*Black Magic Sanction (Kim Harrison) is #7 on the WSJ.

Fiction new releases on Tuesday, March 09, 2010:

• The Surrendered (Chang-Rae Lee)
• The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (Alan Bradley)
• The Silent Sea (The Oregon Files) (Clive Cussler)
• Hourglass (Evernight Novels) (Claudia Gray)
• The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands & Teeth Book 2) (Carrie Ryan)

At first I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or not. And I couldn’t figure out, if I WAS disappointed, was it with the book or the film?

The book and the movie have exactly three things in common: the title, the name of the main character, and the fact that he grows younger as the years pass. I’ve already admitted I loved the movie. (Fans of the original short story are probably throwing rotten veggies at the screen right now.) But Eric Roth (the screen play writer) created an entirely new story. It was billed as “based on” Fitzgerald’s work. Quite frankly, that is a stretch. I can understand why his fans could be insulted by such a claim. But here’s the thing - I love the original work just as much.

The movie is a romance, a story about an enduring love that evolves & transcends age. I do so love a good love story. The book is much more tragic, full of selfishness & contempt, illustrating what difficulties would be encountered while living such a phenomenon. And I love darker considerations. So I’ve finally concluded I’m not disappointed in either. I can’t be. They’re NOT THE SAME STORY.

But I’m curious about YOUR opinion. Were you a fan of Fitzgerald’s story and disappointed with the movie? Did you fall in the love with the movie and hate the book? Something in between? Let me know!

Although I consider myself a southern girl, I have never read any of Mr. Hannah’s work. Have you? What did you think?

• His dad & grandfather were brewmasters in Springfield, MA until Prohibition.
• He was editor-in-chief of Dartmouth’s humor paper (Jack-O-Lantern) until he got caught throwing a drinking party, which just happened to be against the law (Prohibition) & school policies.
• His middle name was also his mother’s maiden name. The first record of him using it as a pseudonym was on contributions to Jack-O-Lantern after he was, ahem, relieved of his duties as editor-in-chief.
• The first book that he wrote and illustrated, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 (or 28) times. Sadly, I don’t think I’ve ever read this one.
• He also wrote a few books under the pen name Theo. LeSieg and one under the name Rosetta Stone. He did illustrate these.

The very first book I read to my (now 12 year old) son was The Foot Book. For the first half of his life, he had quite a library of Dr. Seuss books. His favorites were Hop on Pop and There’s a Wocket in my Pocket until he discovered the fun of making me read Fox in Socks. He would bring that book to me EVERY SINGLE NIGHT while laughing manically. I related to Mr. Knox (”Please sir I don’t like this trick sir, my tongue isn’t quick or slick sir!”).

So tell me, what is YOUR favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
- Dr. Seuss (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish)

*Poor Little Bitch Girl (Jackie Collins) is #7 on the WSJ, down from #6 last week.

New Releases of Note on 03/02/2010:

House Rules (Jodi Picoult)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith)

Club Dead: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Charlaine Harris)

This past week I read two short story collections back to back: Neil Gaiman’s “Fragile Things” followed by Kim Edwards “The Secrets of a Fire King”. Though its tempting to compare the two volumes, I will refrain. Both Gaiman and Edwards are accomplished authors in their own right but the striking contrast between their writing styles assures that a fair comparison is unrealistic.

“Fragile Things” opens with “A Study in Emerald” in which we are introduced to an ordinary man living an ordinary life whose moderately interesting roommate reveals his very Sherlock Holmes like talents. In typical Gaiman fashion the story takes a turn for the odd rather quickly. The remainder of the novel is rollicking weird fun with similar twists & turns. However, characters remained shallow representations of personalities and the odd storyline details became so expected that it no longer provoked a reaction. By the time I encountered the woman who thrives off living flesh and the man slowly being consumed (“Feeders and Eaters”), I cringed a bit at the imagery but felt no visceral response.

As is expected in any collection, a couple of items stood out. “The Problem of Susan” and “Inventing Aladdin” were especially delightful. However I would have enjoyed the collection more if I’d read it one a bite at a time. Reading several entries in one sitting exceeded my daily allowance of weird. Overall I prefer Gaiman’s longer novels, where he has the opportunity to lead the reader on a tangled journey filled with the deep characters that leaves one trembling and satiated.

“The Secrets of a Fire King” contains an assortment of literary windows. Each story opens the curtains just long enough to allow witness of pivotal life events. There are few plot twists or surprises within these pages. These are character driven tales and the gap between print & reader is bridged with emotion. Though there are precious few words to develop each persona, most still convey a richness & depth that can only be accomplished by striking a chord within the audience. It’s easy to relate as each personality struggles with acceptance, love, betrayal and self discovery.

Again, I had my favorite pieces. “Balance” settled firmly into my top ten list. I must confess, I have never read a full length novel by Edwards though I intend to rectify that omission. What do you suggest I should start with?

“The Pulitzer is all well and good, but does it have a Russian surrealist writing about a commie Eiffel Tower that runs away and commits suicide? Or how about an asshole B actor on a Brazilian soap opera who gets his kicks by giving graphic interviews to innocent female journalists? Does it perhaps have a metafictional novel told in the form of an interview about said novel? Or even a comic, quasi-philosophical romp about an Argentine high-rise apartment building that’s under construction and infested with ghosts?”

I admit, I’m intrigued. Have you read any translated books? Would you consider putting any of these on your To Be Read list?

You’ve seen the pictures. You’ve talked with us on Twitter or Facebook. But what is involved in a transaction with CKY?

CKY Books has been buying books for over a decade. This is our primary business. There are a few specific requirements before the purchase process can be completed. (1) The book must have an ISBN. This number is located near the barcode usually located on the back of the book. If there is no ISBN, the transaction cannot be completed. (2) A successful purchase cannot be processed if there is noticeable damage. This includes water damage or stains, missing pages or covers, broken bindings, or excessive highlighting. If any of these conditions exist the purchase offer will be revoked or reduced.

There are also some books CKY Books cannot accept. These include advanced reading copies, Foreign Edition Textbooks and Teacher’s Editions or Solution Manuals. We are generally interested in non-fiction books and textbooks. This includes Self-Help, Foreign Language, Art and Travel books. While fiction books are accepted, the genre spectrum may be a bit narrow, depending on current needs. Customers should keep trying if the first titles are not accepted.

To make it worthwhile for customers as well as CKY Books, there are a few minimum requirements. There must be at least five books in the check out cart or a total of at least $8.00. Special arrangements can be made for a purchase that includes multiple copies of the same book, or a bulk purchase. Once the packing slip is printed and the books have been packed and shipped, it takes approximately fifteen days until payment is issued. During that time, emails are sent informing the customer of the status of the order. Each step of the process will be displayed from Pending to Paid.

We make every effort to be prompt when communicating order status and any issues that may affect discrepancies in order totals. Payment is sent via check or deposited into a PayPal account approximately twenty-four hours after receipt and inspection of the books. We are one of the few companies that will hold or return the books if customers change our minds about the sale or if the books are damaged and not acceptable for sale. Shipping is always free, checkout is simple and payment is fast.

Both lists have the following books in their top 5:

• “Worst Case” Patterson/Ledwidge (#1 on both)
• “The Help” Kathryn Stockett (#2 on both)
• “The Lost Symbol” Dan Brown (#3 on NYT, #4 on WSJ)
• “Winter Garden” Kristin Hannah (#4 on NYT, #5 on WSJ)

The differences - “Flirt” by Laura Hamiliton is # 5 on NYT & #11  on WSJ. The WSJ rounds out its list with “The Last Olympian” by Rick Riordan at the #3 spot.

The other fiction categories on NYT are Paperback Trade Fiction and Paperback Mass Market Fiction. I’ve added “The Lovely Bones” (Alice Sebold) and a couple of Nicholas Sparks titles to my To Be Read list. What about you? Do you see something that you’d like to read?

“I love hand fans! I have been collecting hand fans since 1974 when I was an actress in New York City. I was rehearsing for a show in which I played a 19th century lady and held a fan. I knew nothing at all about fans (even how to hold one!) but went down to Chinatown in New York to buy a prop example. The show was the Noel Coward Operetta Bittersweet and we performed it at the St Louis Municipal Opera, the largest outdoor theatre in the United States. At the closing night party a character actress cast member surprised me with a gift of an actual antique fan. I was thrilled with the large ivory and silk fan. Since then, wherever I go, I look for antique or collectible fans. I now know that fans were not just Chinese or Japanese but fans were made in countries all over the word and have been made since the beginning of time. France was, however, source of most of best and most beautiful fans during the 18th and 19th century. I have found antique fans for a few dollars but fans are considered great artifacts in Europe and auction houses there often sell fans for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Wherever I go I always look for fans. My personal collection varies from 18th century European fans to American 1950’s advertising cardboard-on-a stick fans. I especially love novelty fans and unusual fans. While writing Novelty Hand Fans, Fashionable Functional Fun Accessories of the Past, I purchased a fan from the 1870’s that appears as if it is a six shooter pistol with two triggers. When you pull the trigger, a pleated silk fan painted with birds and flowers appears. The fan and its patent drawing are pictured on page 58 in the book. I love the pistol fan so much but it was just impossible to show to fellow collectors! Since it mimics an actual pistol I could not bring it on the plane without security thinking it was an actual pistol! Because of this I recently sold it to a fellow collector from California. The pistol fan will be on exhibit sometime this year at the Hand Fan Museum in Healdsburg CA where I am on the board of directors.

Of course I have lace fans, feather fans, silk fans and fans made of leather, rubber, mica, silver, cork and all kinds of materials. I have fans that pop out of bouquets, fans that pop out of cigars and even a fan that appears like a fish! I have fans that double as parasols, fans that go in sets with purses, fans with maps, autographs and photographs on them. I have perfumed fans, fans with perfume bottles hidden in their tassels and fans with compacts hidden inside them. There are just too many interesting fans so I had to write a book about them. Novelty Hand Fans, Fashionable Functional Fun Accessories of the Past is a labor of love. There are over 200 beautiful photographs in the book along with patent drawings (fans were patented!) and photographs of 19^th century men, women and children using fans. Yes, men used fans too!

When I tell people my involvement with fans they always ask “Do you know The Language of the Fan?” My answer is, yes. I spent a year researching the Language of the Fan. Did people really communicate with the movement of a fan? Find out all about it in my book where I devoted an entire chapter to it. There was even a Broadway show tune called “The Language of the Fan!”

Don Johnson, book reviewer from Antique Week said Novelty Hand Fans, Fashionable Functional Fun Accessories of the Past is a “New fan book provides shining content, variety.” He loved it, and so will you!”

You can find out more information and order the book at http://www.handfanpro.com

ISBN 978- 0-9708852-1-0