Notes from a DVD Geek

by Jeremy Lassen

DVD’s, as a home video format, are one of the best things since sliced bread.  Not only do they offer incredible sound and picture quality, they can include bonus materials that can greatly enhance your appreciation of your favorite movie,  and/or provide some fascinating background material that puts that odd little movie into a larger cinematic context.  Another thing they offer is alternate cuts of the film.  Sure, the extras are often puff features that were produced to run on E!, and sure the “alternate cut” is sometimes just an extra 15 seconds, so that the marketing people can justify putting “special super secret preferred directors edition” on the cover.  But sometimes. . . sometimes you get the goods.  Sometimes the studios do the DVD’s up right.

January Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1. Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton (UK)
2. The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
3. Olympos by Dan Simmons
4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
5. Accelerando by Charles Stross
6. Learning the World by Ken Macleod
7. The Night Land and Other Perilous Romances by William Hope Hodgson
8. Liaden Universe Companion by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
9. 9Tail Fox by John Courtenay Grimwood tied with The Unadulterated Cat by Terry Pratchett
10. Healthy Dead by Steven Erikson

Paperbacks
1. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
2. Gridlinked by Neal Asher
3. Declare by Tim Powers
4. Family Trade by Charles Stross
5. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
6. The Skinner by Neal Asher
7. Singularity Sky by Charles Stross
8. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
9. The Musashi Flex by Steve Perry
10. Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton.

Trade Paperbacks
1. The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker
2. Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
3. Air by Geoff Ryman
4. The James Tiptree Award Anthology vol. 2, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy. Debbie Notkin and Jeffrey Smith
5. Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks

Japanese and Korean Horror Film

by Jeremy Lassen

Jeremy Lassen, Borderlands' DVD buyer here.  I've been continuing to bulk out the Borderlands DVD selection, and one of the things I emphasized on my last big order was Asian horror movies.  Not the sad, tepid U.S. remakes, but the originals.  Here are just a few suggestions for some quality Asian Horror.

The obvious first suggestion is the original Japanese Ring movie, Ringu, and its sequel Ringu 2, which are now available.  Both of these films are excellent and far exceed the thrills-and-chills quotient of the U.S. versions.  For the completist, there is:  Ringu: Anthology of Terror, which features all four Japanese "Ring" films (Ringu, Rasen, Ringu 2, Ringu 0).

Another very solid Asian horror movie is the Korean knock-off of The Ring, called Ring Virus.  Obviously derivative, but in many ways it is better then Rasen and Ringu 2.  Ring Virus is worth checking out.

Speaking of Korean horror, one of the most stylish and well-done Asian horror films of the last few years is A Tale of Two Sisters, directed by Kim Jee-Woon.  Based on a traditional Korean folk tale, this movie is the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" of Asian Horror films -- a big budget, high quality film that will appeal to those who have never seen an Asian horror film before.  A Tale of Two Sisters is a great starting point for someone who wants to test the waters of this particular sub-genre.

December Bestsellers

Hardcovers
   1)  A Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin
   2)  Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
   3)  Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson
   4)  Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
   5)  Learning the World by Ken MacLeod
   6)  Accelerando by Charles Stross
   7)  Vellum by Hal Duncan (UK Edition)
   8)  The Secret Art of Dr. Suess by Theodore Geisel
   9)  Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link
  10)  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Paperbacks
   1)  A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
   2)  The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
   3)  The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
   4)  Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
   5)  Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
   6)  Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod
   7)  Forty Signs Of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson
   8)  Coyote Rising by Allen Steele
   9)  Witches of Karres by James Schmitz
  10)  Flash by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Trade Paperbacks
   1)  The Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
   2)  The Wizard by Gene Wolfe
   3)  Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
   4)  Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell
   5)  TIE - When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
                     Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

Other Bindings (Oversized, Undersized, etc.):
   1) Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir by Graham Roumieu
   2) Wizardology by Douglas A. Steer
   3) Wormwood Literature of the Fantastic vol. 5, edited by Mark Valentine

Happy New Year

by Alan Beatts

Happy New Year, everyone. I'm lucky enough that the first part of this column hasn't changed much in the past seven years. 2005 was a good year for Borderlands, the staff and me personally. Everyone is healthy and happy. Business has been strong and our sales are up once again. We've made a few changes around the shop (though, regrettably a number of the suggestions that you made last year have yet to be put into place -- believe me, I'm not ignoring them, I'm just slow). One of the most recent changes has been a big reorganization of the shelves at the back of the store. Everything is still pretty much in the same place, but the shelves have been rearranged. Everyone seems to think that it looks much nicer plus the new arrangement leaves more room for browsing and our book club meetings.

As always, none of the good things that happened last year would have been possible without two groups of wonderful people. First, my staff -- Jude, Jeremy, Claud, Cary, Francis, and Heather together make up the best staff that any business owner could ask for and more than that, they are the finest group of people I've ever had the pleasure to know. Why they put up with me will be forever a mystery.

Notes from a DVD Geek

by Jeremy Lassen

The DVD section of Borderlands Books is now under new management.  My name is Jeremy Lassen, and I am the new DVD buyer.  I'm a longtime employee of Borderlands, in addition to being a book geek and a total film fanatic.  Prior to the invention of DVDs, I searched high and low for my favorite movies in letter-boxed editions. . .I owned a laser disk player, and I have gone on long-winded diatribes concerning the subtle allure of Italian horror movies.

Having so thoroughly established my bonafides as a qualified DVD buyer, I wanted to let you know what my basic DVD buying philosophy is.  My goal is to turn the DVD section of Borderlands into your one-stop-shop for fantasy, science fiction and horror.  Rather then focus on new releases and blockbuster extravaganzas,  I'm going to work hard to bring to everyone's attention the overlooked gems and obscure titles that you may not have heard of, but are sure to enjoy.  I'm going to focus on older titles, but will try and have an extremely large cross section of genre films, old and new.  I'm not going to be all-inclusive, because, quite frankly, there is a lot of crap that I just don't think anybody will be interested in -- but I'm not going to be snobbish; I like both high and low brow movies, and the diversity of the DVD selection will reflect that.  In addition to bulking out the selection of titles in store, I'm going to be writing a column for the store newsletter focusing on the films that I think are particularly noteworthy.

September Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1) A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
2) Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson
3) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
4) Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson
5) The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
6) Learning the World by Ken MacLeod
7) At All Costs by David Weber
8) Snake Agent by Liz Williams (Nightshade Books)
9) Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
10) Loop by Koji Suzuki

Paperbacks
1) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
2) Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
3) The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4) The Good, the Bad and the Undead by Kim Harrison
5) Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson
6) Bad Men by John Connolly
7) The World Before by Karen Traviss
8) The Knight by Gene Wolfe
9) Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
10) Swastika by Michael Slade

Trade Paperbacks
1) Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
2) Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
3) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
4) Liaden Universe Companion vol. 1 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
5) Looking for Jake by China Mieville

The 2005 Gift Guide

Since it's That Time of Year Again, here is a quick, opinionated sampling of neat items we at Borderlands think you should give to other people or pick up for yourself.  We have far, far too many interesting choices to list all of them, so stop by, have a complimentary cup of coffee, tea or cocoa and browse at your leisure!  We will also quite cheerfully gift wrap for you free of charge, though we readily admit that some employees are better at it than others.  (Some packages may have a Lovecraftian quality, and be "of no human shape." You have been warned.)

Local First

by Alan Beatts

Normally I try to keep the topics in the column focused on our field or on books and bookselling in general.  More importantly I try to keep away from San Francisco-centric topics.  I know that this newsletter goes out to people all over the country and beyond.  There's no need to fill your valuable reading time (there never is enough of that, at least in my world) with "local news".  That said, Borderlands is a San Francisco business and I feel we have an obligation to our home town.  So, if you don't live in or frequently visit SF and you're short on time, please feel free to skip the following.  However, though what I'm going to talk about is specifically related to SF, the essential idea applies anywhere in the United States.  For that matter, I'd bet that it applies to most of the developed world.

For years booksellers have been talking about the "evil" chain stores who are taking away their customers and forcing them out of business.  When I first got into bookselling I had no idea that such a controversy existed and I really didn't see any difference between buying books at an independent and buying them at a chain.  Once I got into the book business, I quickly found that booksellers in general were pretty rabid on this subject.  The problem was that, at bottom, all the arguments that I heard in favor of independent stores seemed to be based on a vague but very concrete conviction that indies were "better" than chains.  When such an argument comes from the owner of an indie store it lacks a certain credibility.  My attitude, despite owning a bookstore, was, "Let people decide for themselves.  If chain stores do a better job of giving people what they want, good for the chains.  If Borderlands fails I guess I'll go open a woodworking shop."

October Bestsellers

Hardcovers
1) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
2) Woken Furies by Richard Morgan
3) Children of the Company by Kage Baker
4) Thud! by Terry Pratchett
5) Snake Agent by Liz Williams (Nightshade Books)
6) Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton (UK Edition)
7) Fledgling by Octavia Butler
8) Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
9) Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson
10) Ghost by John Ringo

Paperbacks
1) Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
2) Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
3) Blood of Angels by Michael Marshall
4) Last Call by Tim Powers
5) Dread Empires Fall: Conventions of War by Walter Jon Williams
6) Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson (UK Edition)
7) Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
8) Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
9) The World Before by Karen Traviss
10) Windfall by Rachel Caine

Trade Paperbacks
1) Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
2) Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
3) Looking for Jake by China Mieville
4) The Dark Tower by Stephen King
5) Storyteller: Writing Lessons & More From 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop by Kate Wilhelm (Small Beer Press)