Ephemera Collector
This beach hut photo was in with the almost unbearably cute
baby
photo we put up a couple of months ago. Again, no idea who
they are, or even where it was taken. But that's the beauty of
antiques and ephemera. We can imagine our own stories for them.
Books to Look For
100 GREATEST BABY BOOMER TOYS ($24.95, our price $20) by Mark
Rich is a colorful collection of toys from the last 40 or
50 years. There are hundreds of color and b&w photos of toys
that you will remember - and some that you wish you'd had. This
is one to put on the coffee table and watch people get sucked
in.
2 Anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow:
VANISHING ACTS ($24.95, our price $20) is a new sf collection
that features a couple of worthy reprints then a whole swath of
very good stories. Ian McDowell's Sunflowers is a real stand out
story of The USA then and now. Not to be missed. Ted Chiang, Avram
Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler and many more make this much more than
yet-another-theme anthology.
A WOLF AT THE DOOR ($16, our price $12.75) (edited with Terri
Windling) is a collection of fairy tale retellings. It contains
new stories from Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Patricia A. McKillip,
Garth Nix, Delia Sherman, Jane Yolen, Gregory Maguire and more. |
Too Hot? Stay in and check out these sites.
This month I thought I'd quickly list some of our favorite
(mostly fiction) writers and their websites. The sites ranger
from the author's own to fan sites - but only very good ones.
It is still surprising how many authors do not have websites and
I can only urge those without to either set one up or have a web-savvy
friend do it.
In no particular order then:
Jonathan Lethem
Hot Hot Hot! Movie being made of Motherless Brooklyn, trade paperback
due in November, Vintage Book of Amnesia due soon (Lethem edits).
Karen Joy Fowler
Amazing author. Two novels and two short story collections that
will knock your socks off.
Terry Pratchett The
funniest man in fiction.
Naomi
Mitchison Poet, essayist, playwright, author of many books
of fiction and non-fiction.
James Sallis A modern
American master.
Nalo Hopkinson
Canadian writer with Caribbean roots striking her own path.
Luis Urrea American
Book Award winner. Fiction, poetry, memoir.
Terry Bisson One
of the smarter and funnier writers around.
Ursula
Le Guin An unofficial site since I didn't find any official
one.
Suzy
McKee Charnas I believe she is having a site built. Until
then here is a site for basic information.
Janet Evanovich Ok,
light relief time. Don't wait for the inevitable film, get your
beach reading here now.
The Brazen Hussies
No, really. Pat Murphy, Michaela Roessner and Lisa Goldstein
get marketing savvy.
Tananarive Due
has a new historical novel THE BLACK ROSE just out. It is based
on research done by Alex Haley (ROOTS) and is based on the life
of Madame C.J. Walker.
Maureen McHugh Three
strong novels and some solid short stories.
Gregory Frost
Sean Stewart
Hard-working, imaginative, energetic books and author.
Robert Heinlein
There are a lot of pages out there. This one seemed nice and easy
to get around.
Dorothy Sayers
This is kind of unique as it's the DLS Society rather than a fan
site.
Iain Banks Culture Shock
web site that's been around for a good long while.
Alexander Jablokov
Local author who just keeps producing better and better novels.
And he started off strong.
Haruki
Murakami Another fan |
site, although I suspect there is an
official one out there somewhere. (And if not, why not?)
Joan Aiken
This is just a dip into a teacher resource site.
Connie
Willis Not an exciting author but really someone you will
miss badly if you don't read. Recent SF&F worth your time and $:
DECLARE by Tim Powers (Subterranean Press, $75). The trade
edition is due January 2001, giving this edition nearly 6 months
lead time; THE TOWER AT STONY WOOD by Patricia A. McKillip; THE
FIFTH ELEPHANT by Terry Pratchett; EATER by Gregory Benford; FORESTS
OF THE HEART by Charles De Lint; SPINDLE'S END by Robin McKinley;
DARK MATTER edited by Sheree R. Thomas - features Nalo Hopkinson,
Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due,
Jewelle Gomez, Walter Mosley, Ishmael Reed and more.
New and/or Recently Out in Paperback
Nathan Englander, FOR THE RELIEF OF UNBEARABLE URGES; THE POISONWOOD
BIBLE, Barbara Kingsolver; ONE FOR THE MONEY and the other Stephanie
Plum titles by Janet Evanovich (HOT SIX is now available in hardcover);
Patricia Anthony, FLANDERS; CRYPTONOMICON, Neal Stephenson; A
CLEARING IN THE DISTANCE, Witold Rybczynski; Sean Stewart, MOCKINGBIRD
and I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF: Notes on Returning to America
After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson.
Oh yes, there is that little matter of HARRY POTTER AND THE
GOBLET OF FIRE ($25.95, our price $20.75). We'll have it, you
can pre-order your copy or come
into the store and get it. And when you've finished it (and have
called in to work and told them that you've recovered from the
flu and will be back in tomorrow) don't cry that it'll be another
whole year until No. 5 comes out. (Pre-order them all now!) The
poor woman needs some time off. Besides, we have hundreds of recommendations
from books you've heard about that you've never read to books
no one else has that we know are great.
At some point this will all make it on to our links page as
an update. Until then, bookmark this page (Control D) and dig
around. Discover and Rediscover!
Antique Corner
Well, is it ever the wrong time to focus on Victor Hugo? Here
is an odd piece of history reprinted quite recently by the Gregg
Press. Of course, that's a picture of the man himself above. Sometimes
we're asked why this shop is called after Hugo. If you ask one
person they'll tell you about the original owner, trapped in Paris
(on Ave. Victor Hugo, of course) during WWII and his amazing escape.
Another might try and sidetrack you with the books themselves
(and they are quite a side track to take!). Don't believe any
that say the shop is simply named after the owner's favorite author.
Could it really be that simple? Isn't there a conspiracy here?
This is the USA, dammit! There must be an ulterior motive! 25
years on Newbury Street, watching themarket crowd out the little
shops, it must be a reminder of the deeper, better things in life,
no? Just a bookshop? Just a name? I need a beer. |
