September 29, 2009  I want to invite everyone to attend the "Censorship in the Digital Age" panel discussion which will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30 at the University of Maine at Farmington's Lincoln Auditorium. I'm on the panel and the moderator told me that the whole scheme involves "getting the panelists out of their comfort zones." Oh boy. Anyway here's the hypothetical I've put together for the occasion... Suppose a customer comes into your bookstore. His marked resemblance to E.R. Eddison's manticore, "staring eyeballs, low wrinkled brow, elephant ears, some wispy mangy likeness of a lion’s mane, huge bony chaps, brown blood-stained gubber-tushes grinning betwixt bristly lips," is somewhat unsettling. His name is Dan Grimbost and he would like to order two books, How to Kill Every Gerbil in Town in One Week, and How to Kill Every Hamster in Town in Two Weeks."  Five days later the books come in and you call Dan to let him know. He comes right down and purchases them. Eight days later you hear excited chatter in the street as you rush in to open the store, something about Gerbils and tragedy. The newspaper headline confirms the wrench in your gut, "Gerbil Genocide." Four days later a federal agent stops by your store. She explains that the agency knows that you ordered How to Kill Every Gerbil in Town in One Week, and How to Kill Every Hamster in Town in Two Weeks and that you are required to disclose the name of the customer who purchased it."You think of the dead gerbils. You think of your daughter’s pet hamster. Then, another vein of thought intrudes. The book on the care and cultivation of bonsai plants you bought and barely read, all the funky books you’ve sold as gag gifts come floating back in a rapid and disorderly procession. The charmingly stupid history of the pseudo science of physiognomy reappears to your thought in Dumas’ voice. The federal agent gives you a meaning glance. What do you do?" So come join us on Wednesday night. Apparently you'll be doing a public service by giving me a hard time! Here they are! Our weekly picks for the two best: two hardcover, two paperback, and two children's books. The very best new arrivals to leap out of the box and onto our shelves this week. Call or email us if you want more information on any of these titles, or to have us hold you a copy. Or stop in and check them out in person. We'd love to see you. Thanks as always for sharing your reading with us! |
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Her Fearful Symmetry
By Niffenegger, Audrey 2009-09 - Scribner Book Company 9781439165393 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $26.99 - Your Price: $21.59 This is the second novel from the author of the stupendously popular The Time Traveler's Wife. Does she deliver the goods again? I don't know but a means of finding out lies at hand. ...More |
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Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town
By Gayeton, Douglas 2009-09 - Welcome Books 9781599620725 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $50.00 - Your Price: $40.00 As is the way with remarkable coffee table books, Slow Life in a Tuscan Town can much more easily be experienced than described. A blend of annotated photography, travelogue, and personal essay, this is a book which will bring a smile to your face every time you flip through its pages. ...More |
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The Enemy Within: A Short History of Witch-Hunting
By Demos, John 2009-09 - Penguin Books 9780143116332 - Paperback See Other Formats List Price $17.00 - Your Price: $13.60 Now in paperback Demos is a first rate professional historian who writes well, a winning combination. This deeply researched and reasoned account is a more than welcome contribution to a topic that continues to fascinate. ...More |
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The Given Day
By Lehane, Dennis 2009-09 - Harper Perennial 9780380731879 - Paperback See Other Formats List Price $15.99 - Your Price: $12.79 According to Karen, who read The Given Day while it was in hardcover, "historically its cool, just consider the story about the exploding molasses truck and what that did to Boston, I mean how do you believe that someone could drown in a 50 foot molasses wave. The other thing that I kept thinking about was the strong undercurrent of distrust an dislike of the government which speaks strongly to our current situation. Over all, I would say that if you have plenty of time to sit and read this book it's a worthwhile read. There's a cast of characters in the front, which can be very helpful," she added. ...More |
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Wag!
By McDonnell, Patrick 2009-10 - Little, Brown Young Readers 9780316045483 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $15.99 - Your Price: $12.79 Polygraphs are there to determine if people are lying, breathalyzers to determine intoxication levels, and now there is Wag to determine whether or not someone is a heartless fiend. This book is so warm and affecting that if your are unmoved by it... ...More |
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Malice
By Wooding, Chris 2009-10 - Scholastic Press 9780545160438 - Hardcover See Other Formats List Price $14.99 - Your Price: $11.99 Malice is a great middle grade fiction title which is a blend of a standard and a graphic novel, with alternating sections. The alternating formats work very smoothly, particularly in that the story line involves children entering inside a popular graphic novel called Malice. With its fun 3-dimensional cover, appealing characters, and roller coaster ride narrative, this book will really engage reluctant readers. ...More |