Randy Newman tells the Truth!

Why I've always loved me some Randy Newman! And, if this picture doesn't tell you why we need to do something right in Africa, well, nothing will. We Want Peace

Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to be remembered for more than Sherlock Holmes. Too bad for him.

JEREMY McCARTER just doesn't get it.

This review reminded me of the one-short story piece I attempted. I sent it off to Stuart McLean.

Dec 1st, we were snowed in and unable to attend the first showing of Vinyl Cafe in America. DAMMIT! Our one holiday extravagance.

We had a lovely night dancing anyway.

It was a slow afternoon at the bookstore and I was by myself while my co-workers were out getting their lunches. A young man entered the shop, quickly tucking a small beanie-baby sort of toy into his pocket.
When I asked if he was after something particular, he said “No, just browsing.” After a circle of the shelves he came back to the front desk and asked if we had any Sherlock Holmes stories. Relieved that it wasn’t the usual lame, jokey or idiotic questions one can get asked in a Mystery Bookstore, I took him to the Sherlockian section. He said he wanted the complete stories, so I recommended the Doubleday hardcover or the Bantam paperbacks in two volumes. He shook his head “No, I want the true stories, the cases Holmes actually solved.” I realized the level of his sincerity and slowly, carefully told him that “Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were fictional creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, later in life, Doyle became interested in para-normal occurrences and spiritualism, and this book is a study of the ‘true’ things Doyle investigated.” His shoulders slumped and something seemed to go out of him. “Have you ever had one of those days when everything you thought was true turns out to be wrong?” he asked me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen on a seventeen year old. “Yes” I said, “Yes I have.”
He looked away a moment, then tried to straighten up. “Want to see something cute?”
“Okay” I said as he pulled the stuffed toy kitten out of his pocket and faced it towards me. “Yes, that is very cute” I said, as I realized the kitten had the same sad eyes as the young man in front of me.
“Okay, thanks” he said as he turned to leave. “Are you going to be okay, honey?” I asked desperately wishing I could hug him. “Yeah” he replied over world- weary shoulders. “You take care of yourself” I called after him.
I don’t know what else was not true for that young man and I don’t know what made him so sad. But for a moment I stood and looked out the window and for the first time in my life I really, really wished Sherlock Holmes was real.





I'm also reminded of a lovely visit with Leslie Klinger, who told of a die-hard fan, she was going to have herself hyp-mo-tizd, so she could re-read Sherlock, his annotated version, for the first time, again.

RaindogZilla liked his books!

'T'was the day before Christmas and a quandary was posed.
My credit was maxed, the libraries all closed.
The bookshelves were bare from a trip to Half-Price
and the few that were left were not worth reading twice.
When what to my crestfallen eyes did appear but a man
with a box, he was headed right here.
It was stuffed full of books, like a balm for the soul-
I guess this "Jackson Street" must be in the North Pole.
So, it's with thanks and good wishes for the storekeeps, their shop,
that the registers jingle and of custom nonstop.

Our Congressman at Work!

Thanks to Hominid Views!

River

My Booksense Blurb will be published in the January Picks Newsletter! Here's the full length version:
River, by Lowen Clausen (Silo Press, $15.95)
Lowen Clausen has written an exquisitely heart-breaking novel, with a soul as big as the eponymous River.
After the death of his son, a father takes the river voyage he has always dreamed of. Starting out from his family farm on the headwaters in the Sandhills of Nebraska, his inner voyage takes him to new acceptance of the son he never said goodbye to in life, while he faces the solitude and challenges of the river itself. The land plays as large a part of the story as do the people on the river.
This elegiac story will resonate with everyone who takes its journey for a long time.
-Tammy Domike, Jackson Street Books
This isn't the first time I've gotten my rec printed (Opal, A Fistful of Rain), but it's especially sweet as this is the second one I've gotten for Lowen. Way back when, we got a free copy of a new book by a first time author. We usually approach these offerings with trepidation, but this one was set in Seattle in 1980, (just when I got here!) along First Avenue's strip joints. I fell in love with the book and have been evangelical for the Seattle Cop Trilogy ever since. I slid a copy to the sales rep of my former employer, and they actually offered Lowen a paperback contract! Sweet! That's the only time I've ever managed to get that kind of magic to work.

Or, maybe not. Lowen wisely kept control of the Hardcover rights, and produced beautiful elegant volumes and then, later, a box to hold them. The publisher, not so much. Stereotypical cop/thriller cover art that told you nothing of what was inside. And, they had a habit of letting them go out of print, most notably, Second Watch, just 2 months before the release of Third and Forever. And still, publishers wonder why back list doesn't sell. Hint: keep it in print!

Everything Lowen has done has been a class act.While still a beat cop, he attended writing classes at UW. His dedication to the craft of writing has produced this heart-breaking breath of air. Read this book and then go hug your child.

River is a journey once taken by Lowen and his daughter. I was priveleged to be on the list for his weekly e-journals. of that voyage. The pictures here have become scenes in the book. As you read, come back and look at the pictures.


River (and the boxed set!) are available at Jackson Street Books and fine independent bookstores everywhere!

Visions of the Shifting Sands of Fate

Our friend Darryl has been doing computer graphs and bar charts! on the various candidates and how they poll currently if the '08 election were held now. Looks good for the Dems. My worry has always been that if Hilary Clinton were the candidate, how "electable" she would be. Doesn't look too bad really. Tammy and I really haven't made up our minds at all, though I guess our preferences would go Kucinch, Dodd, Edwards, Obama, Richardson, and all the rest. I hope that by the time we in Washington State actually caucus, it might mean something. We'll see.

We just love Fran!

when she talks about stuff.