition. So you might ask why sell it now? Because of the economy? Yes, but probably not for the reason you are thinking. Rare books have proven, over the centuries, to be one of the best possible investments. They routinely outperform the stock market. Therefore, for anyone looking for a safe haven for their funds, rare books have always been one excellent option. Or, put another way, it's a good time to sell. Especially since Rankin has announced the publication of the last Rebus novel. This series has already joined the great UK detective series as a classic. Anybody looked at the price of Agatha Christie first editions lately? In time, Rankin's stuff will skyrocket.

I'll be posting this first at http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/Billthebookguy

Once my site is actually up and running I can knock off the commercial stuff here at my blog. In the meantime, sorry about that.

BBG

News, views and reviews

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

*** After five years, Richard Evans brings his three volume history of the third Reich to a close with The Third Reich at War 1939-1945. As loyal bookies know, your friendly neighborhood BBG is a World War II kind of guy, currently researching a book and also having been published in 'World War II' magazine. So he knows a little bit of which he speaks on the subject. He hasn't read...wait, what's with this third person crap? I haven't read Evans latest book and I include here a link to a review. But from a careful reading it seems that, like almost every historian of the Third Reich, Evans has an axe to grind. The reviewer chides towering figures like Joachim Fest for being romantic revisionists even while admitting that Evans is revising the accepted thinking. In other words, it's impossible to know who is and who isn't a revisionist because both sides are claiming and/or denying the label.

This review is quite well written, it's a great lesson in reviewing if nothing else. I look forward to reading the book and judging for myself.

Richard J. Evans
THE THIRD REICH AT WAR 1939–1945
878pp. Allen Lane. £30.
978 0 713 99742 2
US: Penguin Press. $40. 978 1 594 20206 3 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article4905212.ece

*** Another new book review, I include the Spanish Civil War with WW2, as I do the war in China. The connection is all too obvious, even if Spain never actually entered the war. This one looks fascintating.

"Gerda Taro was a fearless, pioneering chronicler of the Spanish Civil War. Robin Stummer uncovers evidence to suggest that her unflinching pictures led to her murder..."
http://www.newstatesman.com/arts-and-culture/2008/10/gerda-taro-war-spain

*** Dateline: Stockholm. From Reuters " French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, described by President Nicolas Sarkozy as a "child of all continents" who embodied a globalized world, won the 2008 Nobel prize for literature on Thursday. The Academy, which decides the winner of the prestigious 10 million Swedish crown ($1.4 million) prize, praised the 68-year-old author for his adventurous novels, essays and children's literature." There is no surprise here as the anti-American slant from the Nobel committee is well known, as is its preference for globalist literature. And I have no problem with that, it's their prize and their money.

*** Points of Issue are interesting things. To bookies, a Point of Issue is that little difference that distinguishes a true first edition from a reprint. How does one knows such arcana? One researches, that's how. That's what your friendly neighborhood booskeller does for a living and learning points of issue is an endless process.

Just yesterday I learned something new. The first book in George R.R. Martin's extremely popular fantasy series 'Song of Fire and Ice' is A Game of Thrones. Now, once upon a time this was a pricey purchase. Then, for some odd reason, the price went way down as a flood of them came on the market. Very strange. So yesterday someone emailed me a question about a copy of this book that I have for sale and I did what friendly neighborhood booksellers do, I researched. And thus did I discover why the prices for first editions had plummeted: the book had been reprinted!

I know, I know, you're saying 'wait, BBG, reprints aren't first editions.' True. But many of those passing as booksellers today don't know the difference, don't do their research, and sell people overpriced books that are not what they claim to be. It seems that the 2002 reprint of this book kept the '1' in the number line. You would think that since it has an entirely different cover than the 1996 first edition it would be easy to spot the difference, even for Scanner People. And it would, if most of these people bothered enough to investigate. Sadly, they do not. And that's why their are scores of first editions available, the vast majority of which are no doubt reprints. Caveat emptor.

Review- A Point of Law by John Maddox Roberts

A POINT OF LAW by John Maddox Roberts. Machiavelli was Italian and
it is no coincidence the Italians are descended from the Romans. The Prince is a blueprint on deception and intrigue and the seizing and holding of power; based on his new Roman novel, John Maddox Roberts has read it more than once. Now, let's be clear here. I'm a Roman Republic/Empire buff, so I'm naturally inclined to like anything pertaining to the era. But while that may incline me to overlook some faults, it makes me much more aware of others. This review first appeared at www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com.

Decius Caecilius Metellus is a typical citizen of his era, the late Roman Republic. Warrior and officer from a distinguished family he has the scars (and the money) to prove his worth as a Roman citizen. After crushing the Pirates tormenting Cyprus, Decius has returned to Rome to stand for election as Praetor, a powerful position he is sure to win. With his wife Julia, niece of Caesar, Decius has a happy life ahead of him, as long as he isn’t murdered in the dangerous capitol. Suddenly, and not altogether surprisingly given the nature of Roman politics, Decius is accused of corruption by one Fulvius, minor scion of a wealthy old family. In and of itself this is no big problem, except that the trial is scheduled immediately and disqualifies Decius from becoming Praetor. Big problem. That is, until the next morning when Fulvius winds up dead in the Forum and Decius stands accused of murder. Bigger problem.

From there the reader is swept up in the politics of Rome’s Republic as it stands on the cusp of crumbling under the power grabs of Pompey and Caesar. Decius must use evidence to clear himself, something rarely seen in Roman courts. The cast of characters is well nigh dizzying, the political manueverings complex and archaic, the backdrop and geography unfamiliar.

And yet it all works splendidly. Indeed, few historians have ever brought the Roman era to life with such ease. The reader feels drawn into this world and, frankly, isn’t ready to leave as the book closes. And the publisher has been very wise by including not only a map of Old Rome, but a list of players and a glossary as well. The reader unfamiliar with ancient Rome may want to read these first, but either way A Point of Law stands out as a truly entertaining mystery.

Grading this one an A-, simply because I hope these will only get better, even if I can't see how that is possible.

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

It's a bit drippy in Memphis today and book news is slow.

*** Whenever I mention stolen books to people who are not in the book business, either as sellers or librarians or even author, they are inevitably surprised that book thieves are a major problem. Apparently the belief is that books are somehow sacred to everyone and nobody would steal them. If that's what you believe then let me disavow you of the notion right now. Even in Memphis, our little corner of the world, there are book thieves. Yes, it's hard to believe. Yes, they are little better than vermin. But they do exist. And I know that sounds awfully harsh on my part, but books are my friends, almost as if they were sentient. (And if you're a fan of Jasper Fforde you can understand that maybe they are sentient) Stealing a book is much like kidnapping and should be treated as such. Where's the FBI when you need them?

When I ran my brick and mortar shop theft was a real problem. One particularly valuable book that was lifted I tracked down. I know who stole it, when, who they sold it to, how much they were paid, where the book was then resold, how much it was resold for (about 25% of its value) and who now owns it. What's more, the scumbag who lifted it knows that I know. Or, if he didn't before, he does when he reads this. That's right, I know who did it. Even at this moment I am looking for a book that should be here but isn't. Was it lifted before the shop closed? Could be. If I don't find it I may never know.

So when I run across a story like the one in this article, it makes me quite happy to pass this on. One day, no doubt, I will read about one of Memphis' notorious book thieves being booked for nabbing books, but in the meantime I will take vicarious pleasure is seeing another city's lowlifes taking the fall.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/13/rarebooks.ART_ART_09-13-08_B1_BFBAG40.html?sid=101

*** Dateline, Nairobi, Kenya. Jerome Corsi, author of Obama Nation, who was detained at the airport before a news conference where his book was to be introduced, was expelled from that country by armed soldiers with parting cries of 'See you in hell.' As we have learned repeatedly, the written word is not always found to be sacrosanct in much of the world, or even most of it.

*** It is doubtful that anyone other than Neil Gaiman could have dreamed up Graveyard, much less written it. Gaiman fans know that his mind just works on a different level than other people, and that this is probably a good thing. His newest is about a boy raised in a graveyard by dead people, sort of a Jungle Book with tombstones. The interview below is lots of....fun?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/10/07/books.neil.gaiman.ap/index.html

*** Today's obituaries include Charles Wright, the novelist who made black street life in New York come alive in the 60's and 70's with three heralded novels, The Messenger, The Wig and Absolutely Nothing to Get Alarmed About, died on October 1 in Manhattan. He was 76.

Overwhelmingly overwhelmed

Good morning, bookies. Stand by for news!

First, sorry about no blog yesterday. One of those days spent doing paperwork for the government.

It's an Ebay kind of day, as the chickens these people have been buying are streaming home to roost. I want to apologize to those of you who are bored with this topic. I think after today we'll just let things ride for a while, unless something major happens. Anyway, this week brings layoffs, stock lows, all kinds of good news. Let's start with an analysis from some guy I've heard of, but who probably hasn't heard of me, either.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27049104/site/14081545?__source=aol

Falling into the category of 'they really want these people gone', we give you this infuriating look at corporate culture:
http://www.webguild.org/2008/09/ebay-layoffs-executives-to-get-4-years-pay.php

I had more links at this point, but it seemed like overkill.


And then there's this: Ebay is fighting Congressional restrictions on online selling. This blog is intended not to be political, however, it is the position of this blogger, me, that the more Congress sticks its nose into online sales, or anything, for that matter, the more it screws it up. So one tends to side with Ebay when they oppose something which is bad for everyone except those with the deepest pockets.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1223266542244890.xml&coll=1

And yet more. I'm starting to think this is just piling on. I'm even starting to feel somewhat sympathetic for Ebay. This first one is a firm cutting it's price target for their stock.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINBNG20761820081007?rpc=44

Next up is an in-depth question of whether or not Ebay's acquisition of Bill Me Later is a good or a bad thing. Given the out-and-out vitriol generated by PayPal's sometimes heavy-handed implementation, it may well be a terrible thing. Only time will tell.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/98748-granting-credit-is-ebay-s-bill-me-later-part-of-the-solution-or-part-of-the-problem?source=yahoo

Then there's the real question of whether Ebay's recent moves are a moot point given the dissent and dislike they have generated this year among their once fanatically loyal seller base.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/89604/eBays-Acquisitions%2C-Layoffs%3A-Too-Little%2C-Too-Late%3F

*** Ted Briggs has died. Although not book related, I'm sorry to hear this. Ted Briggs was an 18 year old Signalman in 1941, serving aboard HMS Hood when she went into battle against the Bismark, pride of the Kriegsmarine. A shell from Bismark, reportedly a 5.9" secondary gun, penetrated to the Hood's secondary magazine and the Royal Navy's largest battlecruiser exploded, leaving only three survivors from a crew of more than 1500. One was Briggs.

*** Jerome Corsi, author of Obama Nation, has been detained in Kenya. Apparently Kenyans prefer the idea of an ancestral Kenyan becoming president to freedom of the press, reminding us once again that it is not one world.

Drac is back and other news

Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.

*** The great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, Dacre Stoker, and Dracula historian Ian Holt are teaming up to bring the original bloodsucker back from the grave, with Dutton next year publishing Dracula: the Un-Dead. The original Dracula was heavily edited. Using notes and passages left behind by Bram, the two will write this novel and at least two more, following characters and plot lines left behind by the original. And yes, the inevitable movie is already in the works. It is doubtful that Bela Lugosi will play the thirsty count this time around.

*** Dateline, New York. Sony is introducing a new version of its e-reader, the PRS700, aka The Mark of the Beast, priced at $399, no doubt to compete with Amazon's equally pernicious Kindle. There are going to be new search features, a touch screen and some other stuff. Horrible idea. and the books for these monstrous machines are $11.99, with nothing to show for it when you've read the data. Books are my friends, I like having them surround me, but electronic books would probably just cause lots of static electricity and clinging socks and stuff.

*** On October 13th, Hutchison School will host the Perre Magness Lecture Series on Memphis History, at 6:30 PM. Ms. Magness is very well known in the area as the foremost Memphis historian alive, with nine books to her credit. Once upon a time she wrote for the daily newspaper, back when the newspaper was worth reading. Her lecture will be 'What Makes Memphis Memphis?' I've met her several times, she's very engaging and her works are not only informative, they're entertaining as well. For more info you can call Amanda Fisher at Hutchison, (901) 507-2461.

*** Once the website is up and running, reviews such as this will have their own special archive. Until then, however...here's a review for those of you who are World War II buffs, or know someone who is. This appears to be a more or less oral history of the U.S. 99th Division in WWII. foreign units, especially German, have almost all had unit histories written about them, as have a large number of American units. The 99th was one of the divisions in the thick of the bulge fighting and is, therefore, important in the overall context of the war. the reviewer seems to be trying awfully hard to link this unit to today's war, but doesn't quite make it. This isn't the most knowledgeable review in the world, but it gets the message across: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=861187

Another Wold War II review. Look, I'm a WWII buff, okay? Anyway, the gist of this book appears to be that FDR, Churchill, Alanbrooke and Marshall were egomaniacs and were crucial to winning the war. No. Really? It's probably a fabulous book, but somebody should have dreamed up a better title.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article4833789.ece

Books, books and blues

Good day, bookies! Stand by for news.

*** Ebay has not done anything robustly stupid for the last 24 hours, so let's report on this latest bit of nonsense from that dying company. I have 25 saved searches with them. That is, when someone posts something that qualifies I get an email. Great system, I have bought a lot of stuff that way over the years. Only now the dunces killing the company have eliminated prices from saved searches. You have to click on the item to see the price. And since all that's left there are the same items over and over again, there's nothing fun left to discover and a lot more trouble to discover it. So I canceled all 25 searches. Does anyone really wonder why Ebay is dying?

*** Borders financial woes continue. And while I'm no fan of chain bookstores, I have to admit that Borders is the best of the lot. Not only do they have an interesting selection, they are very pro-active in offering stuff for you to entice you into their stores. The Borders Rewards program is free and offers much more than the lousy Barnes & Noble plan does, and B&N charge you $25 for the privilege of buying from them. So I'm sad at having to post this link, and hope that Borders will find a way forward. If we have to have chain bookstores, Borders is the least objectionable of the lot.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_bi_ge/borders_pershing_square


*** Beaufort Books, the US publisher of The Jewel Of Medina, has moved the books' publication date up from October 15 to next Monday, the 6th. Nothing like a firebombing to get a book some attention. And in London, three men were arrested for said arson attack.

*** Wanna guess the 10 highest paid authors of the year? I post this link to the list without comment as to the worthiness of those involved...wait! This is a blog. I'm supposed to comment as to the worthiness of such people. Cool.

Okay, James Patterson. You must be kidding me. I know he's immensely popular, I know that a lot of my friends read every one of his books, but I have a real problem with authors who their publishers describe as a 'brand.' Stuart Woods has achieved this same status. Gack. JK Rowling, fine, no problem there. Dean Koontz? Okay by me. And Danielle Steel...look, I grew up reading comic books, you wanna read her, it's fine by me. And the best news? At least Patricia cCornwell isn't on the list.
http://www.forbes.com/media/2008/10/01/books-publishing-media-biz-media-cx_lr_1001authors.html

*** Dorothy Kilgallen was always on TV when I was growing up, usually as a panelist on some game show that I can't remember. And I always wondered who she was and why she was famous. A new book proposal promises to tell us why. Did you know that she landed the only interview with Jack Ruby? I didn't. And that her death might be linked to her investigations of JFK's assassination? I didn't know that, either.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993286.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Yesterday, Thursday, I was doing that job most booksellers dread: I was writing book descriptions for new inventory being loaded into my database. It's tedious, not really much chance to be creative, but just as soon as you don't pay attention you will miss a glaring defect that you will only notice the day you are preparing to mail that book to a customer. Anyway, I was logging in a pretty nice copy of Robert Gordon's seminal Memphis music book, It Came From Memphis, when I did something else I often do: I read the first paragraph.

Weirdness enveloped me like fog in a Stephen King novel. The author begins the book talking about the blazing hot 4th of July, 1975, when the Rolling Stones played the Liberty Bowl, fronted by J. Geils Band and that quintessential American bluesman, Furry Lewis. That day is emblazoned in my mind like the symbol of a ranch on a horses' hock. The whole paragraph could have been written by me, including seeing Lewis play under much more favorable conditions. (Namely, in a smoky bar late at night)

I don't really remember whether the Stones were any good that day or not. By the time they finally took the stage I was in the middle stages of heat stroke and dehydration and might not even have been conscious. But I remember quite vividly when Furry Lewis came out, sat on his stool and showed everybody what authentic Delta Blues sounded like. If you love Memphis music and you haven't read It Came From Memphis, you really should track down a copy.

This is your friendly neighborhood bookseller signing off.