Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Anyone who has read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings knows that Professor Tolkien was a genius, but was he also an archaeologist? If the findings concerning the so-called hobbit found on the Indonesian island of Flores are correct, it would seem so. Will we soon find the mummified remains of tall hominids with pointy ears? Or huge reptiles with wings? Heck if I know, but wouldn't that be fun?
I wonder if scientists have any way of discovering whether this little fellow had an English accent.
The remains of a Took or a Baggins, perhaps?
*** The English have a new hobby: guessing what books are on Tony Blair's shelves. It seems that the Blairs had their Christmas card taken in front of their bookshelves, so now there's a fad trying to read the titles to see what they read.
How many can you identify?
*** As always, if there is anything you would like to see more or less of in this blog, let me know. No guarantees, of course, our budget for purchasing new material is fairly small, but I'll do what I can.
*** BBG has to admit that he's not a Harry Potter reader. It's not that I have anything against Harry, on the contrary, I love the movies, but for some reason I never felt the need to read the books. I suspect that I might have found myself comparing them to LOTR and that would not have been fair, Rowling isn't Tolkien, nobody is, but that should not even be an issue. Anyway, I haven't read them but I greatly admire Rowling for what she has done. And with The Tales of Beedle the Bard she has turned her fame into a great boon for children in need.
Rowling raises big bucks for kids
If you happen to live in Edinburgh, or are visiting, a drop in to see the hand-written version of this book on display is a must.
*** Nothing is sacred. First came the sequel to Gone With the Wind, then the makers of the 'Lord of the Rings' movies had the elves show up at the Battle of Helm's Deep and now Victor Hugo has the ignominy of having his classic Les Miserables spawn two sequels, additions that are now officially approved by a French court. Good grief. What's next, Sherlock Holmes books written by others than A. Conan Doyle?
Oh, yeah, that's right. There are lots of those. I even like some of them, the ones by Laurie R. King.
Okay, but still, Les Miserables? It seems heretical.
Victor Hugo spinning like a top six feet under
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Baseball, World War II and other recipes
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
First, a request. If anyone has book related news, be it from authors, bookstores, websites, whatever, please send it to me. Thank you.
*** Why is the press always the last to cover a story? Here's a nice little recap about what we already know, that Ebay is flopping around like a catfish on a pier.
The Setting Ebay sun
*** Baseball and World War II. Seriously, if you were going to write a 'guy' book, especially for Baby Boomers, how could you go wrong with either subject? You couldn't. But you could combine the two, which is what authors Todd Anton & Bill Rowlin have done in their new book When Baseball Went to War published by Rounder Books. It's a sequel of sorts to Anton's 2007 publication No Greater Love: Life Stories from the Men Who Saved Baseball, also published by Rounder.
I haven't read this one, thus I take the linked review at face value. But baseball players did flock to defend the country and, while it's a story that has been told, I have no doubt there was plenty left for the authors to discover. For every Ted Williams there must have been two or three or four lesser players who fought (and died) without the limelight, doing their duty because it was the right thing to do. We owe them more than we can repay.
When Baseball Went to War
*** I recently wrote about the upcoming auction of some rare A.A.Milne-related material. A selection of original E.H. Shepard drawings for the books was going under the gavel. Could it bring the pre-auction estimates in the current economic climate? Well, yes, it could.
It seems they sold for about $2 million. One can only wonder if the artist ever had any idea his work could command such prices.
*** HarperVoyager has acquired the rights to two Janny Wurts novels, the final two volumes in the Wars of Light and Shadow series. This is meaningful to your friendly neighborhood bookseller because a couple of years ago he met Ms. Wurts at MidSouthCon. I had the chance to sit in the lobby and peruse her sketch book and she told me that some of the drawings would be in future books of the Wars of Light and Shadow. Now that is happening and I will most likely see the finished versions of those works in progress. A bit surreal.
*** Johnny Depp's brother has his debut novel out, a supposedly Elmore Leonard-esque romp in Hollywood. Daniel Depp certainly has a varied resume, from bookseller to screen-writer. Whether this translates into good fiction or not, I have no idea. I'll let you decide.
Daniel Depp takes the first step
*** Finally finishing Friday's filings, this bit of pompous fluff. It seems that pundits were asked what books they are reading and what they would recommend. After perusing the list, I can tell you that I don't believe any of them are actually reading what they proclaim, but listed what they think makes them sound more punditey. (And yes, I know that's not a word)
I mean, come on. If you want to whack us over the head with your punditness, get a blog.
Stuffed shirts puffed and fluffed
First, a request. If anyone has book related news, be it from authors, bookstores, websites, whatever, please send it to me. Thank you.
*** Why is the press always the last to cover a story? Here's a nice little recap about what we already know, that Ebay is flopping around like a catfish on a pier.
The Setting Ebay sun
*** Baseball and World War II. Seriously, if you were going to write a 'guy' book, especially for Baby Boomers, how could you go wrong with either subject? You couldn't. But you could combine the two, which is what authors Todd Anton & Bill Rowlin have done in their new book When Baseball Went to War published by Rounder Books. It's a sequel of sorts to Anton's 2007 publication No Greater Love: Life Stories from the Men Who Saved Baseball, also published by Rounder.
I haven't read this one, thus I take the linked review at face value. But baseball players did flock to defend the country and, while it's a story that has been told, I have no doubt there was plenty left for the authors to discover. For every Ted Williams there must have been two or three or four lesser players who fought (and died) without the limelight, doing their duty because it was the right thing to do. We owe them more than we can repay.
When Baseball Went to War
*** I recently wrote about the upcoming auction of some rare A.A.Milne-related material. A selection of original E.H. Shepard drawings for the books was going under the gavel. Could it bring the pre-auction estimates in the current economic climate? Well, yes, it could.
It seems they sold for about $2 million. One can only wonder if the artist ever had any idea his work could command such prices.
*** HarperVoyager has acquired the rights to two Janny Wurts novels, the final two volumes in the Wars of Light and Shadow series. This is meaningful to your friendly neighborhood bookseller because a couple of years ago he met Ms. Wurts at MidSouthCon. I had the chance to sit in the lobby and peruse her sketch book and she told me that some of the drawings would be in future books of the Wars of Light and Shadow. Now that is happening and I will most likely see the finished versions of those works in progress. A bit surreal.
*** Johnny Depp's brother has his debut novel out, a supposedly Elmore Leonard-esque romp in Hollywood. Daniel Depp certainly has a varied resume, from bookseller to screen-writer. Whether this translates into good fiction or not, I have no idea. I'll let you decide.
Daniel Depp takes the first step
*** Finally finishing Friday's filings, this bit of pompous fluff. It seems that pundits were asked what books they are reading and what they would recommend. After perusing the list, I can tell you that I don't believe any of them are actually reading what they proclaim, but listed what they think makes them sound more punditey. (And yes, I know that's not a word)
I mean, come on. If you want to whack us over the head with your punditness, get a blog.
Stuffed shirts puffed and fluffed
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A week to go
Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
One week until Christmas. Are you ready? I haven't even had a tree up the last two years, don't ask why, but this year I am going to do my best to put one up. I hope your season is terrific!
*** For all of you Bonanzlers out there (you know who you are) the linked article will come as no surprise. To all of you Wigixers out there, it might. I knew the benefits of Bonanzle, being as BBG has a booth there, but Wigix is my next site to explore and learn.
With Ebay in crash and burn mode it was inevitable that dozens of alternate sites would try to gash out a chunk of market share for themselves. Older sites such as OnlineAuction, ioffer or even the miserably failed overstock.com auctions have been around and nibbled away at Ebay, without ever really taking root in the public consciousness. But the new breed is here and if I were Ebay, I would be concerned.
Sure, at the moment Bonanzle only has 14,000+ members and a little more than 500,000 listings. But the site was only officially launched on Sept. 1, 2008. Good grief people, it's barely out of beta and is the fastest growing alternate site in history. And there are books there, too. At least one other bookseller of note (besides me, natch) is there and more are signing up.
Wigix I'm not as familiar with, yet, but it's getting great press and that doesn't happen in a vacuum. So, even as Ebay blunders about screwing things up, people like me just don't care anymore because we have moved on. My concerns now are in watching a historic train wreck, the like of which the net has never seen. The demise of Ebay will be taught in business schools for decades to come.
Bonanzle and Wigix are coming on strong
*** Children's book collectors in New England are in for a treat. It seems a gathering of authors and illustrators are putting together their own tours of independent book stores, and that now more than 40 have signed on. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller thinks this is great, because, while he has nothing against chain stores per se, indies are much more responsive to the marketplace and generally add to the cultural health of a community.
New England Children's book authors and illustrators start their own tour
One week until Christmas. Are you ready? I haven't even had a tree up the last two years, don't ask why, but this year I am going to do my best to put one up. I hope your season is terrific!
*** For all of you Bonanzlers out there (you know who you are) the linked article will come as no surprise. To all of you Wigixers out there, it might. I knew the benefits of Bonanzle, being as BBG has a booth there, but Wigix is my next site to explore and learn.
With Ebay in crash and burn mode it was inevitable that dozens of alternate sites would try to gash out a chunk of market share for themselves. Older sites such as OnlineAuction, ioffer or even the miserably failed overstock.com auctions have been around and nibbled away at Ebay, without ever really taking root in the public consciousness. But the new breed is here and if I were Ebay, I would be concerned.
Sure, at the moment Bonanzle only has 14,000+ members and a little more than 500,000 listings. But the site was only officially launched on Sept. 1, 2008. Good grief people, it's barely out of beta and is the fastest growing alternate site in history. And there are books there, too. At least one other bookseller of note (besides me, natch) is there and more are signing up.
Wigix I'm not as familiar with, yet, but it's getting great press and that doesn't happen in a vacuum. So, even as Ebay blunders about screwing things up, people like me just don't care anymore because we have moved on. My concerns now are in watching a historic train wreck, the like of which the net has never seen. The demise of Ebay will be taught in business schools for decades to come.
Bonanzle and Wigix are coming on strong
*** Children's book collectors in New England are in for a treat. It seems a gathering of authors and illustrators are putting together their own tours of independent book stores, and that now more than 40 have signed on. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller thinks this is great, because, while he has nothing against chain stores per se, indies are much more responsive to the marketplace and generally add to the cultural health of a community.
New England Children's book authors and illustrators start their own tour
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
OPEN SEASON by C.J. Box
Open Season by C.J. Box. Putnam, 2001.
The first Joe Pickett novel is quite typical of a Putnam edition of this period. Green cloth backstrap, green paper boards, quarto. Box's signature is very plain, as you can see. In person he's a fine guy, really top of the heap. If you get a chance, attend one of his signings.
DRAGONFLY by Dean Koontz (writing as K.R. Dwyer)
Dragonfly by Dean Koontz, writing as K.R. Dwyer. Random House, 1975.
As I blog this, Koontz is listed as having written 106 books, in case you're counting. That's a lot. And in the early years he really cranked them out under a variety of pseudonyms. The Dwyer name he used twice, as both Deanna and K.R.
Dragonfly is typical of Random House in the mid 70's, octavo, black cloth backstrap and yellow paper boards. The standard Random House first edition indicators are present, a number line ending in '2' with the First Edition slug. The jacket is also pretty typical, not particularly fragile. The front illustration is so 70's it's almost a cliche.
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead Books, 2003.
When Hosseini's novel was first published, no one thought it would ever be the runaway best-seller that it became. Indeed, some first editions were actually remaindered. The book's construction is better than average, though, with black cloth backstrap and dark green paper boards that seem a bit more solid than is normal. Hosseini is well known for signing his books in both English and Farsi and the photo here is a great example of that. Standard first edition nomenclature.
Did Scrooge bet on the Giants?
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Indications of Ebay's continuing slide are becoming common-place, but even the casual observer cannot fail to see the irony in this latest bit of news. One of John Donahoe's excuses for wiping out the best ecommerce site on the net was to make it an Amazon clone. There are rumors that he wants to be Jeff Bezos' love child, or at least his adopted son, but those are still rumors at this point. Anyway, for the first time in a long time Amazon beat Ebay in unique visitors during November and, if you're Ebay, this is a very bad thing.
Ebay's competitors passing it on the downhill side
This means that Ebay has given up its place as the premier site for odd and unusual things on the web to beat Amazon at its own game, except Amazon is increasing its lead while Ebay is alienating its market. How, exactly, this benefits anyone except Amazon is unknown at this point. But BBG is beginning to smell a rat. Could Ebay be committing suicide on purpose, to directly aid Amazon in taking over the world? Granted, that seems a bit extreme on the surface of it, but what else explains the stupidity of telling all of your customers to get lost? Except, of course, stupidity itself.
*** From my editor at ILAM and the lady who created the site, Sally Powers, comes this snippet about popular crime fictioneer J.A. Jance: "J. A. Jance has a book coming out next summer combining two of her series characters, J. P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady. She's on tour with the current Ali Reynolds book and another is coming out next December. If you get a chance to hear her speak don't miss it. Her anecdotes, especially about book tours, are priceless. As is her opinion of New York publicists and their grasp of geography!"
So there you have it, Jance-o-philes. Catch her on her current tour and save your pennies for next summer's big event.
*** Okay, your friendly neighborhood bookseller admits that he is a junkie for biographies about our Founding Fathers, an interest sparked by David McCullough's utterly brilliant biography of John Adams. So it's with surprise and excitement that he sees Lynne Cheney will be writing a new biography of James Madison. I have no idea whether Mrs. Cheney can write or not, but while Madison is a crucial figure in the early history of the USA, even today his wife remains better known that her husband, (which makes me crave a Dolly Madison cake about now) his place in American history has not really been solidified in the public mind. I'm glad of this and wish her the best.
*** I include the next story for several reasons. One, I love A Christmas Carol, both the book and most of the various movie versions. Indeed, the Patrick Stewart production is on tonight and I may choose it for my viewing pleasure. Two, I don't really know much about Dickens so something biographical would be a pleasure. Three, and most importantly, the linked review of the new book by Les Standiford, The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits, gives me the chance to say that Standiford is one fine fellow, a better writer (his John Deal mysteries were terrific and deserved far more attention than they received) and to post the picture that I have of him with some unknown but dashing chap in a bookstore.
Standiford is not to be blamed for the crappy quality of the photo. He's the distinguished looking man on the right.
Les Standiford brings Marley and Scrooge back to life
*** It is with great reluctance that BBG includes this story concerning two books about the 1958 NFL championship game. The game was great, perhaps the greatest ever played, but the reluctance comes in that your resident blogger actually remembers the game. Or, at least, bits of it. I was a tyke at the time, running around and being obnoxious, and have only dream-images of the game being on at my uncle's house while my relatives crowded around the flickering screen of the TV. I have no idea why it made such an impression on me. None. I wasn't old enough to know what football was, yet there was something so profound about that game that I remember the event. Strange thing, memory, storing away stuff for no apparent purpose and forgetting things you really should remember.
Anyway, there are two new books about that game, either or which would probably be a great gift idea for dad or granddad.
Fabulous football fifty years gone
*** Indications of Ebay's continuing slide are becoming common-place, but even the casual observer cannot fail to see the irony in this latest bit of news. One of John Donahoe's excuses for wiping out the best ecommerce site on the net was to make it an Amazon clone. There are rumors that he wants to be Jeff Bezos' love child, or at least his adopted son, but those are still rumors at this point. Anyway, for the first time in a long time Amazon beat Ebay in unique visitors during November and, if you're Ebay, this is a very bad thing.
Ebay's competitors passing it on the downhill side
This means that Ebay has given up its place as the premier site for odd and unusual things on the web to beat Amazon at its own game, except Amazon is increasing its lead while Ebay is alienating its market. How, exactly, this benefits anyone except Amazon is unknown at this point. But BBG is beginning to smell a rat. Could Ebay be committing suicide on purpose, to directly aid Amazon in taking over the world? Granted, that seems a bit extreme on the surface of it, but what else explains the stupidity of telling all of your customers to get lost? Except, of course, stupidity itself.
*** From my editor at ILAM and the lady who created the site, Sally Powers, comes this snippet about popular crime fictioneer J.A. Jance: "J. A. Jance has a book coming out next summer combining two of her series characters, J. P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady. She's on tour with the current Ali Reynolds book and another is coming out next December. If you get a chance to hear her speak don't miss it. Her anecdotes, especially about book tours, are priceless. As is her opinion of New York publicists and their grasp of geography!"
So there you have it, Jance-o-philes. Catch her on her current tour and save your pennies for next summer's big event.
*** Okay, your friendly neighborhood bookseller admits that he is a junkie for biographies about our Founding Fathers, an interest sparked by David McCullough's utterly brilliant biography of John Adams. So it's with surprise and excitement that he sees Lynne Cheney will be writing a new biography of James Madison. I have no idea whether Mrs. Cheney can write or not, but while Madison is a crucial figure in the early history of the USA, even today his wife remains better known that her husband, (which makes me crave a Dolly Madison cake about now) his place in American history has not really been solidified in the public mind. I'm glad of this and wish her the best.
*** I include the next story for several reasons. One, I love A Christmas Carol, both the book and most of the various movie versions. Indeed, the Patrick Stewart production is on tonight and I may choose it for my viewing pleasure. Two, I don't really know much about Dickens so something biographical would be a pleasure. Three, and most importantly, the linked review of the new book by Les Standiford, The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits, gives me the chance to say that Standiford is one fine fellow, a better writer (his John Deal mysteries were terrific and deserved far more attention than they received) and to post the picture that I have of him with some unknown but dashing chap in a bookstore.
Standiford is not to be blamed for the crappy quality of the photo. He's the distinguished looking man on the right.
Les Standiford brings Marley and Scrooge back to life
*** It is with great reluctance that BBG includes this story concerning two books about the 1958 NFL championship game. The game was great, perhaps the greatest ever played, but the reluctance comes in that your resident blogger actually remembers the game. Or, at least, bits of it. I was a tyke at the time, running around and being obnoxious, and have only dream-images of the game being on at my uncle's house while my relatives crowded around the flickering screen of the TV. I have no idea why it made such an impression on me. None. I wasn't old enough to know what football was, yet there was something so profound about that game that I remember the event. Strange thing, memory, storing away stuff for no apparent purpose and forgetting things you really should remember.
Anyway, there are two new books about that game, either or which would probably be a great gift idea for dad or granddad.
Fabulous football fifty years gone
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The River, three cities and a Top 10
Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.
*** Never let it be said that your friendly neighborhood bookseller isn't an equal opportunity basher. I think by now you know my opinion of the new Ebay, so let's look today at The River, Amazon. Specifically, Amazon.UK. It seems that even in this enlightened age workers wind up working for those who consider them chattel. Holy Dickens, Batman!
Amazon.UK dares their workers to try and have a normal life
Of course, in the years before BBG came on the scene to save the world from the scourge of merely ordinary booksellers, he was employed selling electronics on commission for a company that makes Amazon look downright progressive, so he does understand why a brutal work schedule is better than no work schedule at all.
*** In all the world what are the three best cities for people who love books? Ask 10 people and you would probably get 12 opinions, but MSNBC weighs in with theirs.
Berlin, Boston and Dublin for those who love books
I would very much love to visit Berlin and I've been to Dublin. Wow, I don't know if it's the best city for book lovers, Hay-on-Wye might take that honor, but it's certainly a wonderful place. What's more, The Book of Kells lives on at Trinity College and it's hard to imagine a more beautiful book. So yeah, I can live with this choice.
Boston? Not for me. My German is passable and the Irish are easily understood, but Bostonians? I might as well be in Tibet. (Just kidding! I could probably understand every other word in Boston)
*** WorldNetDaily wants to know what you think are the Top 10 all time more important non-fiction books, excluding the Bible. I find this type of survey fascinating, as it gives people a chance to list their choices and others a chance to be exposed to great books they may not have been aware of. Just a quick glance shows me I still have plenty of stuff left to discover.
Choose your Top 10
*** Never let it be said that your friendly neighborhood bookseller isn't an equal opportunity basher. I think by now you know my opinion of the new Ebay, so let's look today at The River, Amazon. Specifically, Amazon.UK. It seems that even in this enlightened age workers wind up working for those who consider them chattel. Holy Dickens, Batman!
Amazon.UK dares their workers to try and have a normal life
Of course, in the years before BBG came on the scene to save the world from the scourge of merely ordinary booksellers, he was employed selling electronics on commission for a company that makes Amazon look downright progressive, so he does understand why a brutal work schedule is better than no work schedule at all.
*** In all the world what are the three best cities for people who love books? Ask 10 people and you would probably get 12 opinions, but MSNBC weighs in with theirs.
Berlin, Boston and Dublin for those who love books
I would very much love to visit Berlin and I've been to Dublin. Wow, I don't know if it's the best city for book lovers, Hay-on-Wye might take that honor, but it's certainly a wonderful place. What's more, The Book of Kells lives on at Trinity College and it's hard to imagine a more beautiful book. So yeah, I can live with this choice.
Boston? Not for me. My German is passable and the Irish are easily understood, but Bostonians? I might as well be in Tibet. (Just kidding! I could probably understand every other word in Boston)
*** WorldNetDaily wants to know what you think are the Top 10 all time more important non-fiction books, excluding the Bible. I find this type of survey fascinating, as it gives people a chance to list their choices and others a chance to be exposed to great books they may not have been aware of. Just a quick glance shows me I still have plenty of stuff left to discover.
Choose your Top 10
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Michael Chabon's THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY
Michael Chabon's magnum opus is a bit better constructed than most Random House offering of the period. White cloth backstrap and paper boards, the wonderful cover is of a heavy stock that should wear well, but is a bit prone to nicks and wear spots. Still, it's much better than most offerings. The double-sided copyright page is almost luxurious in this day and age.
First edition is indicated like any other Random offering of the day, with a number line ending in '2' and the First Edition slug present. Page ends are
deckled. I have put this under SFF but in reality it's hard to categorize this one.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Carl Hiaasen's DOUBLE WHAMMY
Hiaasen's second solo novel is terrific, in my never humble opinion. Tourist Season was good, and certainly different, but Double Whammy really taps into the manic weirdness that became his hallmark. How many books have a 28 pound largemouth bass that is trained to surface on command? And Skink, former governor of Florida now living in the wilds, I mean, come on, that's classic stuff.
Skin Tight sold before I could get photos, so I'm putting these up now because I doubt these copies will last long. The book is typical Putnam of the period, cloth backstrap and paper boards, fairly high acid paper, number line down to '1'. There are no points of issue that I'm aware of and I don't know of a second printing, although that's not definitive.
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