Bookseller By Night.

Back from MoCCA.

2008-06-08T13:58:59Z

I was granted a whirlwind visit to The Only City in the World yesterday through the offices and ingenious machinations of oceancat11, and so I got to attend the MoCCA Art Festival for a few hours.

Lots and lots of good books from First Second, G.T. Labs, Hyperion, Fantagraphics, NBM, DC, and more.

Got to meet spasmsproject and castellucci; got to meet many more non-LJ folk.

More complete report when I've had more coffee.

Rare personal post, even rarer than posts in general.

2008-05-20T16:00:40Z

I know I've let this journal slide tremendously, and I apologize to those of you who've added me and have rightly been expecting more content.

My plate is a little fuller than usual these days, and I'm coping with some difficulties, personal and professional. I managed to miss the deadlines for the NECBA Spring 2008 Review Project, even when it was extended twice.

One can hope that things will right themselves with hard work, and if there's anything I know how to do, it's hard work.

I appreciate your patience.

Blog Stoker's DRACULA.

2008-05-04T02:17:13Z

Yes, I've neglected this journal sadly. Let's just say that my life has been overcome by Serious Stuph, leave it at that, and start over with something bookwormish.

One of the more insane distractions I've chosen to do to keep my mind off Serious Stuph...

Over at my personal journal, I'm blogging Bram Stoker's novel. In real time.

Yes, I need my head examined.

DRACULA is an epistolary novel, so it's perfect for the online journal format.

There was a Blogspot guy who did this in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and there was a LiveJournal community that did it in 2006.

I couldn't find anyone who was doing it this year, and so I took the plunge, as my own weird little picker-upper.

You're all invited to watch, point, and laugh.

First entry from the book is here.

[There will be hopefully be book reviews in THIS blog again, starting on Friday the 9th.]

One more voice lost in the chorus.

2008-03-19T17:04:43Z

I have my own words to pay tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, but I am still formulating them, and will wait until some of the more effective speakers in our bibliophiliac world have had their say.

Literary birthdays, March 1st and March 2nd.

2008-03-02T23:03:45Z

Commemorating the birthdays of the following:

March 1st

Ralph Ellison, 1914
Wyman Guin, 1915
Deke Slayton, 1924
Michael Kurland, 1938
Steve Barnes, 1952
Dave Weingart, 1962

March 2nd

Dr. Seuss [Theodor Seuss Geisel], 1904
Dave Fox, 1920
Leo Dillon, 1933
John Irving, 1942
Peter Straub, 1943
Jeffrey Beeler, 1960

Happy birthday to all, to those on Earth and those who've travelled further...

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

March LiveJournal Literary Birthdays

2008-03-02T22:46:01Z

Natal greetings to the following scribblers:

11: saraphina_marie
17: reannon
18: shalanna
20: wyrdwriter
21: coebooth
22: plasticfarm

Announcement: I REMEMBER THE FUTURE.

2008-02-27T16:07:26Z

Reposted with permission from my friend and colleague mabfan. I'm looking into wholesale prices for this now, as this is almost certainly a title I want to carry.

========================================

For release February 27, 2008

Apex Publications and award-winning writer Michael A. Burstein are pleased to announce that in September 2008, Apex will be publishing the book "I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein."

"I Remember The Future" will be the first bound collection of Burstein's fiction. It will contain all of Burstein's Hugo and Nebula nominated stories, plus two new stories: "Empty Spaces," the fourth, never-before-published story in the "Broken Symmetry" series; and "I Remember the Future," which lends its title to the collection. The book will contain Burstein's two most well-regarded stories, "Kaddish for the Last Survivor" and "Paying It Forward," as well as his two Analytical Laboratory Award winners, "TeleAbsence" and "Sanctuary."

The cover art will be a piece by Bob Eggleton that also served as the first ever cover art for a Burstein story. Stanley Schmidt, long-time editor of Analog magazine (where all of the reprinted stories in the collection first appeared), will provide an introduction.

Michael A. Burstein, winner of the John Campbell Award for Best New Writer, has been publishing award-nominated and award-winning science fiction stories since 1995. He has been nominated for the Hugo Award ten times and for the Nebula Award three times.

For more information on Apex Publications, see http://www.apexbookcompany.com. For more on Michael A. Burstein and his work, see http://www.mabfan.com.

================================================

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

KIRBY: KING OF COMICS.

2008-02-09T19:35:06Z

A note to myself to order this from my wholesalers if I can't pick it up directly from Abrams.

ISBN: 081099447X
Author: Mark Evanier

February LiveJournal Literary Birthdays.

2008-02-07T16:15:36Z

Best of natal greetings to the following scribblers born in the month of February...

02: tomsdisch
05: coffeeandink
09: _stranger_here
17: ktpinto
26: mevennen
27: girliejones

Yes, a poll, to chase away the feeling that I'm an anachronism.

2008-02-07T15:00:58Z

I'm up early and trying to kick my brain into gear, and so am posting a science fiction literature poll.

The table of contents from THEMES IN SCIENCE FICTION reads thus:

Themes in Science Fiction ed. Leo P. Kelley (McGraw-Hill 07-033504-4, 1972, tp); A Journey Into Wonder.

3 · The Last of the Romany · Norman Spinrad · ss Analog May ’63
14 · The Total Experience Kick · Charles Platt · ss New Worlds Dec ’66
28 · Shortstack [Willy Shorts] · Walt & Leigh Richmond · nv Analog Dec ’64
47 · Far from This Earth · Chad Oliver · ss The Year 2000, ed. Harry Harrison, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970
63 · Maelstrom II · Arthur C. Clarke · ss Playboy Apr ’65
76 · Founding Father · Isaac Asimov · ss Galaxy Oct ’65
82 · Holdout · Robert Sheckley · ss F&SF Dec ’57
93 · The Cold Equations · Tom Godwin · nv Astounding Aug ’54
119 · The Father-Thing · Philip K. Dick · ss F&SF Dec ’54
131 · The Silk and the Song · Charles L. Fontenay · nv F&SF Jul ’56
155 · Eyebem · Gene Wolfe · ss Orbit 7, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1970
165 · Puppet Show · Fredric Brown · ss Playboy Nov ’62
174 · Look, You Think You’ve Got Troubles · Carol Carr · ss Orbit 5, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1969
187 · Young Girl at an Open Half-door · Fred Saberhagen · ss F&SF Nov ’68
196 · The Man Who Came Early · Poul Anderson · nv F&SF Jun ’56
219 · Soldier [“Soldier from Tomorrow”] · Harlan Ellison · nv Fantastic Universe Oct ’57
239 · The Good Provider · Marion Gross · ss F&SF Sep ’52
247 · A Message from Charity · William M. Lee · ss F&SF Nov ’67
266 · Witch War · Richard Matheson · ss Startling Stories Jul ’51
271 · Gomez · C. M. Kornbluth · nv The Explorers, Ballantine, 1954
294 · Muse · Dean R. Koontz · ss F&SF Sep ’69
307 · The World of Myrion Flowers · Frederik Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth · ss F&SF Oct ’61
313 · X Marks the Pedwalk · Fritz Leiber · ss Worlds of Tomorrow Apr ’63
318 · EPICAC · Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. · ss Colliers Nov 25 ’50
325 · The Last Command [Bolo] · Keith Laumer · ss Analog Jan ’67
343 · Lost Memory · Peter Phillips · ss Galaxy May ’52
357 · The Survivor · Walter F. Moudy · nv Amazing May ’65
383 · The Post-Mortem People · Peter Tate · ss New Worlds Mar ’66
398 · The Travelin’ Man · Leo P. Kelley · ss F&SF Sep ’70
409 · One Love Have I · Robert F. Young · ss If Apr ’55
424 · Who Shall Dwell... · H. C. Neal · ss Playboy Jul ’62

[I can't actually do the "poll" function here, so just answer in the comments.]

* Have you read one or more of the authors in this anthology before?

* Have you read one or more of the stories in this anthology before?

* Do you actually own this book?

Kudos to those who actually own or have owned the original magazine issue or anthology in which these appeared.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

Waving amidst the swells of the sea of paper.

2008-02-07T03:00:37Z

As Granny Weatherwax said, "I aten't dead".

But I am bone-weary, after a household bout of ague last week.

I'm still working on getting to literary birthdays, book reviews, and actual updates for this blog and for my Bookseller By Night page at MySpace.

I went to the quarterly NECBA meeting and am mentally recharged, but physically exhausted. I was so glad that this time around, we got to title-sharing, as I don't usually get to see frontlist releases until they've made it to backlist.

So I'm going to actually turn my computer off before midnight, spin a cocoon, and get my bodyclock back to something resembling normalcy.

I may not emerge until Saturday. We'll see.

Until then, have a nice interview with our own lovely coppervale, published in December.

http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=5143

---pmc2

Literary birthdays - an ongoing feature.

2008-01-28T00:26:34Z

After some Googling, I've found some excellent sites for author birthdays for literary fiction, juvenile fiction and for science fiction and fantasy fiction.

I'm implementing the observance of author birthdays as an exercise to make sure I write something for this blog as close to every day as possible, much as I do with "The Anti-Apollyon Diaries" in my personal journal when appropriate.

[Side note - I thought I was being so clever by making the connection that "Apollyon" is very nearly an anagram of "Pollyanna", but I've had to explain it too many times to too many people. Sigh.]

Hopefully, my Gentle Readers, you will like this feature as much as the nonsense I post in my personal journal.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

Literary birthdays, 26 January 2008.

2008-01-27T03:46:29Z

[Cannibalized slightly from my personal journal, and updated through the kind offices of Chris Roberson.]

A birthday that I missed this week was that of Robert E. Howard, born on January 22, 1906. I had all good intentions of writing an eloquent post on his works and his lasting creations. But since I've missed that deadline, I am instead going to direct you to a marvelous biography called BLOOD AND THUNDER, written by Mark Finn [finnswake] and published by Chris Roberson's MonkeyBrain Books.

============================

I am, however, on time for two birthdays today.

The first is that of Jules Feiffer, one of my favorite illustrators of works of his own and that of others. He is the illustrator for my favorite book of all time, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH... in my eyes, his drawings are as integral to the story as Norton Juster's words.

The second birthday is that of Philip Jose Farmer, an author whose works opened my eyes in much the same way that Harlan Ellison's and Theodore Sturgeon's did.

The first Riverworld book remains burned on the retina of my mind's eye. I've always had a fascination with stories where the worlds described are just as vital characters in the story as the protagonists and antagonists.

===========================

Natal greetings to all, in flesh and in spirit.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

Explanations and announcements.

2008-01-07T20:04:31Z

Some scattershot bibliphiliac things for you all, while I live up to my moniker of "Really Tired JOATAMON By Day" and desperately play catchup:

The explanation for the Very Important Question I asked here was because I wanted to know whether my Gentle Readers thought calling a new company "_____________ Books and Media" was redundant. As a corollary, I wondered whether those of you seeking books on the Internet would click on a URL that had "media" in its title, or whether you would assume that something like LokiMedia.com only sells computer games.

My thanks for your input.

The finalists in all categories of the 2007 Cybils awards have been announced.

My own dear James A. Owen and his assorted colleagues at Coppervale International have opened a children's bookstore. I have to say on a personal level that I not only love the concept, but the name.

"Crossroads" as symbol, as idea, has always resonated with me. In this year of 2008, it sings even louder. You can find James' "Crossroads" here.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

New year, old introduction thread.

2008-01-04T22:00:35Z

I've gotten many new readers since starting this journal nearly two years ago.

So let's dust off this old post. Let me know who's out there!

Happy birthday, jpsorrow!

2008-01-04T21:54:24Z

I know I already sent you wishes on the norda blog, but you're so nice that I'll say it twice!

Here's to natal goodness!

'Obbled by me own ent'usiasm.

2008-01-04T21:35:21Z

Yesterday I put a post up at this LJ's mirror blog, over at booksellerbynight.wordpress.com, to alert my non-LiveJournal-using book colleagues, especially my fellow booksellers and book reviewers, to the new LiveJournal community ya_fsf_con, as authorized by gurmpy.

Imagine my consternation this morning when I looked at my entry again and released I hadn't included a link!

That has been rectified as of now, and I do apologize to the community at large for the oversigt.

The importance of knowing the proper word.

2008-01-02T19:29:40Z

I don't have the capacity to do polls in this journal.

So please answer either Yes or No in the comments, and whether you do answer Yes or No, please explain your answer.

When you hear the word "media", do you think of books as being included in its definition?

Please spread this among your Friendslists - I need the widest possible range of answers to this question, not just my own Gentle Readers.

Thanks for your input.

---pmc2

New icon, courtesy of Chema Madoz.

2007-12-26T23:24:36Z

Books DO bridge all gaps.

They do, they do.

The working tools of an [occasional] overworked travelling bibliophile.

2007-12-15T17:49:37Z

Book reviews will hopefully resume after the 26th. Until then, some random thoughts on an icy morning.

I've never had a cellphone, and have never made use of one until last month. This unprecedented cellphone use on my part occurred when I was on an extended road trip, versus the day trips I periodically make to Boston or Springfield.

I am slowly starting to understand the practical applications of gadgets such as these phones, even for these short day trips, and to get a glimmer of gadget lust. On my last trip to Boston, I held an iPhone in my hand for the first time, and its sleek functionality had great appeal.

However, while I've gained appreciation for the techno-nifty in other people, at heart I'm personally a very simple creature. I have always been able to firmly enforce my iron will to erect a solid wall between what I *want* and what I *need*.

What I found I *needed* on my last trip to NYC was:

* the ability to make and receive phone calls
* the ability to retrieve and write e-mail

What I found that I *wanted* was:

* the ability to surf the Net
* the ability to access a word-processing program to make notes, from which to write sales reports, travel reports and blog entries
* the ability to take pictures

What would have been truly nice, and would satisfy something in my overworked and underpaid soul, but not strictly necessary:

* the ability to play music

What I don't really know that I need or want, but sometimes one doesn't know what one needs or wants until it's put in front of one:

*the ability to text-message

What I had no need for then and see no need for now:

*the ability to play games or watch video content

=================================
I'm utterly ignorant of these things, and I balk at the idea of having to spend money each month [for the phone plan] for something I'd use only a few days each month. But investing in what would essentially be a mobile office might have a frugal appeal to frugal little me.

Speak to me of ECONOMICAL gadgets *AND* cellphone plans that would be serviceable and fill my requirement for said mobile office, Gentle Readers.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ WordPress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

Shipping preferences.

2007-12-07T21:40:12Z

Twice now, in the last month, some nice anonymous person employed at an unknown publishing company has tried to ship something to me care of “The Books By Night Blog”, using my P.O. Box address. It’s been sent from Banta Packaging &Fulfillement, via UPS, and keeps getting returned to the local UPS Distribution Center, because they cannot deliver to a P.O. Box.

My partner spoke to UPS today, and we think we have caught the package and were able to redirect it this time before it gets returned to Banta.

Please advise here in comments whether this rings a bell with any of you Gentle Readers. I know the mystery will be solved when I finally DO get your package, but I’d like to thank you early if I can.

If any of my Gentle Readers wants to ship me books to review in the future using the P.O. Box address, please don’t use UPS. Please use regular US Mail via Media Mail.

This problem will likely go away in 2008 if/when I get proper office space. One can only dream.

And again, thanks in advance to my mysterious benefactor.

---pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ Wordpress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

I need new glasses. Or else cyborg eyes.

2007-11-26T23:13:58Z

A rare personal note for this journal.

Please DO point out spelling or grammar mistakes I may make in these posts. I just caught one in my conventions post, and am blushing fit to beat the band.

Words and their proper use are my bread and butter. But right now there's no butter, and precious little bread, in the household, and thus I cannot afford a new pair of reading glasses.

So typos are becoming more and more common, and I'd appreciate it if those of you with better vision than I could gently prod me when I've made an error.

Thanks.

-----pmc2

Convention inquiries and survey.

2007-11-25T22:38:16Z

As someone who straddles the worlds between comic book retailing, media retailing, and bookselling, is Lunacon worth my time for contacts, swag, networking, and future sales?

Looking at their site, it appears that my expenses for the weekend would be $80.00 for travel, $400.00 for accommodations, and $100.00 for food & incidentals. Call it $600.00 all told.

Those authors and fans among my Gentle Readers who are old hands at this convention game, please chime in. I'm coming back to conventions after a long absence, and most of my experience is on the vendor side, not the networking side.

2] In a related note, what are the other conventions on your itineraries for 2008? I'm most interested in anything in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but I'll consider the right con off the East Coast if I could almost immediately recoup expenses.

Thanks for your input on both counts.

----pmc2

Susan Cooper in Boston, November 14th-15th.

2007-11-07T23:40:32Z

One often wishes one could be in two places at once.

This is just such a time.

I will be away from home from the 13th through the 19th. So Murphy, that delightful sadist of Murphy's Law fame, has arranged that Susan Cooper will be in Boston when I have to be elsewhere.

I've known about this conference for ages, but only after clearing my desk and finding my invitation did I realize that yes, Susan Cooper will be in town when I am out of town.

You, my Gentle Readers, may benefit from my misfortune.

Details:

Nov. 14th, 7PM - The Writing of Fantasy, a roundtable discussion featuring Susan Cooper, Gregory Maguire, and Roger Sutton. MIT Stata Center, tickets free but required, reception to follow. Sponsored by the Cambridge Public Library.

Nov. 15th, 7:30PM - Unriddling the World, featuring Susan Cooper, Dr. Tony Berrand, and George Emlen of Revels, Inc. First Parish, 3 Church Street, tickets not required. Sponsored by the Cambridge Public Library.

More information about both events can be found at http://www.cambridgepubliclibrary.org.

At some point in this blog, I really should recount the tale of how the Susan Cooper books were a sovereign remedy for influenza.

-----pmc2

[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ Wordpress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]

The Literacy Train.

2007-10-21T20:03:17Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwioNlZjZwk.

A public service announcement from the Library of Congress, designed to appeal to those of us who are Traveling Wilburys and prefer to jaunt by railroad.

Link courtesy of Chris Roberson.

----------pmc2
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[Mirrored at Bookseller By Night @ Wordpress.com. Comments are welcome there as well as here.]