by Jeremy Lassen
Welcome to 2010. While most of the world is focused on James Cameron's latest special effects extravaganza ("Avatar," AKA "Dances With Smurfs"), I thought I'd start out the new year by going over some of Cameron's earlier efforts. Cameron's first film job involved building miniature sets, and supervising process-projection on Roger Corman's "Battle Beyond the Stars". Not a great movie by any means, but Roger Corman once again launches the career of a future Hollywood heavyweight. Cameron's first directorial effort was still within the area of low-budget genre thrillers -- "Piranha 2: The Spawning". He was originally hired to be the special effects director, but the director quit before production started, and he inherited the big chair.
January 01, 2010
December Bestsellers
Hardcovers
1. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
2. Makers by Cory Doctorow
3. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
4. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
6. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
7. Transition by Iain M. Banks
8. Under the Dome by Stephen King
9. Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Amanda Bennett
10. Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Unleashed by John Levitt
3. This is Not a Game by Walter John Williams
4. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
5. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
6. Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher
7. Chalice by Robin McKinley
8. Passage at Arms by Glen Cook
9. Implied Spaces by Walter John Williams
10. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Trade Paperbacks
1. XKCD Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
3. Zones of Chaos by Mick Farren
4. Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith tie with Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst
1. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
2. Makers by Cory Doctorow
3. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
4. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
6. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
7. Transition by Iain M. Banks
8. Under the Dome by Stephen King
9. Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Amanda Bennett
10. Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Unleashed by John Levitt
3. This is Not a Game by Walter John Williams
4. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
5. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
6. Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher
7. Chalice by Robin McKinley
8. Passage at Arms by Glen Cook
9. Implied Spaces by Walter John Williams
10. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Trade Paperbacks
1. XKCD Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
3. Zones of Chaos by Mick Farren
4. Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith tie with Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst
Cafe News
by Alan Beatts
First off, please forgive me for the lateness of this newsletter. Jude had it ready to go out a week ago (late, but not too bad -- given the givens) but she was holding it waiting for this piece and my article about ebooks. For my part, it's been a _very_ long few weeks and, though I've had time to write, I haven't had the concentration to do so.
You faithful readers and customers probably have a guess as to what's been taking up so much of my time and brain-space. The new cafe next door has been operating for just a bit over a month now and it's proving to be a fair amount of work. Moreover, it's hard to switch gears from being the manager there (as well as the #1 dishwasher -- I tell you, I'm one fast devil with a bussing tray full of cups) to being bookseller guy. But, I'm managing and things there are going quite well. I'm lucky to have a great crew to work with (Jim, Chris, John, Naamen, Cole and Peter are just as pleasant and quirky a group as the folks on the bookstore side. Just about as well read, too) and the day-to-day operations are getting to be routine. I've seen a fair number of customers from the bookstore over there and it's been great to get your feedback and ideas.
I'm looking forward to getting some of the final bugs out of the operation over there and then settling in for the process of building up the business and customer base. I hope to have the place operating in a mostly self-sufficient way in about six months or so and then I'll be moving my office back to the bookstore. But for now, you'll find me in the cafe most of the time that I'm at work. My desk is set up towards the back and I'd love it if you'd say "hi" when you stop by.
I've two little pieces of cafe business that I'd like to mention before I close this. Firstly, I'm looking for local artists who would like to show their work at the cafe. If that's your thing or if you know someone who might be interested, please drop me a line and we'll get something set up. I'm open to most sorts of static art and I would be proud to feature our customers' work.
Secondly, if you have a group of some sort that could use a place to meet, please consider meeting at the cafe. We've plenty of room and I would be happy to reserve space for groups that need a place to meet. Providing that sort of service was one of my original goals when I started planning this and I'd love to make it a reality.
In closing, I hope that the new year is treating you well and bringing you all that you hope.
First off, please forgive me for the lateness of this newsletter. Jude had it ready to go out a week ago (late, but not too bad -- given the givens) but she was holding it waiting for this piece and my article about ebooks. For my part, it's been a _very_ long few weeks and, though I've had time to write, I haven't had the concentration to do so.
You faithful readers and customers probably have a guess as to what's been taking up so much of my time and brain-space. The new cafe next door has been operating for just a bit over a month now and it's proving to be a fair amount of work. Moreover, it's hard to switch gears from being the manager there (as well as the #1 dishwasher -- I tell you, I'm one fast devil with a bussing tray full of cups) to being bookseller guy. But, I'm managing and things there are going quite well. I'm lucky to have a great crew to work with (Jim, Chris, John, Naamen, Cole and Peter are just as pleasant and quirky a group as the folks on the bookstore side. Just about as well read, too) and the day-to-day operations are getting to be routine. I've seen a fair number of customers from the bookstore over there and it's been great to get your feedback and ideas.
I'm looking forward to getting some of the final bugs out of the operation over there and then settling in for the process of building up the business and customer base. I hope to have the place operating in a mostly self-sufficient way in about six months or so and then I'll be moving my office back to the bookstore. But for now, you'll find me in the cafe most of the time that I'm at work. My desk is set up towards the back and I'd love it if you'd say "hi" when you stop by.
I've two little pieces of cafe business that I'd like to mention before I close this. Firstly, I'm looking for local artists who would like to show their work at the cafe. If that's your thing or if you know someone who might be interested, please drop me a line and we'll get something set up. I'm open to most sorts of static art and I would be proud to feature our customers' work.
Secondly, if you have a group of some sort that could use a place to meet, please consider meeting at the cafe. We've plenty of room and I would be happy to reserve space for groups that need a place to meet. Providing that sort of service was one of my original goals when I started planning this and I'd love to make it a reality.
In closing, I hope that the new year is treating you well and bringing you all that you hope.
Overheard at the Store
Okay, so normally this section is called "Overheard at the Con," and we only print it when we attend conventions & overhear things at them. Well, you guys are just so gosh-darn quotable that we'll be expanding the section to include funny, out-of-context things we occasionally overhear at the store, too. (And no fair oh-so-casually dropping funny quotes just so we'll include them in the newsletter!)
"I'm just at the part where the werewolf kisses her. It's gone on for four pages; it's pretty intense!"
"I want to stab law school in the face."
"I'm just at the part where the werewolf kisses her. It's gone on for four pages; it's pretty intense!"
"I want to stab law school in the face."
December 01, 2009
Notes from a DVD Geek
Happy holidays, DVD fans. I'd like to recommend some gift ideas for the movie geeks you may be buying presents for. Let's start off with some classics that have really nice editions available.
With James Cameron's latest opus storming theaters this holiday season, I thought the original Cameron masterpiece, "The Abyss," should get some play. There is a beautiful edition out right now, that has both the theatrical and the extended Director's Cut, along with a ton of extras. If your secret-Santa buddy is more action-oriented, it's hard to go wrong with Cameron's "Aliens". . . which of course has a beautiful 2 disk collectors edition that has both the theatrical and extended cuts of the movie. Or, if you just want to go whole hog, there's always the 9 disk "Alien" Quadrology.
Sticking with SF classics, I wanted to point out that Borderlands still has one of the limited edition, 5-disc "Blade Runner" suitcase editions, containing a ridiculous number of cuts of the movie, as well as a bunch of crazy-ass (Origami unicorn? Flying police car?!?) pieces of "Blade Runner" themed plastic-gack. This is truly the edition the hard core "Blade Runner" fan in your life has been calling out for. This suitcase edition comes with the original "workprint" version of the movie that features a DIFFERENT voice-over from the original theatrical edition. So yeah. Gotta have it.
Moving back to the realm of recent SF, the current "collector's edition" of "Serenity" is a nice gift for the Joss Wheadon fan in your life who is mourning the cancellation of Doll House. If just one movie won't make up for the loss of a Wheadon tv series, I recommend picking up the "Buffy" complete series package. All seven seasons in one box. It takes up a lot less room then all those individual seasons, and has a bunch of bonus features not found in the single-season packs. So if your Wheadon fan really needs something awesome this Christmas, "Buffy". Always "Buffy".
For the Harry Potter fans who just can't get enough, there's a series of 4 disk ultimate editions of the first two movies coming out in December. . . . The usual ton of extras plus. . . a copy of the book! This may seem a bit redundant, but true fans know you can never have enough Potter.
Another awesome gift idea out there is the "Family Guy 'Star Wars'" episodes. There's a Blue Harvest/Something Something Something Darkside double pack, that collects both of the amazing "Family Guy" spoof episodes in one package. This is a great fit for any "Star Wars" fan, or "Family Guy" fan, or any combination of the two.
For the hard core Euro-trash horror fan. . . you can not go wrong with The Blind Dead Collection ("Tombs of the Blind Dead"/"The Ghost Galleon"/"Return of the Evil Dead"/"Night of the Seagulls"/ from director Amando De Ossorio). . . all in one coffin-shaped package! Nothing says "I love you" like "The Blind Dead".
Another classic for the horror movie fan in your life is the 9 movie Val Lewton box set. Val Lewton was a legendary producer at RKO studios, and the low budget "thrillers" he produced ("Cat People" / "The Curse of the Cat People" / "I Walked with a Zombie" / "The Body Snatcher" / "Isle of the Dead" / "Bedlam" / "The Leopard Man" / "The Ghost Ship" / "The Seventh Victim"), are legendary. This set also includes a documentary, "Shadows in the Dark," which covers Lewton's career and influence. This will be appreciated by anyone who loves classic horror movies.
For those who like their horror with a more modern flair, you might consider the Dark Castle Collection box set. This production company was named after William Castle, and this DVD set includes "The House on Haunted Hill," "Thirteen Ghosts," "Ghost Ship," "Gothika," and "House of Wax". Several of these were amazingly good, and all of them were far more entertaining then one would have expected. Highlights definitely include "The House on Haunted Hill" and "Gothika". Even "House of Wax" works if you imagine it as a kind of twisted homage to Dario Argento -- it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to look incredibly weird, and compelling!
For the anime fans on your list, I recommend looking at various complete series sets that exist. "Ramna 1/2" is available in season sets, and the first couple seasons are hilarious. "Gunslinger Girls" is an excellent example of the "little girls who kick ass and have existential angst" sub-sub-genre. Another great example for this sub-genre is "Elfen Lied". Instead of secret government orphan assassins, we have secret government psychic weapon experts.
Finally, the best Christmas gifts are ALWAYS Studio Ghibli films. From "Totoro," to "Porko Rosso," to "Howl's Moving Castle," to everything in between. There's a Hayao Miyazaki film for everyone. Get one, or more, for folks on your Christmas list. They will definitely thank you.
That's all I've got for now. I'm going to go watch "Pom Poko" again. (I just love raccoons with giant testicles.) Happy Holidays!
With James Cameron's latest opus storming theaters this holiday season, I thought the original Cameron masterpiece, "The Abyss," should get some play. There is a beautiful edition out right now, that has both the theatrical and the extended Director's Cut, along with a ton of extras. If your secret-Santa buddy is more action-oriented, it's hard to go wrong with Cameron's "Aliens". . . which of course has a beautiful 2 disk collectors edition that has both the theatrical and extended cuts of the movie. Or, if you just want to go whole hog, there's always the 9 disk "Alien" Quadrology.
Sticking with SF classics, I wanted to point out that Borderlands still has one of the limited edition, 5-disc "Blade Runner" suitcase editions, containing a ridiculous number of cuts of the movie, as well as a bunch of crazy-ass (Origami unicorn? Flying police car?!?) pieces of "Blade Runner" themed plastic-gack. This is truly the edition the hard core "Blade Runner" fan in your life has been calling out for. This suitcase edition comes with the original "workprint" version of the movie that features a DIFFERENT voice-over from the original theatrical edition. So yeah. Gotta have it.
Moving back to the realm of recent SF, the current "collector's edition" of "Serenity" is a nice gift for the Joss Wheadon fan in your life who is mourning the cancellation of Doll House. If just one movie won't make up for the loss of a Wheadon tv series, I recommend picking up the "Buffy" complete series package. All seven seasons in one box. It takes up a lot less room then all those individual seasons, and has a bunch of bonus features not found in the single-season packs. So if your Wheadon fan really needs something awesome this Christmas, "Buffy". Always "Buffy".
For the Harry Potter fans who just can't get enough, there's a series of 4 disk ultimate editions of the first two movies coming out in December. . . . The usual ton of extras plus. . . a copy of the book! This may seem a bit redundant, but true fans know you can never have enough Potter.
Another awesome gift idea out there is the "Family Guy 'Star Wars'" episodes. There's a Blue Harvest/Something Something Something Darkside double pack, that collects both of the amazing "Family Guy" spoof episodes in one package. This is a great fit for any "Star Wars" fan, or "Family Guy" fan, or any combination of the two.
For the hard core Euro-trash horror fan. . . you can not go wrong with The Blind Dead Collection ("Tombs of the Blind Dead"/"The Ghost Galleon"/"Return of the Evil Dead"/"Night of the Seagulls"/ from director Amando De Ossorio). . . all in one coffin-shaped package! Nothing says "I love you" like "The Blind Dead".
Another classic for the horror movie fan in your life is the 9 movie Val Lewton box set. Val Lewton was a legendary producer at RKO studios, and the low budget "thrillers" he produced ("Cat People" / "The Curse of the Cat People" / "I Walked with a Zombie" / "The Body Snatcher" / "Isle of the Dead" / "Bedlam" / "The Leopard Man" / "The Ghost Ship" / "The Seventh Victim"), are legendary. This set also includes a documentary, "Shadows in the Dark," which covers Lewton's career and influence. This will be appreciated by anyone who loves classic horror movies.
For those who like their horror with a more modern flair, you might consider the Dark Castle Collection box set. This production company was named after William Castle, and this DVD set includes "The House on Haunted Hill," "Thirteen Ghosts," "Ghost Ship," "Gothika," and "House of Wax". Several of these were amazingly good, and all of them were far more entertaining then one would have expected. Highlights definitely include "The House on Haunted Hill" and "Gothika". Even "House of Wax" works if you imagine it as a kind of twisted homage to Dario Argento -- it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to look incredibly weird, and compelling!
For the anime fans on your list, I recommend looking at various complete series sets that exist. "Ramna 1/2" is available in season sets, and the first couple seasons are hilarious. "Gunslinger Girls" is an excellent example of the "little girls who kick ass and have existential angst" sub-sub-genre. Another great example for this sub-genre is "Elfen Lied". Instead of secret government orphan assassins, we have secret government psychic weapon experts.
Finally, the best Christmas gifts are ALWAYS Studio Ghibli films. From "Totoro," to "Porko Rosso," to "Howl's Moving Castle," to everything in between. There's a Hayao Miyazaki film for everyone. Get one, or more, for folks on your Christmas list. They will definitely thank you.
That's all I've got for now. I'm going to go watch "Pom Poko" again. (I just love raccoons with giant testicles.) Happy Holidays!
November Bestsellers
Hardcovers
1. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. Makers by Cory Doctorow
3. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
4. Green by Jay Lake
5. Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr
6. Canticle by Ken Scholes
7. Transition by Iain M. Banks tie with
American Fantastic Tales 2-Volume Boxed Set edited by Peter Straub
8. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
9. The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Deborah Beale and Tad Williams
10. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi tie with
Mariposa by Greg Bear
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
3. Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers
4. Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
5. The Gabble and Other Stories by Neal Asher
6. Dog Days by John Levitt
7. Lord-Protector's Daughter by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
8. Fade Out by Rachel Caine
9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
10. Lamentation by Ken Scholes
Trade Paperbacks
1. xkcd Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
3. Interfictions 2 edited by Christopher Barzak and Delia Sherman
4. Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow
1. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. Makers by Cory Doctorow
3. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
4. Green by Jay Lake
5. Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr
6. Canticle by Ken Scholes
7. Transition by Iain M. Banks tie with
American Fantastic Tales 2-Volume Boxed Set edited by Peter Straub
8. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
9. The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Deborah Beale and Tad Williams
10. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi tie with
Mariposa by Greg Bear
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
3. Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers
4. Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
5. The Gabble and Other Stories by Neal Asher
6. Dog Days by John Levitt
7. Lord-Protector's Daughter by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
8. Fade Out by Rachel Caine
9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
10. Lamentation by Ken Scholes
Trade Paperbacks
1. xkcd Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
3. Interfictions 2 edited by Christopher Barzak and Delia Sherman
4. Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow
Overheard at the Store
Okay, so normally this section is called "Overheard at the Con," and we only print it when we attend conventions & overhear things at them. Well, you guys are just so gosh-darn quotable that we'll be expanding the section to include funny, out-of-context things we occasionally overhear at the store, too. (And no fair oh-so-casually dropping funny quotes just so we'll include them in the newsletter!)
"I don't know, it was disturbing - there's just something about Lolita with a whip."
"My parents are FedEx-ing smoked turkey and green-beans to the bookstore for me. Can you sign for that?"
"This poem is about "Gilligan's Island". Then The Skipper starts tearing peoples' legs off."
"Build a man a fire and you've kept him warm for the night; light a man on fire and you've kept him warm for the rest of his life."
"Sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice."
"I don't know, it was disturbing - there's just something about Lolita with a whip."
"My parents are FedEx-ing smoked turkey and green-beans to the bookstore for me. Can you sign for that?"
"This poem is about "Gilligan's Island". Then The Skipper starts tearing peoples' legs off."
"Build a man a fire and you've kept him warm for the night; light a man on fire and you've kept him warm for the rest of his life."
"Sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice."
The 2009 Holiday Gift Guide
(Thanks to Salem Evans for major assistance in compiling this year's Gift Guide while I ran around doing cafe stuff! - Ed.)
*Zombies, zombies, zombies
For the zombie enthusiast on your list, the penultimate survival guide now comes in three great flavors:
a) Original (THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE by Max Brooks, Three Rivers Press Trade Paperback $14.95)
b) Flashcards (THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE DECK by Max Brooks, Potter Style, $13.95 - Instructional deck of 50 cards: vital lists, tips and diagrams with even more illustrations than the original book!)
c) Novel (WORLD WAR Z: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ZOMBIE WAR by Max Brooks, Three Rivers Press, Trade Paperback, $14.95 and Hardcover, $24.95) If you or the folks on your list can't get enough zombies, there's also a lovely new hardcover gift edition of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, available. It's called THE DELUXE HEIRLOOM EDITION (Chronicle Books, Hardcover, $24.95). Additionally, we've got something we can _guarantee_ they don't already have - the "My Zombie Pinup Calendar 2010 - Where beauty eats BRAAAIIINNNNSSS," which is exactly what it sounds like; sexy undead girls in cute risque' outfits, published by good ol' local folks. (MyZombiePinUp.com, $19.99). The publisher's website says "We dug up the idea of the 1950's vintage pin-up calendar and hit it over the head with a shovel"!
*As I do every year, I'm recommending hardcover volumes of well-loved classics for your gift-giving pleasure. We've got nice hardcover editions of DUNE by Frank Herbert (Ace, $29.95), THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Del Rey, $30.00), THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman (Ballantine, $24.95), GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (William Morrow, $29.95), and many, many others.
*Ah, media! We've got lots of TWILIGHT and its successors by Stephanie Meyer, a nice box set of the first three books in the Percy Jackson series (the first book has just been made into an eponymous movie called THE LIGHTNING THIEF), and, of course, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak (Harper, Hardcover, $17.95) a timeless favorite. We also have the excellent new NightShade Books anthology IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES edited by John Joseph Adams (Trade Paperback, $15.95), and, no, that's absolutely not meant to be Jude Law on the cover! We can represent the "Weird Tales" side of Holmes, too, with GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES edited by J.R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec (EDGE, Trade Paperback, $16.95).
*Calendars
Speaking of calendars, we have lots of personal day calendars and wall calendars, with a theme for absolutely anyone: from fine art by Michael Parkes to Bunny Suicides, from Escher to Roald Dahl, from Giger to Breaking Bad News With Baby Animals, from Dr. Suess to Unicorns and oh-so-many more! Over 50 to choose from. Calendars range in price from $7.99 to $19.99.
*Rings
Everything from simple geometric designs to dragons, skulls, and scorpions. Rings range in price from $4.99 - $24.00.
*Edward Gorey
We have a wide array of Gorey merchandise in the store. A few examples include:
a) GOREY'S DRACULA: A TOY THEATRE (Pomegranate, $24.95) - Paper dolls for grownups, (or especially morbid children) based on Gorey's 1970's design for the staged "Dracula".
b) EDWARD GOREY: THE NEW POSTER BOOK (Pomegranate, Oversized Softcover, $19.95) - a collection of some of his most well known illustrations
c) The ever-popular and enduring GASHLYCRUMB TINIES (Harcourt, Small Hardcover, $10.00) - "A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs / B is for Basil, assaulted by bears. . ."
Additionally, we have all of the AMPHIGOREY collections and lots and lots of the individual books, including my all-time favorite, THE CURIOUS SOFA (Harcourt, Small Hardcover, $10.00) which claims to be "a pornographic work by Ogdred Weary" -- actually just suggestive and very funny and not pornographic at all.
*FAMOUS LAST WORDS: FOND FAREWELLS, DEATHBED DIATRIBES AND EXCLAMATIONS UPON EXPIRATION edited by Ray Robinson (Workman, Small Hardcover, $9.95) - This book puts famous last words and the last words of the famous into context. It runs the gamut from weird and irreverent to honestly touching.
*THE POP-UP BOOK OF PHOBIAS by Gary Greenberg and Balvis Rubess (William Morrow and Co., Oversized Hardcover, $29.95) - Guaranteed to get you out of baby-sitting for the rest of your life. We also carry THE POP-UP BOOK OF NIGHTMARES.
*Clocks
There are still some hand-made steampunk clocks (made with found wood and weird dials and, in one specially memorable case, an enormous flat hard drive and bits of church organ) from local Black Heart Industries left! For an extra special gift, or for the geek who has everything.
*Speaking of steampunk, it's everywhere now - steampunk is the new zombies! If you want to be right on top of the trend, pick up BONESHAKER by Cherie Priest (Tor, Trade Paperback, $15.99) LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, Hardcover, $19.99), BOILERPLATE: HISTORY'S MECHANICAL MARVEL by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett (Abrams, Oversized Hardcover, $24.95), MAINSPRING by Jay Lake (Tor, Mass Market, $7.99), SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Orbit, Mass Market, $7.99) or the original STEAMPUNK anthology edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon Publications, Trade Paperback, $14.95).
*Imported wooden boxes
Sizes range from a deck of cards up to small chests with designs including Celtic knots, metalwork, and pentacles. Recommended for almost anyone. Prices range from $5.00 to $48.00)
*XKCD book by Randall Munroe (breadpig, Other Softcover, $18.00) -
Good not only for fans of the comic, but for newcomers as well. This book includes extra doodlings and ponderings of the author alongside the mouse-over text from the website.
*Postcards
Tired of glitter-encrusted snowmen and trees? Try writing your Christmas missive on one of these awesome sci-fi postcards. Taken from retro covers of magazines and pulp novels, perennial favorites include "The Gods Hate Kansas" and "Sin In Space"! $1 each.
*THE BLADE ITSELF by Joe Abercrombie (Pyr, Trade Paperback, $15.98) - Are you (or someone dear to you) frustrated with waiting for the next SONG OF ICE AND FIRE book? Do you (or they) like fantasy hugely bloody, with a thread of dark humor? This is our recommendation; a trilogy that's actually finished, with an additional book (BEST SERVED COLD, the start of a new series) that stands just fine on its own and is one of my favorite titles from 2009.
*AMERICAN FANTASTIC TALES edited by Peter Straub) (Library of America, 2 hardcover volumes in slipcase, $70.00) - From the Library of America website: "From its beginning, American literature teems with tales of horror, hauntings, terrifying obsessions and gruesome incursions, of the uncanny ways in which ordinary reality can be breached and subverted by the unknown and the irrational. In the tales of Poe, and Hawthorne, and their literary successors, the bright prospects of the New World face an uneasy reckoning with the forces of darkness. As this pathbreaking two-volume anthology demonstrates, it is a tradition with many unexpected detours and hidden chambers, and one that continues to evolve, finding new forms and new themes." I strongly recommend this amazing (and gorgeously packaged) collection. One volume covers "From Poe to the Pulps" and the other covers "The 1940's Until Now".
And, as always, we're glad to help make suggestions, and we have gift certificates if you're just not sure. We can also arrange for gift credits -- essentially gift certificates that you can give to out-of-town folks to be used for mail orders -- if some of the genre fans in your life live remotely.
Happy holidays to you, from all of us!
*Zombies, zombies, zombies
For the zombie enthusiast on your list, the penultimate survival guide now comes in three great flavors:
a) Original (THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE by Max Brooks, Three Rivers Press Trade Paperback $14.95)
b) Flashcards (THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE DECK by Max Brooks, Potter Style, $13.95 - Instructional deck of 50 cards: vital lists, tips and diagrams with even more illustrations than the original book!)
c) Novel (WORLD WAR Z: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ZOMBIE WAR by Max Brooks, Three Rivers Press, Trade Paperback, $14.95 and Hardcover, $24.95) If you or the folks on your list can't get enough zombies, there's also a lovely new hardcover gift edition of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, available. It's called THE DELUXE HEIRLOOM EDITION (Chronicle Books, Hardcover, $24.95). Additionally, we've got something we can _guarantee_ they don't already have - the "My Zombie Pinup Calendar 2010 - Where beauty eats BRAAAIIINNNNSSS," which is exactly what it sounds like; sexy undead girls in cute risque' outfits, published by good ol' local folks. (MyZombiePinUp.com, $19.99). The publisher's website says "We dug up the idea of the 1950's vintage pin-up calendar and hit it over the head with a shovel"!
*As I do every year, I'm recommending hardcover volumes of well-loved classics for your gift-giving pleasure. We've got nice hardcover editions of DUNE by Frank Herbert (Ace, $29.95), THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Del Rey, $30.00), THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman (Ballantine, $24.95), GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (William Morrow, $29.95), and many, many others.
*Ah, media! We've got lots of TWILIGHT and its successors by Stephanie Meyer, a nice box set of the first three books in the Percy Jackson series (the first book has just been made into an eponymous movie called THE LIGHTNING THIEF), and, of course, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak (Harper, Hardcover, $17.95) a timeless favorite. We also have the excellent new NightShade Books anthology IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES edited by John Joseph Adams (Trade Paperback, $15.95), and, no, that's absolutely not meant to be Jude Law on the cover! We can represent the "Weird Tales" side of Holmes, too, with GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES edited by J.R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec (EDGE, Trade Paperback, $16.95).
*Calendars
Speaking of calendars, we have lots of personal day calendars and wall calendars, with a theme for absolutely anyone: from fine art by Michael Parkes to Bunny Suicides, from Escher to Roald Dahl, from Giger to Breaking Bad News With Baby Animals, from Dr. Suess to Unicorns and oh-so-many more! Over 50 to choose from. Calendars range in price from $7.99 to $19.99.
*Rings
Everything from simple geometric designs to dragons, skulls, and scorpions. Rings range in price from $4.99 - $24.00.
*Edward Gorey
We have a wide array of Gorey merchandise in the store. A few examples include:
a) GOREY'S DRACULA: A TOY THEATRE (Pomegranate, $24.95) - Paper dolls for grownups, (or especially morbid children) based on Gorey's 1970's design for the staged "Dracula".
b) EDWARD GOREY: THE NEW POSTER BOOK (Pomegranate, Oversized Softcover, $19.95) - a collection of some of his most well known illustrations
c) The ever-popular and enduring GASHLYCRUMB TINIES (Harcourt, Small Hardcover, $10.00) - "A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs / B is for Basil, assaulted by bears. . ."
Additionally, we have all of the AMPHIGOREY collections and lots and lots of the individual books, including my all-time favorite, THE CURIOUS SOFA (Harcourt, Small Hardcover, $10.00) which claims to be "a pornographic work by Ogdred Weary" -- actually just suggestive and very funny and not pornographic at all.
*FAMOUS LAST WORDS: FOND FAREWELLS, DEATHBED DIATRIBES AND EXCLAMATIONS UPON EXPIRATION edited by Ray Robinson (Workman, Small Hardcover, $9.95) - This book puts famous last words and the last words of the famous into context. It runs the gamut from weird and irreverent to honestly touching.
*THE POP-UP BOOK OF PHOBIAS by Gary Greenberg and Balvis Rubess (William Morrow and Co., Oversized Hardcover, $29.95) - Guaranteed to get you out of baby-sitting for the rest of your life. We also carry THE POP-UP BOOK OF NIGHTMARES.
*Clocks
There are still some hand-made steampunk clocks (made with found wood and weird dials and, in one specially memorable case, an enormous flat hard drive and bits of church organ) from local Black Heart Industries left! For an extra special gift, or for the geek who has everything.
*Speaking of steampunk, it's everywhere now - steampunk is the new zombies! If you want to be right on top of the trend, pick up BONESHAKER by Cherie Priest (Tor, Trade Paperback, $15.99) LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, Hardcover, $19.99), BOILERPLATE: HISTORY'S MECHANICAL MARVEL by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett (Abrams, Oversized Hardcover, $24.95), MAINSPRING by Jay Lake (Tor, Mass Market, $7.99), SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Orbit, Mass Market, $7.99) or the original STEAMPUNK anthology edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon Publications, Trade Paperback, $14.95).
*Imported wooden boxes
Sizes range from a deck of cards up to small chests with designs including Celtic knots, metalwork, and pentacles. Recommended for almost anyone. Prices range from $5.00 to $48.00)
*XKCD book by Randall Munroe (breadpig, Other Softcover, $18.00) -
Good not only for fans of the comic, but for newcomers as well. This book includes extra doodlings and ponderings of the author alongside the mouse-over text from the website.
*Postcards
Tired of glitter-encrusted snowmen and trees? Try writing your Christmas missive on one of these awesome sci-fi postcards. Taken from retro covers of magazines and pulp novels, perennial favorites include "The Gods Hate Kansas" and "Sin In Space"! $1 each.
*THE BLADE ITSELF by Joe Abercrombie (Pyr, Trade Paperback, $15.98) - Are you (or someone dear to you) frustrated with waiting for the next SONG OF ICE AND FIRE book? Do you (or they) like fantasy hugely bloody, with a thread of dark humor? This is our recommendation; a trilogy that's actually finished, with an additional book (BEST SERVED COLD, the start of a new series) that stands just fine on its own and is one of my favorite titles from 2009.
*AMERICAN FANTASTIC TALES edited by Peter Straub) (Library of America, 2 hardcover volumes in slipcase, $70.00) - From the Library of America website: "From its beginning, American literature teems with tales of horror, hauntings, terrifying obsessions and gruesome incursions, of the uncanny ways in which ordinary reality can be breached and subverted by the unknown and the irrational. In the tales of Poe, and Hawthorne, and their literary successors, the bright prospects of the New World face an uneasy reckoning with the forces of darkness. As this pathbreaking two-volume anthology demonstrates, it is a tradition with many unexpected detours and hidden chambers, and one that continues to evolve, finding new forms and new themes." I strongly recommend this amazing (and gorgeously packaged) collection. One volume covers "From Poe to the Pulps" and the other covers "The 1940's Until Now".
And, as always, we're glad to help make suggestions, and we have gift certificates if you're just not sure. We can also arrange for gift credits -- essentially gift certificates that you can give to out-of-town folks to be used for mail orders -- if some of the genre fans in your life live remotely.
Happy holidays to you, from all of us!
November 01, 2009
October Bestsellers
Hardcovers
1. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
3. Canticle by Ken Scholes
4. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi tie with
Green by Jay Lake
5. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erickson tie with
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
6. The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Deborah Beale and Tad Williams
7. Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
8. How to Make Friends With Demons by Graham Joyce
9. And Another Thing. . . by Eoin Colfer
10. Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Rosemary & Rue by Seanan McGuire
3. The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
4. Heart of Veridion by Tim Akers
5. Naming of the Beasts by Mike Carey
6. Dog Days by John Levitt
7. Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
8. Lamentation by Ken Scholes
9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
10. Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Trade Paperbacks
1. xkcd Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson
3. Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues edited by Loren Rhoads
4. Zones of Chaos by Mick Farren
5. Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead edited by John Skipp
1. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
3. Canticle by Ken Scholes
4. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi tie with
Green by Jay Lake
5. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erickson tie with
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
6. The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Deborah Beale and Tad Williams
7. Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
8. How to Make Friends With Demons by Graham Joyce
9. And Another Thing. . . by Eoin Colfer
10. Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger
2. Rosemary & Rue by Seanan McGuire
3. The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
4. Heart of Veridion by Tim Akers
5. Naming of the Beasts by Mike Carey
6. Dog Days by John Levitt
7. Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
8. Lamentation by Ken Scholes
9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
10. Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Trade Paperbacks
1. xkcd Volume 0 by Randall Munroe
2. The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson
3. Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues edited by Loren Rhoads
4. Zones of Chaos by Mick Farren
5. Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead edited by John Skipp
New Media Update
by Alan Beatts
Here's the rundown of the month's news on the eReader front. Two items very worthy of note are the report from Forester Research which estimates that total e-reader sales for 2009 will top 3 million units. That is up by 50% from their estimate of a few months ago. Second is that there is an increasing pool of circumstantial evidence that people who buy Kindles (and, to a lesser degree, other e-readers) actually read _more_ than they did before switching to the e-reader. People have cited ease of transportation and the convenience of purchasing wirelessly as the reason for their greater reading consumption.
Apple -- Ebook reading applications and ebooks are some of the most popular items downloaded for the iPhone and iPod Touch. So much so that they're even starting to edge out games as the most downloaded category.
Amazon -- In less than two weeks Amazon released the new, international Kindle (useable in over 200 countries) and discontinued the old, US-only Kindle 2. The new international version is priced the same as the old Kindle and so it's been more of a replacement with more features than a competing model. However, not all is joy in the rest of the world since the costs for books are substantially higher for international users and, for that matter, for US users who use the download feature while outside the US. The higher costs are explained by Amazon as being part taxes, part data-service costs (international downloads still originate in the US), and part wireless carrier charges.
Amazon is also trying to react to Sony's announcement last month that users of the Sony e-readers will have access to all half-million of Google's free, public domain ebooks by increasing the free offerings for the Kindle. However, at the current level of about 18,000 titles, they've got a long way to go.
Finally, Amazon has released a Kindle client application for the Windows computer operating system and they also have a Macintosh version in the works. Again, it looks like they're playing catchup to Sony and other companies who already offer desk- and lap-top versions of the reader software.
Barnes and Noble -- Not satisfied with their relationship with iRex as well as their ties with PlasticLogic's forthcoming high-end reader, the 800-pound gorilla of bookselling has announced their own e-reader, the Nook. It's a dumb name for a smart device if you ask me. The Nook comes with two screens, one over the other. The top one is a typical black and white EInk display like most readers on the market. Below it is a small, touch sensitive, color LCD. The idea is that the LCD will display full color covers while browsing the user's library as well as giving a better web-browser experience. It's a nice idea (though I prefer the book-like folding concept which supports a more reasonable sized LCD display opposite an EInk panel).
There's just one problem -- it looks like it wasn't B&N's nice idea. Spring Design, a Bay Area company, had the same idea and has patents going back to 2006 to support it. Moreover, Spring representatives meet with B&N in the spring of this year to pitch their reader (called the "Alex") as part of a joint venture. A joint venture covered by the full range of non-disclosure agreements that we're so fond of in Silicon Valley. Net result -- Spring Design is in the process of suing the pants off of B&N over violations of the NDAs and patents. Oooops!
Entourage Systems -- On the topic of two-screen readers, this start-up company has a product that, while heavy and a bit expensive, looks pretty good. The eDGe (don't ask me why the weird caps, I'm not a tech-guy) has two screens and opens like a book. One screen is a 9.7" EInk display and the other is a 10" color LCD. It runs on an ARM processor and has 4 GB storage, an SD card slot and 2 USB ports as well as WiFi and bluetooth. Other features include a web-cam, microphone and speakers. Running on Google's Android OS, it's going to be closer to a net-book computer than an ebook reader but that's not such a bad thing.
Three catches -- won't ship 'til February, price is $490, and it's big and heavy compared to a single purpose e-reader (8.25" by 10.75" by 1" and 2.75 lb.). But it's still a sign of where some people want to see the e-reader go, myself included -- if they'd make one that ran on OSX or the iPhone OS, I'd stand in line to buy one at even twice the price.
Beyond that, there are more and more e-readers being announced. Rather than do a complete round up here, I'd suggest that you take a look at <http://www.mobilitysite.com/2009/11/2010-the-year-of-the-ebook/comment-page-1/> which has a very nice list along with a release schedule.
Next month I hope that the flurry will have cleared up enough for me to make some buying suggestions for the holidays. I'm also planning on touching upon the non-US market for e-readers, as suggested by two of my readers.
Here's the rundown of the month's news on the eReader front. Two items very worthy of note are the report from Forester Research which estimates that total e-reader sales for 2009 will top 3 million units. That is up by 50% from their estimate of a few months ago. Second is that there is an increasing pool of circumstantial evidence that people who buy Kindles (and, to a lesser degree, other e-readers) actually read _more_ than they did before switching to the e-reader. People have cited ease of transportation and the convenience of purchasing wirelessly as the reason for their greater reading consumption.
Apple -- Ebook reading applications and ebooks are some of the most popular items downloaded for the iPhone and iPod Touch. So much so that they're even starting to edge out games as the most downloaded category.
Amazon -- In less than two weeks Amazon released the new, international Kindle (useable in over 200 countries) and discontinued the old, US-only Kindle 2. The new international version is priced the same as the old Kindle and so it's been more of a replacement with more features than a competing model. However, not all is joy in the rest of the world since the costs for books are substantially higher for international users and, for that matter, for US users who use the download feature while outside the US. The higher costs are explained by Amazon as being part taxes, part data-service costs (international downloads still originate in the US), and part wireless carrier charges.
Amazon is also trying to react to Sony's announcement last month that users of the Sony e-readers will have access to all half-million of Google's free, public domain ebooks by increasing the free offerings for the Kindle. However, at the current level of about 18,000 titles, they've got a long way to go.
Finally, Amazon has released a Kindle client application for the Windows computer operating system and they also have a Macintosh version in the works. Again, it looks like they're playing catchup to Sony and other companies who already offer desk- and lap-top versions of the reader software.
Barnes and Noble -- Not satisfied with their relationship with iRex as well as their ties with PlasticLogic's forthcoming high-end reader, the 800-pound gorilla of bookselling has announced their own e-reader, the Nook. It's a dumb name for a smart device if you ask me. The Nook comes with two screens, one over the other. The top one is a typical black and white EInk display like most readers on the market. Below it is a small, touch sensitive, color LCD. The idea is that the LCD will display full color covers while browsing the user's library as well as giving a better web-browser experience. It's a nice idea (though I prefer the book-like folding concept which supports a more reasonable sized LCD display opposite an EInk panel).
There's just one problem -- it looks like it wasn't B&N's nice idea. Spring Design, a Bay Area company, had the same idea and has patents going back to 2006 to support it. Moreover, Spring representatives meet with B&N in the spring of this year to pitch their reader (called the "Alex") as part of a joint venture. A joint venture covered by the full range of non-disclosure agreements that we're so fond of in Silicon Valley. Net result -- Spring Design is in the process of suing the pants off of B&N over violations of the NDAs and patents. Oooops!
Entourage Systems -- On the topic of two-screen readers, this start-up company has a product that, while heavy and a bit expensive, looks pretty good. The eDGe (don't ask me why the weird caps, I'm not a tech-guy) has two screens and opens like a book. One screen is a 9.7" EInk display and the other is a 10" color LCD. It runs on an ARM processor and has 4 GB storage, an SD card slot and 2 USB ports as well as WiFi and bluetooth. Other features include a web-cam, microphone and speakers. Running on Google's Android OS, it's going to be closer to a net-book computer than an ebook reader but that's not such a bad thing.
Three catches -- won't ship 'til February, price is $490, and it's big and heavy compared to a single purpose e-reader (8.25" by 10.75" by 1" and 2.75 lb.). But it's still a sign of where some people want to see the e-reader go, myself included -- if they'd make one that ran on OSX or the iPhone OS, I'd stand in line to buy one at even twice the price.
Beyond that, there are more and more e-readers being announced. Rather than do a complete round up here, I'd suggest that you take a look at <http://www.mobilitysite.com/2009/11/2010-the-year-of-the-ebook/comment-page-1/> which has a very nice list along with a release schedule.
Next month I hope that the flurry will have cleared up enough for me to make some buying suggestions for the holidays. I'm also planning on touching upon the non-US market for e-readers, as suggested by two of my readers.
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