--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBD00003 Date: 07/08/96 From: SAM WARING Time: 12:26pm \/To: DENNIS MENARD (Read 3 times) Subj: Late Reading On 05 Jul 96 Dennis Menard said this about that to Phil Pocock: DM> How about "Max Carrados," by Ernest Bramah? I'm still trying to find DM> some information on how to acquire novels of this first famous blind DM> detective. Finding ANY Bramah is hard. Some years ago, I stumbled across a Penguin paperback of THE GOLDEN HOURS OF KAI-LUNG, but never have found anything else. I s'pose that if I were to get *really* excited, B-{)### I could do myself a booksearch and see what I can find. ... How nice it is to do nothing, and then rest. --- PPoint 2.00 * Origin: Shallow end of the gene pool (1:382/91.12) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBD00004 Date: 07/08/96 From: PATRICIA FERRARA Time: 04:48pm \/To: DEBBIE SHANKER (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Kat Colorado -=> Quoting Debbie Shanker to HELEN FLEISCHER <=- DS> I started the Kat Colorado books in the middle of the series and it DS> didn't make much of a difference. In fact just recently I found one of DS> the earlier ones in the series, didn't like it and I don't think I DS> even finished it. Honky Tonk was excellent though. I loved the idea of DS> her interacting with someone from her childhood. This one was one of DS> the best. The earlier one you recently found wasn't the first one, was it? At a Friends of The Library sale last month, I bought KATWALK. According to the book jacket, it's Karen Kijewski's first published book. I haven't started it yet. I'm just beginning a Carolyn Hart mystery. Patsy ... Just give me the chocolate, and no one will get hurt! --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 * Origin: Orion's Sword | Bush, LA | (504) 867-9701 | V.* (1:3828/1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBD00005 Date: 07/08/96 From: PHIL POCOCK Time: 08:22pm \/To: DEBBIE SHANKER (Read 3 times) Subj: Late Reading -=> Quoting Debbie Shanker to Phil Pocock <=- > selection as a *mystery* authors. I love Leslie Charteris and Sir > Arthur Conan Doyle. I've read a little bit of the current stuff, > and still return to the OLD stuff. DS> There's certainly nothing wrong with the OLD stuff. I was given a DS> copy of Doyle's complete works years ago, and it's just in the past DS> year or two that I've actually sat down and read it. DS> Although I did read the Hound of the Baskervilles when I DS> was in college and loved it. For some reason, I never DS> continued with the rest of his stories. Actually, the DS> Jeremy Brett series made me curious and caused me to pull DS> out the dusty old book. "Jeremy Brett series?" I must be out of touch! [g] DS> Have you tried The Beekeeper's Apprentice? You might like DS> the continuation of the Holmes saga, told from a ladies DS> point of view. I've not read it, but I saw a review or an offer for it the other day. I'll try to remember to check it out the next time I'm in a library or book store. << Phil from San Antonio, TX at 20:26:18 on Mon 07-08-96>> ... A long shot, Watson; a very long shot! ACD ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: The Rock BBS--Religion, Debate, Literature. (1:387/31) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBE00000 Date: 07/09/96 From: DEBBIE SHANKER Time: 07:58am \/To: HELEN FLEISCHER (Read 3 times) Subj: Nessen > DS> I guess I really do gobble up books. Since I'm not much of a TV > DS> watcher, I can spend most of my evenings reading. > I just need to find a better way to knit and read at the same > time. > Until I can do that, TV will still have me in the evenings. ;) Summer time is the best reading time. Even the few shows I watch are into reruns so the TV never gets turned on. > Current bedtime read is _Slow Dancing With the Angel_ of Death by > Helen > Chappell. It has what must be the worst first chapter I've ever > read in > my life. That would have stopped me cold. Very rarely will I continue with a book that gets off to a crumby start. As the old saying goes..so many books, so little time. I just finished Julie Smith's New Orleans Mourning. Her Skip Langdon heroine is quite a character. Wasn't sure if I'd stick with the story but I did and I enjoyed it. Even picked up a few more in the series to read next week after the picnic. It gave me a whole new way of looking at Mardi Gras. Killing Critics FINALLY came into the library yesterday and I plan to savour it today. The kids at work have been driving me crazy about it..".Haven't you read it yet"... They even did a special barcoding session for me so I could get it sooner than expected. Needless to say, none of the laundry will get done today! Steve just walked by and said to be sure to tell you that he expects to see you on Sat. <<< Debbie >>> --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: chocolate, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE: Roch, NY (1:2613/321.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBE00001 Date: 07/09/96 From: MARILYN PRIBUS Time: 01:55pm \/To: JAN MURPHY (Read 3 times) Subj: Laurie King's BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE I saw this one mentioned here and got it and enjoyed it a lot. I spent one entire summer reading one S. Holmes with breakfast on the porch each morning. In high school, before I could get work permit... lp --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: >> Ubik: Not whodunnit... << (1:203/289) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBE00002 Date: 07/09/96 From: JAN MURPHY Time: 11:17am \/To: SAM WARING (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Late Reading > > Finding ANY Bramah is hard. Some years ago, I stumbled > across a > Penguin paperback of THE GOLDEN HOURS OF KAI-LUNG, but never > have found > anything else. I s'pose that if I were to get *really* > excited, B-{)### I > could do myself a booksearch and see what I can find. Both GOLDEN HOURS and KAI_LUNG UNROLLS HIS MAT were published as part of Ballantine Books' Adult Fantasy series, edited by Lin Carter. If you're interested in getting a copy of MAT, send me netmail with your mailing address and I can put you on our wantlist at the store. --- Opus-CBCS 1.73a * Origin: Sci-Fido II, World's Oldest SF BBS, Berkeley, CA (1:161/84.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBF00000 Date: 07/10/96 From: DEBBIE SHANKER Time: 07:07am \/To: PATRICIA FERRARA (Read 3 times) Subj: Kat Colorado > -=> Quoting Debbie Shanker to HELEN FLEISCHER <=- > DS> I started the Kat Colorado books in the middle of the series and it > DS> didn't make much of a difference. In fact just recently I found one f > DS> the earlier ones in the series, didn't like it and I don't think I > DS> even finished it. Honky Tonk was excellent though. I loved the idea f > DS> her interacting with someone from her childhood. This one was one of > DS> the best. > The earlier one you recently found wasn't the first one, > was it? > At a Friends of The Library sale last month, I bought > KATWALK. > According to the book jacket, it's Karen Kijewski's first > published book. I haven't started it yet. I'm just > beginning a Carolyn Hart mystery. I don't think I read Katwalk. As I said, you needn't go in order for this series. Kat is an interesting PI and I think Honky Tonk might be the best yet of the series. Which Carolyn Hart are you reading? Dead Man's Island was great. It's the first of the Henry O' series. They did a made-for-TV movie of it but as usual, the book was much better. Finally started Killing Critics...it's just as good as I expected. O'Connell's Mallory is incredible. <<< Debbie >>> --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: chocolate, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE: Roch, NY (1:2613/321.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBF00001 Date: 07/10/96 From: DEBBIE SHANKER Time: 07:12am \/To: PHIL POCOCK (Read 3 times) Subj: Late Reading > DS> There's certainly nothing wrong with the OLD stuff. I was given a > DS> copy of Doyle's complete works years ago, and it's just in the past > DS> year or two that I've actually sat down and read it. > DS> Although I did read the Hound of the Baskervilles when I > DS> was in college and loved it. For some reason, I never > DS> continued with the rest of his stories. Actually, the > DS> Jeremy Brett series made me curious and caused me to pull > DS> out the dusty old book. > "Jeremy Brett series?" I must be out of touch! [g] The A&E TV series of Sherlock Holmes, staring Jeremy Brett. I had always visualized Basil Rathbone as Sherlock, but Brett has become THE Holmes as far as I'm concerned. > DS> Have you tried The Beekeeper's Apprentice? You might like > DS> the continuation of the Holmes saga, told from a ladies > DS> point of view. > I've not read it, but I saw a review or an offer for it the other > day. I'll try to remember to check it out the next time I'm in a > library or book store. It's worth the search. An excellent addition to the Holmes genre. <<< Debbie >>> --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: chocolate, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE: Roch, NY (1:2613/321.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBF00002 Date: 07/06/96 From: DENNIS MCCUNNEY Time: 08:27am \/To: JAN MURPHY (Read 3 times) Subj: McCrumb and other cross-over writers ** From Jan Murphy to Helen Fleischer on 02 Jul 96 10:24:52 ** McCrumb and other cross-over writers JM> Well, here's the bookseller's dilemma. JM> We started out as a specialty shop with mostly science fiction, though JM> we did carry some mysteries if they were written by authors who also JM> did science fiction (e.g. Asimov's mysteries, Boucher's _Rocket to the JM> Morgue_, Dick Lupoff's mystery series, Ted Sturgeon and Jack Vance's JM> Ellery Queen titles, and so on). So we also had _Bimbos of the Death JM> Sun_ and _Zombies of the Gene Pool_. JM> Then we started carrying more mysteries if they had some sort of JM> "twist" that would make them interesting to readers of science JM> fiction. Mostly this started out as historical mysteries like M K JM> Wren's (another crossover author) and Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfaels JM> and so on. JM> Then we said, well, heck, they've reprinted Dorothy Sayers and how can JM> we NOT stock these since we're carrying mysteries too. And so on. JM> Then we had a bunch of customers stop in who were really interested in JM> the mysteries only, so to save them the trouble of pawing through the JM> umptey-bump cases of SF to dig out the handful of mysteries, we gave JM> the mysteries their own (albeit small) shelf in the store. JM> Now what do we do with the books by McCrumb which are neither mystery JM> or SF? Either don't stock them, or put them somewhere obscure, like a shelf in the stockroom. JM> We face a similar problem with the romances -- we started out as a JM> lark by carrying a series of romances with a ghost in them, on the JM> grounds that it was fantasy because it was a ghost story. They sold JM> like hotcakes. Now we are seeing more and more publishers sending us JM> fantasy or science fiction-related romances, mostly time travel JM> stories, or vampire ones. And we've always had a smattering of JM> romances anyhow, again, stuff written by science fiction and fantasy JM> writers which we've had for their associational value, since some JM> readers want to read EVERYTHING their favorite writer does no matter JM> what category this is. There is a strong crossover market among SF fans for romances, largely due to the influence of Georgette Heyer. Regency Dances and Heyer Teas are popular items at a number of SF conventions. Carrying Regencies and the like makes a certain amount of sense, though I personally would draw the line at Harlequins. JM> Ideally, we'd like the fans of writer X to be able to find these books JM> and buy them if they tickle their fancy. If they don't know that JM> writer X has written in other categories, they won't go looking in the JM> other section. If we put up signs (shelf-talkers, as they are called JM> in the trade) directing readers to the other sections, we will have so JM> many shelf-talkers, they'll just become a big blur and customers won't JM> read them. JM> So what's a bookseller to do? What you're doing, more or less. On a practical level, what you stock is probably determined less by theoretical notions of specialty and genre, and more by practical considerations of what sells. An acquaintance of mine runs a specialty bookstore called SF, Mysteries, and More here in NYC. The name pretty much describes the selection: Science Fiction and Mysteries, with "and More" a convenient catch-all for the other things he stocks, like techno-thrillers, spy novels, and war fact/fiction titles. He's learned a few things the hard way, like the fact that Star Trek and Star Wars novels form a healthy percentage of his gross revenue, and doesn't seem to have learned some others, like the fact that he probably doesn't sell enough comics to justify the retail space or the administrative effort, and that books he gets really cheap, like the used books he stocks, aren't pure gravy: they take space, require labor, and are just as big a liability if they don't sell as the new titles. But the question I see is how big an issue your concern really is. Yes, there are readers who are fans of particular authors and will want to read everything that author has written, regardless of genre, But while it's all very well to want to please your patrons, practical considerations arise again. Do you *sell* enough books outside of your focus to make this effort worthwhile? Can you justify the allocation of shelf space (always a too limited quantity) to books outside of your specialty? I'd take a different approach. Devote the bulk of your retail space and attention to your focus on SF and Mysteries. Keep a *small* shelf of stuff somehow related. Start a file on your regular customers, tracking what sort of things they like. Start a parallel effort to track the authors who do a lot of cross genre work. Instead of trying to carry all the books, carry info sheets on popular authors. These needn't be fancy -- just a list of better known titles, advance notice of upcoming releases, if any, and an "Oh, by the way, did you know so-and-so also wrote *this* type of book?" You don't even need to stock all that much of the cross-over stuff: just make sure your patrons know it exists, and that if you don't have it on stock, you'll be happy to order it. (Computers make this sort of effort far more practical than it used to be.) Ultimately, specialty bookstores are service businesses. You can't match the big chains on price or selection. You can do a better job of knowing your customers and what they like. --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 * Origin: * BlueDog BBS * (212) 594-4425 * NYC FileBone Hub (1:278/304) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBG00000 Date: 07/11/96 From: FRED RUNK Time: 04:13pm \/To: DEBBIE SHANKER (Read 3 times) Subj: Brett' s=> While in the White Hart, Debbie Shanker insisted to Phil Pocock that <=- DS> The A&E TV series of Sherlock Holmes, staring Jeremy DS> Brett. I had always visualized Basil Rathbone as Sherlock, DS> but Brett has become THE Holmes as far as I'm concerned. Yep, my reaction also. I had trouble accepting Brett at first because his presentation was so different from Rathbone--who also was my picture of Holmes--but now I've come to see Brett instead of Rathbone. I've also reread a number of the Holmes' tales and have come to the conclusion that Brett's is closer to Doyle's description. ... Against stupidity, the very gods themselves struggle in vain. ___ X Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 X --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: Fred's Place (1:300/6.2)