McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: new books (Page 45 of 91)

Heat? Bring it on!

July 27, 2014 /

Sunday. Day of rest. Day of rest? No. More like, day of ALL the rest – all the rest of the projects that could not be completed during the regular work week.

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Can’t let the summer heat go to waste. Instead of boiling water to set inside the frosted-over freezer to speed up the melting, that 90+ degree heat outdoors is making for a quick disappearance of all that icy buildup. No boiling water. No drippy mess on the kitchen floor. (I have containers on the sidewalk to catch the run-off, but all the little splashes are evaporating about as quickly as they hit the deck.)

Those of us still living in the defrost age have a decided advantage. Those frost-free freezers and refrigerators don’t have a built-in cleaning reminder. Of course, Dustin and I aren’t dirtying-up the interior by tossing in open pans of spaghetti sauce or some such thing (my son Dustin and I are sharing kitchen duties as of a couple of weeks ago – what a godsend that has been!). We take care to keep up with it, but there are some projects that are out of the regular cycle. Like today’s episode.

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I sprayed and paper-toweled the freezer interior as it became visible from under the layer of frost, but there wasn’t a lot to clean. The defrosting brings about a forced reminder to clean the floor under the freezer, the appliance interior, and the top of the thing.

Sometimes I think we need those sorts of personal-defrosting moments that would allow us to scrub up our life-fringes. But that’s a project for some other Sunday.

While the freezer sits outside drawing the attention of passersby, I’ve taken the opportunity to address a couple of the tables. Attached a metal strap under the wooden top that was damaged in transit and only lately began to become an issue. Added another in a separate area as an insurance measure. Tightened the screws on the legs. Same drill for a second table.

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I’d love to spend more time under this air conditioning vent typing up progress reports, but I’ve got to get that frozen food out of the backup unit and into the freezer.

Here’s one thing that was reinforced already today, as a result of the projects: There is no honest work accomplished without busting a knuckle or two.

I’ve busted one already.

Nine to spare.

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

The heat of the hunt: Summer style.

June 18, 2014 /

I carried the two small bags out to her car, which was parked at the far end of the block. “I’ll set them in the back seat for you,” I said.

“I’m so excited,” she replied.

The object of her anticipation was at the bottom of the Saks cord-handled bag, but I know it will be the first book she’ll dig out of it. From the titles she had carried up to the register I knew she was a candidate for a Vanessa Michael Munroe story.

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It probably shouldn’t, but I still get a little surprised when a little lady – struggling to keep a grip on three or four paperbacks at a time – has such a firm grasp on espionage and suspense stories. I had intended to suggest author Daniel Silva based on the titles she had already chosen, but when I offered to carry her selections up to the front, I noticed two of Silva’s books were already among them.

“Can you think of someone else I might like?” she asked, after I’d already offered up Lee Child, Nelson DeMille, and Stieg Larsson. (She’d already gone through all those.)

“Do you ever read a hardback?” I asked, and then brought over a copy of The Informationist. “It has a woman character that’s a little like Jason Bourne, James Bond, and Lizbeth Salander rolled into one.”

She decided to give it a try, even though she said hardbacks are tough to read in bed. (I have the same experience. Just as I begin to nod off, the book topples over and bonks me on the forehead.)

Author Taylor Stevens has been up late pounding at the keyboard. She’s the force behind the Monroe series, has a novella just released and a hardback due this summer. THE VESSEL is a great fill-in-the-blanks story. I’m sure you’ve experienced one of those – a book that leaves a character’s outcome unsettled, or a question unanswered. The “vessel” is the ship the bad guy sailed away on in a previous episode.

Needless to say, he’s looking over his shoulder. As Vanessa Michael Munroe notes early on, “He has to be.”

When Count of Monte Cristo is placed on the checkout counter, I always think – now THERE is a revenge story. THE VESSEL is a little like that, except Munroe isn’t so much out to get even, personally, as she is intending to put a stop to the bad guy’s activities. More of stalker story than a tale of retribution, and one that allows the author’s character to flex her muscles – both physically and mentally.

Never thought I’d be pointing anyone toward an eReader, but unfortunately (for a bookseller), that’s the way THE VESSEL has been released. The good news for you Kindle’rs, iPad owners, and Nook-ers, is that the ninety-nine cents you’ll spend for a digital copy will be the best less-than-a-dollar you’ll spend this summer. (Even ice cream cones are more than that, these days…)

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow, OK! 74012

Get out der bleistift and make a list!

June 11, 2014 /

When my friend Joe got back from Germany, he had a new vocabulary that he eagerly shared with me. Not a lot of words, but some used universally. We were sixth-graders and the only bi-lingual cussers on the playground. It’s certainly a thing of wonder, the fact that I can remember those phrases after all this time, but have to look up the website password.

Thought about Joe when the Book of EVERYDAY WORDS in German came into the shop today. It’s a safe assumption that my old buddy’s words aren’t included in this book. And I’m sure it’s because I don’t get out enough, but some of the Everyday Words that are included in the book aren’t on my daily list of spoken words. (Joe’s German phrases don’t get used by me either…)

Das Krokodil. Really? Do the rest of you talk about crocodiles every day?

Despite my lack of German language skills, I can translate some of these without the little picture guide. Das Toilettenpapier, for example. Now, there’s an everyday word.

I could have figured that a bikini is a bikini in any language, and I’m not surprised that an orange is an orange and an avocado is just the same, both here and there. And in Hamburg, the hamburgers are cooked on Der Grill, just like in your own backyard.

Couldn’t find the word for book, naturally. But I’ve found plenty of new book titles.

Some of the recent arrivals have already departed. Michael Korda’s new biography of Robert E. Lee – Clouds of Glory – is out of stock, but on order. There are other new titles on the shelves, though.

Diana Gabaldon’s latest in the Outlander series was released this week, and Written in my Own Heart’s Blood catches up with Jamie and Claire shortly after the American Revolution. There is intrigue anew and secrets revealed in the latest installment, which already has a four-star review on Amazon. (Don’t know how folks could have already finished reading the thing – it’s an 848 pager.)

The title that has been flying off the shelf?

The Fault in our Stars, by John Green. Part of the sales have been driven by the release of the movie version, but it has been a steady seller for the past few months. Passionate fans, too. A young lady spotted it as she walked by, picked it up, and gave it a smooch before setting it back on its easel.

We also have a smooch-free copy, if you prefer.

The nice Dickens set has been sent home with a good family. 130-old volumes that were nicely kept and will look great on their bookshelf. You’ll find some new copies of older titles in stock too, like a Lord of the Rings anthology (the complete trilogy in a single book), the Hunger Games, a boxed set of the Ender’s Game series, and others.

They’re forecasting more showers. Makes for good reading.

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 S. Main St. Broken Arrow OK! 74012

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