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Original Essays | June 27, 2009
By Fran Cannon Slayton
"Unfortunately, I've been to my fair share of wakes."
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With Halloween creeping in, we're feeling deliciously macabre — and we've summoned some ghoulish authors for a few bone-chilling treats: Laurell K. Hamilton, creator of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, and Erik Larson, who explores real-life murderers in both his bestselling The Devil in the White City and his latest, Thunderstruck. We have a cryptic interview with Michael Lewis, who terrified us with the inside workings of Major League Baseball in Moneyball and is back with Blind Side. Michael Connelly's latest, Echo Park, offers the usual white-knuckled suspense we've come to expect from a modern crime master. Plus: gasp at our horrifically great deals, shriek in terror at free kids' books... and more! 
signed editions
 In The Blind Side, Michael Lewis delivers a multidimensional story that traces the upbringing of a young boy who will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. Dave promises, "You'll laugh, you'll cry — really!" Get your signed first editions and break out those tissues.
 According to Bolton, "There is no finer writer of crime fiction working
than Connelly....Echo Park is the sort of
book you wait to read on a Friday, lest you wind up calling in sick to work
to finish it." Get your signed first editions of the latest Harry Bosch
thriller before they get away!
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featured interview
 Michael Lewis doesn't so much write about business as the people who change
it. In The New New Thing, we met Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics,
Netscape, and Healtheon. In Moneyball, Lewis introduced Billy Beane, an
ex-ballplayer who turned a franchise with one of the league's lowest
payrolls into an annual contender. Now, in The Blind Side, he offers
another fascinating, grassroots example of market forces at work, from the
NFL to the projects of Memphis. Library Journal raves, "Lewis's discussion
of evolving strategy is woven into the true focus of his book, a profile of
African American football prodigy Michael Oher....His strange, sad, and yet
inspiring tale is grippingly told."
 read the Powells.com interview
more author interviews |
 
NEW ARRIVALS
HARDCOVER
 One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
The brilliant sequel to the breakout favorite Case Histories again features the irresistibly reluctant detective Jackson Brodie that Georgie calls "sly and witty, honest and humane, and, finally, complex and suspenseful."
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Sale $17.49 | Hardcover
List Price: $24.99 (You Save: $7.50) |
 The End by Lemony Snicket
All things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The thirteenth and final installment in the groundbreaking series will answer readers' most burning questions, such as, "Why do I hate myself for reading this?"
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Sale $9.09 | Hardcover
List Price: $12.99 (You Save: $3.90) |
DVD
 Victory at Sea
Edited from over 13,000 hours of footage shot by the U.S., British, German, and Japanese navies during World War II, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary Victory at Sea is available in its entirety in a magnificent four-disc boxed set — at $20 off list price. And, as always, shipping is free for all DVDs.
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New $59.64 | DVD
List Price: $79.95 (You Save: $20.31) |
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PAPERBACK
 The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
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Sale $10.46 | Trade Paper
List Price: $14.95 (You Save: $4.49) |
 The Brooklyn Follies: A Novel by Paul Auster
From Paul Auster, the bestselling author of Oracle Night and The Book of
Illusions, comes an exhilarating, whirlwind tale of one man's accidental
redemption.
EBOOK
 State of Denial by Bob Woodward
Get Bob Woodward's "impressively detailed and eye-opening" (Boston Globe) exposé, State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III for only $13.59 on eBook!
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Sale $13.59 | Microsoft eBook
List Price: $16.99 (You Save: $3.40) |
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 When I was a young lad, the city council in my hometown voted to ban trick-or-treating, scared by stories of poisoned candy that turned out to be urban myths. My best friend, Shermy, and I loved Halloween and were devastated by this turn of events.
Having just seen Footloose in theaters, however, we knew that the stodgy Powers That Be could be overthrown by sheer force of will, with a little help from Kenny Loggins and bad white-people dancing. So on Halloween night, Shermy and I wore our costumes as planned (Shermy dressed as Mr. T; I was a bloody Ewok zombie) and went door-to-door in our neighborhood, singing Pumpkin Carols. Mostly we sang the Footloose song, with appropriately macabre words inserted in key places ("Now I got a tight noose/ Hangman's noose/ Strung up like a Sunday goose"), and flailed our bodies in some approximation of what can only loosely be termed "dancing."
I'd love to report that by dawn the entire town joined us on the front steps of City Hall. What actually happened is, my own parents didn't recognize us and called the police and we were grounded. The following year, the newly-elected mayor overruled the city council and trick-or-treating reigns once more. I'd like to believe Shermy and I had something to do with rescuing Halloween. Sadly, not even our best efforts could save Kenny Loggins's career.
—Brockman, blogmaster PowellsBooks.blog
From the Authors: SAVE 30%
LAURELL K. HAMILTON: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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In her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, Laurell K. Hamilton has braved vampires, werewolves, and copious sex with the undead — but that was nothing compared to the host of rejections she's received! Hamilton gets the last laugh with Strange Candy, her short story collection. Get it now at 30% off the cover price! |
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Strange Candy
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Sale $16.76 | Hardcover
List Price: $23.95
You Save: $7.19
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DANIEL KALDER: GUEST BLOGGER
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Right now Daniel Kalder, author of Lost Cosmonaut, is haunting our blog — but don't be afraid, he's our invited guest. Read his posts and save 30% when you buy Lost Cosmonaut, which Booklist calls "cool, wry, lively, and fun." |
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Lost Cosmonaut
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Sale $9.10 | Trade Paper
List Price: $13.00
You Save: $3.90
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EMILY MAGUIRE: GUEST BLOGGER
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A modern Lolita, Taming the Beast is an emotionally unflinching and alluring novel that introduces a powerful new writer, Emily Maguire — who will be our guest blogger next week! See what scintillating tidbits she has to offer and save 30% when you buy Taming the Beast. |
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Taming the Beast
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Sale $9.76 | Trade Paper
List Price: $13.95
You Save: $4.19
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in our stores
IN OUR NEXT EDITION:
Win our 2006 signed first editions!
"Three cats walk into a bar," Bagheera begins, "a Siamese, a tabby, and
a tuxedo."
"Stop it," Oreo commands.
"What," Fup asks, "no black cat this time?" Bagheera is black, head to
toe.
Bagheera goes on: "The Siamese tells the bartender, 'The usual,' and the
bartender slaps a mouse down on the bar."
"I like mice," Bear acknowledges. Bagheera nods.
"The tabby says to the bartender, 'The usual.' The bartender opens a
cage beside the milk dispenser, and out flies a small bird, which loops
high into the air, almost to the roof beams, before it lands on the bar,
right in front of the tabby."
"My kind of bird," Fup purrs.
Bagheera continues, "The bartender turns to the tuxedo."
"Don't do it," Oreo warns him. Oreo is black with a big white stripe
down his chest and belly. "Oreo," "tuxedo" — same difference.
"The tuxedo puts his paws on the bar and says to the bartender, 'The
usual.' So the bartender—"
Oreo springs across the aisle. Pounce! Cat hair fills the air. He
tackles Bagheera, but the black cat races away before he can be pinned.
Oreo goes chasing after him.
"Do you think any of Bagheera's tuxedo jokes have punch lines?" Bear
wonders. Fup has no idea. "Ever notice he doesn't tell them when Oreo's
not around?"
Send all your questions, comments, suggestions, and sexiest vampire anecdotes to newsletter@powells.com.
PowellsBooks.news
by Bolton and Dave
Copyright 2006 Powells.com
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