Well, start off with a few easy ones: the new Ken Follett, Jackdaws -- oh go on! It's a laugh! Well, if you're that concerned about how you look with a book (quite distinguished most of the time, but silly when you're reading the OED on the subway), you can keep it and read it on the beach where no one will care!

James Sallis, Ghost of a Flea, the latest in his Lew Griffin series. Anyone who loves good writing should read these books (and this writer). They're thoughtful -- although not light on the action -- and well written expositions on the U.S. now, where we've been, and where we're going. Do not miss out.

Another mystery author who deserves a plce on the bedside table is Keith Snyder. His new novel, The Night Men brings together pulp fiction, theremins, mysterious old musicians, hate crimes, and more, all without straining credibility. Great stuff.

One of our best-selling authors, Terry Pratchett, has not one, but two new books out. The Last Hero is an illustrated oversize hardcover concerning the trials and tribulations of one Cohen the Barbarian. Cohen's main talent has been avoiding death, which has come in handy over the last century or so, as he's raided demon lord's lairs, fought unspeakable monsters, and so on and so on. Now he's on a journey to give back what man stole from the gods so long ago: fire. If he gets there, the whole Discworld might be for it... The other title is a young adult Discworld novel, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Maurice is a cat, the educated rodents (rats, that is), are indeed educated, having been affected by some magic trash lying around, and there's this boy, who plays music...if this is starting to sound like the Pied Piper of Hamelyn, then good, but from that tale Pratchett takes a running jump and spins his own tale that will leave kids and adults alike laughing their heads off. Just the usual for the Discworld books, then!

Anything by Karen Armstrong seems to be flying off the shelf these days. Her religious histories (History of God, etc.) are not-too-difficult but intelligent and understandable treatises on how we got to where we are now. How is it that all these "peace-loving" religions are murdering each other? Ms. Armstrong can just about explain!

Same goes (in sales terms) for that historian of the moment, Stephen Ambrose. We're not even sure we can keep up with him -- he seems to produce a book a month! We're trying to keep his work around, but we've got very decent military, U.S., and world history sections if you find we're out of him for the moment.

A few kid's books: Let's not talk about William Joyce who's stuck doing TV-tie-ins. Boo-hoo. Perennial favorite Maurice Sendak is seeing a lot of books reissued for the holidays -- and hopefully they'll be kept in print for long afterward. Stephen Gammel's The Ride from earlier this year was a lot of fun and would make a good present for anyone with kids and a long (or short!) road trip in the future. Brian Selznick's The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins makes us happy, with those full page, full color illustrations of the tale of the man who brought the giant lizards to the U.S. (Did you know that one of his displays was destroyed and buried under Central Park in New York?!) And Shirley Jackson's one book for kid's, The Ninth Wish has been newly illustrated and published, perfect for introducing a lucky youngster to the wonderful world of Ms. Jackson.

Ghost of a Flea

 

Victor Hugo won the Pulitzer Prize, Jonathan Livingston Seagull picked up a National Book Award, and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair couldn't help himself and swept the this year's Tony awards on Broadway.

Also, Sean Stewart (Galveston) won the first Sunburst Award, a Canadian award, and spilt the World Fantasy Award with Tim Powers (Declare). Andy Duncan also won one of those for his Golden Gryphon short story collection, Beluthahatchie and Other Stories.

What can we say about Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections) winning the National Book Award and not quite apologizing his way out of dinner with Oprah? Well, we can turn away from it (it's old news now, right?) and point out that Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance is the latest title picked by Ms. Winfrey for her book club. Is Mistry happy with it, oh yes. That Oprah sticker means an instant 700,000 reprint, who wouldn't be happy? And, A Fine Balance really is a great book. In fact, maybe we'll get a TV in and tune in to see what the author and the audience have to say about it...or maybe not! But it's a great book, and we also recommend his other books, should be some upstairs in the back fiction room.

Galveston

 
Aboriginal Science Fiction Finishes Run

Get them while you can: we have some recent back issues of Aboriginal available. Why rush? Because of some sad news from our friends at the 2nd Renaissance Foundation, Inc. and DNA Publications. They've announced that Aboriginal Science Fiction, founded in 1985 and edited by Charles C. Ryan, will no longer be published. Stories and illustrations scheduled for the next several issues of Aboriginal will appear in DNA's publication Absolute Magnitude; Aboriginal subscribers will receive copies of Absolute Magnitude for the length of their Aboriginal subscriptions (except for lifetime subscribers, who will receive a two-year subscription). Editor Ryan commented:

When I realized I no longer had the time to do the work, my primary concern was that subscribers receive the number of issues they have subscribed for and that authors and artists see their work in print. ... This agreement with DNA will fulfill both of those criteria.

Ryan was previously the editor of Galileo, a science fiction magazine published by Avenue Victor Hugo in the late 1970s.

Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop wishes Charles Ryan and the Aboriginal staff best of luck in future endeavors.

Newbury Street News

It's a strange thing to be reading about Tower Records closing down bookstores all over the country. The one on the corner of Newbury certainly cut into our business when it opened, but it also complimented our stock. We have a lot more books than they could ever have, so they sent people our way, and vice versa. At least some Tower Records will still have book shops within them, and most will probably keep their magazine section -- good news for all those those who love zines, as Tower is -- oddly enough -- a great place to pick them up*. Whether Virgin (who will take over the Tower Records space at some point soon after having paid through the nose for the opportunity) will carry books or zines remains to be seen. All change on Newbury Street -- except the rising rents, sigh!

*Having said that, Flyrabbit (at 155 Harvard Ave in Allston) is a much better place to get zines. They carry some books too, and strange strange 'stuff.'

New Year Resolutions

Not something we have to worry about for another month!

Whatever you're celebrating -- and if you re not planning to celebrate, go on, fling your hat in the air, just the once, go on! -- Happy Holidays from the staff, the cat, and the family and friends of Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop! Thank you for dropping by the site, remember to drop by the store when you're in the area!