Apple Seeds - March & April 2007
Crazy winter, huh? At least the ice was thick enough on Garfield Lake for the (car) Ice Races. And, the cold snap made the ice safe enough for Leech’s Eel Pout Festival. February’s snowfall was needed for the snowmobilers and ski runs. Everything was getting so grubby-looking, including our cars.
Prof. Bill brought in a lot of the “Sisters-in-Crime” novels, and a lady from Park Rapids added to our L’Amour and Zane Grey shelves.
Our Writer’s Group received a big box of loaner “How to Write & How to Publish” books from a fellow writer. He’s not from the Walker area, so it was “above and beyond” for him to do this. Thanks, John.
We also had local author, Jim Pitzen, read his published narrative. We finished up the evening with discussions on Jim’s Viet Nam experiences, and life after coming home. The group is still talking about his writing, and his experiences. Thanks again, Jim.
Graphic Novels and Comic Books:
1st: What is Manga? Japanese-style comics.
2nd: Women reading comics/graphic novels? You bet! (Page 11 of March 2007 Romantic Times Magazine has contests for Graphic Novels & Comics.) Harlequin Pink, Ginger Blossom will feature romances such as Debbie Macomber’s No Competition.
Also in that magazine, on pages 134-139, see the list for Romantic Times BookClub Nominees for Best books and Authors of 2006. We always try to keep up on authors, but boy-oh-boy there are a LOT of writers listed there that must be really new.
Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling’s last book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (July 21) is causing angst among Independent Booksellers. “Big Box” chains can order truckloads and sell the books at steep discounts, while the smaller stores will be stuck with losses. According to a bookseller in Publisher’s Weekly: after ordering carefully, she’ll go to Sam’s to restock—it’s cheaper than buying wholesale from Scholastic. Tsk-Tsk.
On Feb. 12, Sidney Poitier’s “The Measure of a Man” was #1 on Publishers Weekly Trade Paperback Bestsellers List. Can you believe he’s 80 years old?
Paulo Coelho’s trade-size paperback “The Alchemist” is still on the bestseller list—and we have NOT had one in the store yet!
To those of you who (still) think Augusten Burroughs’ “Running with Scissors” is a great book, I apologize—but, I (still) think it’s porn!
Teens: Lauren Myracle has penned “ttyl” and “ttfn” (bestseller!) all in text messages. Her next book “l8r g8r” is now in print. Find a teenager to translate.
March Hardcovers:
Larry McMurtry -“When the Light Goes”.
Jodi Picoult - “Nineteen Minutes”
Lisa Scottoline – “Daddy’s Girl”
“The Gospel According to Judas” by Benjamin Iscariot “as recounted by Jeffrey Archer with the assistance of Francis J. Moloney.” (…how many writers does it take to screw in a light bulb…! )
I have not a clue what this book is about, but the title is over the top: “Pirates Don’t Change Diapers” by Melinda Long.
YES, Sue Grafton will have “T Is For Trespass” coming out this year. December!
Since August, Dorothea Benton Frank’s books have been selling at a pretty fast pace. (Please bring some more into the store!) Check out her web site at DotFrank.com.
Never could figure out why B.Dalton and Borders charge you for their “Discount Card”, and only give you a 10% discount on your purchase—when you can go to Target, K-Mart & Wal-Mart and get a 20-to-30% discount right off the shelves. Do you suppose they are stuck in the dark ages? (Or maybe they have one of those overpaid, absentee CEOs?)
James Lee Burke, popular mystery novelist, had been a college English professor, newspaper reporter, instructor in the Job Corps and a land surveyor. Why is it that successful people are also those who never sit still. Hmmmmm… How do they find time to get the dishes done?
We’ve always wondered how Louis L’Amour could have possibly done all those things he did in one lifetime.
James Patterson is another busy author. It seems he has a new book every few months.
Great interview last summer in Publisher’s Weekly with black author, Edward P. Jones. Over the past 14 years, Jones has received more than $500,000 in book prizes, including the Pulitzer. A well-educated man, Jones stated his apartment is almost bare—material things just do not matter to him. Getting those two or three pages written each day is what really keeps him going. His latest, “All Aunt Hagar’s Children” was published in September.
WHY do Audio Books cost so much????
I did spot Strange Matter® audiobook series for kids ages 7 & up at $9.95. That’s good!
(Middle school kids/terrifying supernatural encounters where they must use logic to solve problems. Ads state they are great family listening.)
Just finished J.D. Robb’s latest, “Innocent In Death” and a reader did the same with Tami Hoag’s latest, “Prior Bad Acts”. Both 4 star!
Pick up your Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine, and find information on all the contests you can enter. On April’s page 86, Andrea Kane’s full page ad also mentions a “chance to win a Free Digital Camera”.
Allison Brennan’s trilogies (latest book is Fear No Evil, 3/27/07) had been originally placed on our Romance Shelves. The popular novels are now being reviewed as Thrillers—which they should have been in the first place.
A sign of spring: Early Daylight Savings time and the delivery of Girl Scout Cookies. Now I can stay up longer so my waist can get bigger! (That nice lady on TV selling those expensive diet pills says it’s not really my fault—and I believe that. Must be those Girl Scouts!!)
A couple other great titles: “Life’s Too Short to Fold Your Underwear” (Patricia Lorenz) and “If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You’ll Probably End Up Somewhere Else” (David P. Campbell).
There are LOTS of new parenting books out this spring. Sure hope they aren’t the just-let-them-explore/give-them-their-freedom kind of books.
Still no ratings on Comic Books. I picked up one that had cute, kid-friendly drawings on the cover. Then in the middle of the comic—whoa.
As soon as time permits (!), I’m going to work on the two new pages of our website. Quite a few of the Collector Books have now been priced, but not catalogued. That time thing again. I need a twin.
Have a happy Spring!
Gotta go…bye for now……
