February 01, 2007

Notes from a DVD Geek

by Jeremy Lassen

Hello DVD maniacs.  This month we’ve got  an Italian horror resurrection.  Get ready!

The second season of Masters of Terror is hitting DVD, and Dario Argento’s episode, "Pelts," hits DVD this month.  Some of you may remember his episode, "Jennifer," from the first season.  Both are solid entries to the Argento canon.  For more Argento love, be sure to note that cult film experts Blue Underground are re-releasing his sequel to Suspiria,  Inferno.  Inferno is a often-overlooked classic set in a monstrous old mansion in New York, and features a weird score by ELP.  It further explores the “three sisters” mythology that began in Suspiria.

Next up on the Blue Underground list is  Fulci’s classic of 80’s splatter-gore, zombies, and semi-incoherence, City of the Living Dead.  This looks to be a full-features, anamorphic release, which is critical for enjoying the legendary “death by drill press” scene.  A lesser Fulci effort, Don’t Torture a Duckling, is also being re-released this month by Blue Underground.

January Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
2. You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
3. Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross
4. Polity Agent by Neal Asher
5. Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti
6. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
7. Unto the Breach by John Ringo
8. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
9. The Demon and the City by Liz Williams
10. Gods And Pawns by Kage Baker
      tie
     Voices From The Street by Philip K. Dick

Paperbacks
1. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
2. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
3. Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
4. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
5. Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
6. Hell to Pay by Simon R. Green
7. Learning the World by Ken MacLeod
8. Protector's War by S.M. Stirling
9. Olympos by Dan Simmons
10. Accelerando by Charles Stross

Trade Paperbacks
1. Hardwired by Walter John Williams
2. Overclocked by Cory Doctorow
    tie
    Fledgling by Octavia Butler
3. Snake Agent by Liz Williams
4. Spin Control by Chris Moriarity
5. Market Forces by Richard Morgan

Origin of the Bookstore, Part the Fourth - The Leak of the Week Pool

For the next nine months we'll be doing a special feature each month in honor of Borderlands' upcoming 10th Anniversary (November 3rd, 2007). We'll share some stories about what Borderlands is and how it got that way.

by Jude Feldman

As many of you know, Borderlands is housed in an old building.  In fact, the building at 866 Valencia turns 100 this year.  We like old buildings; their charms and quirks, their character and temperament.  Something that we don't like quite as much, though, is their tendency to leak.

After fire and censorship, water is the third greatest danger to books.  So when it comes pouring out of the ceiling unexpectedly, you get some pretty frantic booksellers, and for a while we were pretty frantic all the time.  The store leaked when it rained, when the wet leaves on the roof above the skylight became too sodden and heavy, when the plumbing in various parts of the apartments upstairs developed problems, and sometimes for no discernible reason at all.  The following are three selected episodes from the period in which the Borderlands employees enacted what we called "The Leak of the Week Pool," an unofficial betting pool where we wagered on what part of the store would leak next.