Joe Murphy on Great Winter Buyer's Choices
Hi Everyone-
Hope you all had a good week and survived our mini-blizzard. I went to the National Gallery to see the Cezanne in Provence show, which was fantastic, and very crowded, which was heartening to see. And I should mention - we're featuring the fantastic catalogue for the show as a Buyer's Choice at 20% off. I've looked at it and the reproductions are great.
At any rate, I went to the show on Friday - well before the snow started - and managed to fall flat on my face on the steps of the National Gallery. Trust me: it was spectacular. Just shows that I don't need an ice storm to wind up on the ground. I also watched a few great videos: Crash, which I hadn't yet seen, Tony Takitani, a Japanese film based on a Haruki Murakami story, the always enjoyable The Awful Truth, with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne (and the dog that played Asta in the Thin Man movies!), and the entertainingly bizarre You and Me and Everyone We Know. I also rewatched my favorite movie of 2005: Junebug, an ambiguous family drama with so much going on that I could talk about it for days. You can get a lot of viewing done with a snowstorm and a turned ankle!
So we're in the dog days of winter, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out that this is anything but a slow season for books. Let me just mention a small handful of perfectly brilliant Buyer's Choices we have at the moment.
Ready for a travelogue with political overtones? French political writer Bernard-Henri Levy recreates de Toqueville's famed trip across America in American Vertigo. Mr. Levy dropped by, so we have signed stock!
How about a great biography of Mozart, in celebration of his birthday? Try the comprehensive and compelling new work Mozart: His Life and Work by Julian Rushton.
Or perhaps the conclusion of a majestic trilogy of American history? There's always Taylor Branch's long-awaited At Canaan's Edge, his brilliant narrative of the Civil Rights era.
Maybe a masterpiece of Russian literature? The darlings of Russian translation, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhnsky, have not yet tackled War and Peace, but never fear, Anthony Briggs has a new translation, and it's every bit as lively as the work of the husband-wife team.
Or maybe some first fiction? Dara Horn's first novel, The World to Come, which deals with the life and work of Mark Chagall, has been receiving extremely positive and enthusiastic reviews; it's well worth your time.
So there's no room for winter blues as far as reading goes! The early part of the year is an incredibly important publishing season, and these are just a few examples. As always, we've picked out some of the best of what's available with our carefully selected Buyer's Choice list, so come in (or shop our website) and check them out.
Best till next week,
-Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer
Hope you all had a good week and survived our mini-blizzard. I went to the National Gallery to see the Cezanne in Provence show, which was fantastic, and very crowded, which was heartening to see. And I should mention - we're featuring the fantastic catalogue for the show as a Buyer's Choice at 20% off. I've looked at it and the reproductions are great.At any rate, I went to the show on Friday - well before the snow started - and managed to fall flat on my face on the steps of the National Gallery. Trust me: it was spectacular. Just shows that I don't need an ice storm to wind up on the ground. I also watched a few great videos: Crash, which I hadn't yet seen, Tony Takitani, a Japanese film based on a Haruki Murakami story, the always enjoyable The Awful Truth, with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne (and the dog that played Asta in the Thin Man movies!), and the entertainingly bizarre You and Me and Everyone We Know. I also rewatched my favorite movie of 2005: Junebug, an ambiguous family drama with so much going on that I could talk about it for days. You can get a lot of viewing done with a snowstorm and a turned ankle!
So we're in the dog days of winter, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out that this is anything but a slow season for books. Let me just mention a small handful of perfectly brilliant Buyer's Choices we have at the moment.
Ready for a travelogue with political overtones? French political writer Bernard-Henri Levy recreates de Toqueville's famed trip across America in American Vertigo. Mr. Levy dropped by, so we have signed stock!How about a great biography of Mozart, in celebration of his birthday? Try the comprehensive and compelling new work Mozart: His Life and Work by Julian Rushton.Or perhaps the conclusion of a majestic trilogy of American history? There's always Taylor Branch's long-awaited At Canaan's Edge, his brilliant narrative of the Civil Rights era.Maybe a masterpiece of Russian literature? The darlings of Russian translation, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhnsky, have not yet tackled War and Peace, but never fear, Anthony Briggs has a new translation, and it's every bit as lively as the work of the husband-wife team.Or maybe some first fiction? Dara Horn's first novel, The World to Come, which deals with the life and work of Mark Chagall, has been receiving extremely positive and enthusiastic reviews; it's well worth your time.So there's no room for winter blues as far as reading goes! The early part of the year is an incredibly important publishing season, and these are just a few examples. As always, we've picked out some of the best of what's available with our carefully selected Buyer's Choice list, so come in (or shop our website) and check them out.
Best till next week,
-Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer
0 Comments:
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home