Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Some Classic Old Mystery Writers

I haven't read any of these, so can not comment on them. However, these are all authors who were popular in their day and still are looked for from time to time. In the store, they are all grouped together in their own place.
J. D. Carr, M. Allingham, C. Dickson, P. Dickinson, C. Dexter, J. Creasey, A. Cross, M. Eberhart,and N. Freeling.
The store also has a bunch of Ross MacDonald, a few Raymond Chandler and a lot of John D. MacDonald. John D. MacDonald was the author of the popular Travis McGee series, of which I read every one (and have my own private collection at home) and plan to read again some day. If you have never read one, give it a try.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Recommendation

Many of the store customers know that I love Robert Parker's Spenser series. I have recommended these to many and have my own collection of all his books. I have read two of the Sunny Randall books and liked them OK, but much prefer the Spenser series. The repartee between Spenser and Hawk is the consistent highlight of each book in the series. At a customer's urging, I have just read one of Parker's westerns. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Think Spenser and Hawk in the Old West, and you will have the gist of the book. The one I read is Resolution and I now have a copy of Appaloosa to read. The store has only one copy of Appaloosa on the shelf right now but hopefully more of his westerns will show up at some point.
Yep, if you like the Spenser series, you will like the westerns.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Quick Review

Malkeh and Her Children a novel by Marjorie Edelson. "She strove to sustain her courageous Jewish family, even as their lives and traditions were threatened by the perils of the Russian Revolution."
I have read many books dealing with the Jews in East Europe and Russia and the Jewish immigrant experience but this is one of the best I have read. The characters are all believable and of interest. The details of their lives are richly explored and made real to us now, so far away in both time and experience. The richness of their spiritual life, the poverty of their physical world, the pogroms, the move to America and so much more is brought to life in a vivid manner. The book is wide-ranging as the different children's lives take them to China, to the cities of Russia, and finally to western America.
I highly recommend this book.

Friday, January 16, 2009

One thing leads to another

Over the weekend I pulled books from the storage at home to restock the shelves in the store. When I got to the mysteries, I realized that section needed major re-vamping. I decided to cull out the old books that do not sell anymore to make room for all the newer books. As I was doing this, I saw that I would be able to have more space on each shelf and shift the books over to make room for the Adventure/Suspense books which are badly in need of more space. I also was working through the duplicates stored in the store and put them on the shelves as needed, so this was a complex project.
As I write this now, I have culled the culls and have started the shift. Once the mysteries are shifted, then I can shift the Adv/Sus books over. Somewhere in all the craziness I need to also fix up the culls so I can sell them as "cheapies" at 4 for $1.
I am definitely keeping busy. Now, back to moving books.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Misc. Books available

Just a list of some misc. available books--
The Path of the Masters bu Radja Soami Satsang Beas. From the dust jacket "This book is a comprehensive statement of SantMat, the teachings of the great spiritual Masters. After living with such a Master for almost seven years, the author gives an outline of Surat Shabd Yoga, the Yoga of the Audible Life Stream, which is the scientific system through which the Masters attain the highest degree of spiritual development.

Low-Stress Computing, using awareness to avoid RSI, a Feldenkrais Perspective by Ralph Strauch. This little book is a preliminary edition of his later longer book. This book covers "Reducing Behavioral Stress". I went through the Feldenkrais training to become a practicioner and can vouch for the value of this book.

The Tiwo of North Australia by CWM Hart & Arnold R Pilling. This book is in a series of Case Studies in cultural anthropology.

Granta magazine, No. 12--"The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones" by Stanley Booth. There are other selections by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jayne Anne Phillips, Gunter Grass and others.

The Colt .45 Automatic, a shop manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

Friday, January 9, 2009

More Boxes of Books

My favorite book seller was in yesterday and I bought books from him. He brings nice books in all subjects and this time I got some good coffee table style books and lots of other good stuff. I hope to get it priced and out on display today.
Also yesterday, a customer who comes every few months arrived with her boxes of books brought in for credit. She always has some she got here and some from other places. As always, there are some good books in these boxes. I am taking a short break from sorting and pricing these right now to write this.
Then there are the many boxes of books in the back room waiting for me.
The end result is a lot of books new to the store are going out on the shelves over the next days and weeks.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Some Curiosities

Some Curiosities

Just a few of the wide variety of books available. Ask for price, condition, any other details.

The Life of Samuel Johnson with selections from the writings of Johnson, edited with an introduction and notes by Homer K. Underwood, A.M., Head of the Department of English in the High School, Passaic, New Jersey. Book by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Printed in New York by Charles E. Merrill Company, 1911. An interesting little book. The first part is about Macaulay and includes a Bibliography. The rest of the book is Macaulay’s writings on Samuel Johnson. It is one of Merrill’s English texts of the masterpieces of English Literature.

Taquisara by F. Marion Crawford, in two volumes, published by The Macmillan Co. in New York, 1897. A novel that looks intriguing.

Gong Hee Fot Choy Dream Book with Prophecy Numerology and Planetary Tour Guide, revised and enlarged edition, Margarete Ward with excerpts from my book prophecy.An interesting little booklet with Chinese philosophy, a discussion of how the author met her Chinese teacher, and then the major part of the book titled “The Meaning of Your Dream” with various subjects in alphabetical order.

Lafayette, Friend of America, published by John Hancock LI Co. copyright 1928. this pamphlet is a short history of Lafayette’s part in the American revolution.

Thud, by Terry Pratchett, hardback, 2005. If you like Terry Pratchett, you really like him. If not, oh well.

Conspicuous California Plants, with notes of their garden uses by Ralph D. Cornell with illustrations by the author & drawings by Elizabeth Lewis. San Pasqual Press, Pasadena CA, 1938. A classic book for the horticulturist. Contents include chapters on the Sequoias, Madrone, Oaks, Sycamores, Cottonwoods, Pines, Rhuses, Manzanitas, Toyons, Yuccas, and so much more. A must-have book for anyone who is interested in the California native species.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Three Quick Reviews--2 novels & 1 memoir

Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman
I have not read du Maurier’s Rebecca nor seen any of the movies based on that novel, so I cannot say how faithfully this book takes the characters from the novel. However, I was fully entranced by this book from the very first paragraph and remained so throughout. This book takes place in 1951, twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the first wife of Maxim de Winter. One of the characters in this book had asked Rebecca “who are you?” and this book is an answer to that question. Who is Rebecca is looked at through the thoughts and eyes of several characters, each bringing their own perspective to the question. In the end, the reader must decide that question each for their own self. It is a complex novel with complex characters and complex questions, creating an enthralling and difficult to put down story.

Sarah, by Margueritte Harmon Bro
The author lived from 1894-1977, and the book starts in the early 1900’s and continues into the mid 1920’s. Most of the book is set in a town in Minnesota and it follows the life of Sarah from age 12 onwards as she grows and learns. She must make difficult decisions about her life and learn to follow her own true self. The novel does a good job of creating this time and place for today’s readers. All the characters ring true in this richly detailed book.

A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson
The subtitle is “Thought of an Unfinished Woman” and this memoir details one year of the author’s life as she explores the meaning of being unfinished and how to return to her authentic self and to bring life back to her marriage. At the start of the book, I was somewhat disappointed, but then the narrative caught me up and I found much to enjoy and ponder in these pages.

All three of these books are currently in the store, available as trade paperbacks. Sally Beauman has also written other novels and they are in the store as mass market paperbacks.