Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Fight Fundamentalism

We’re getting a jump on Banned Books Week (Sept 24-Oct1) by providing this story from Reuters dated Aug 5th: on April 18, the Republic School District in Missouri voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. (The ‘adult’ who made the complaint that lead to the banning of two books asked that the school district “stop using textbooks and other materials "that create false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth."). The seven-month-old Vonnegut Library stepped in to offer a free copy to any student in the district who asked for one.

If you’ve never read the book, you should. It is a satirical novel about war and the horrors of it and tells the story of Billy Pilgrim who survived the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by the allies in WWII. (Dresden had no military value and the massive number of bombs dropped created a firestorm that destroyed the city had no point other than to depress civilian morale. Vonnegut – a decorated vet – was a prisoner of war in Dresden at the time and wrote his book from experience.)

If you’d like to donate to the Vonnegut Library to support their battle against book-banners, please click here.

If you’ve never read it and would like to – and would like to stick your thumb in the eyes of those who think they can tell you what to read – we will happily order a copy for you and give you a 40% discount (our cost) on the book.

Lest you think this doesn't happen in the world of crime and mystery books, you should know that a school board in Virginia banned Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, last month.

Why, we ask, when we’re marking the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, when we’re patting ourselves on the backs for ‘getting’ bin Laden and wrecking Al Quida and defeating their attempts to destroy our system of freedom and choice – why then are we allowing home-grown narrow-minded fuss-budgets to do the same thing? We should view religious fundamentalism by Muslims to be dangerous and a threat to "American Ideals" and yet not see fundamentalism by any other religion to not be just as dangerous and vile and creepy and 'un-American'? They're the same thing, just different clothes.

If you decry one fanatic telling you what to read, in these days of reflections on 9/11, it has to make sense to fight against anyone trying to ban books.  

~JB

When the door is open all kinds of people wander in

Just sitting here, minding our own businesses, when who should wander in but Colin Cotterill! He's on his way to Bouchercon and was routed through Seattle and thought he'd stop in to say hello and sign any books we might have. Did we have any that we would like signed? Chyah!

 
Colin and LIZ - Thailand residents

As Children all over the World will tell you - - - -

 

Our August 2011 Bestsellers

Hardcover

1 – Kat Richardson, Downpour, Roc

2 – tie

        Peter Spiegelman, Thick as Thieves, Knopf     

        Steve Berry, The Jefferson Key, Ballantine

        C.J. Box, Back of Beyond, Minotaur

5 – James Rollins, The Devil Colony, Morrow

6 – Mary Daheim, All the Pretty Hearses, Morrow

7 – Alyxandra Harvey, Haunting Violet, Bloomburg

8 – Lowen Clausen, First Avenue, Watershed

9 – J.A. Jance, Betrayal of Trust, Morrow

10 – Thomas W. Young, The Silent Enemy, Putnam

Trade Paperback

1 – Jo Nesbo, Redbreast, Harper

2 – Curt Colbert, ed., Seattle Noir, Akashic

3 – James Thompson, Snow Angels, Berkley

4 – Jo Dereske, Farewell, Miss Zukas, June Creek Press

5 – Laurie R. King,  God of the Hive , Bantam

6 – tie

        Megan Chance, City of Ash, Broadway

        Rebecca Cantrell, A Trace of Smoke, Forge

        Jo Nesbo, Nemesis, Harper

        Jo Nesbo, The Redeemer, Random House/UK

        Claire O’Donohue, Missing Persons, Plume

        Deanna Rayborn, Silent in the Grave, Mira

Mass Market

1– Jayne Castle, Canyons of Night, Berkley

2 – tie

        Kat Richardson, Greywalker, Roc

        Louise Penny, Still Life, St. Martin’s

4 – Camilla Lackberg, The Ice Princess, Pocket

5 – Sheila Connolly, Bitter Harvest, Berkley

6 – tie

        D.D. Barant, Dying Bites, St. Martin’s

        Kat Richardson, Labyrinth, Roc

        James Lee Burke, The Glass Rainbow, Pocket

7 – tie

        Dennis Lehane, Moonlight Mile, Harper

        Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity’s Death, Penguin

        Ridley Pearson, Undercurrents, St. Martin’s

        Tom Wood, Killer, St. Martin’s

        Cleo Coyle, On What Grounds?, Berkley

        Lorna Barrett, Murder is Binding, Signet

UNHOLY ALLIANCE

This was my fourth launch at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, and again it was a great experience. I'm looking forward to a fifth. Since so much of my stories involve this area of Seattle, because they're based on true events, I just love coming here. It's rich with history, tradition, and the smell of books. You can't beat that. Bill was here for my first launch, and it's sad to see him retire. My best to all of you at SMB, my favorite bookshop. 

"Let there be light," McMurphy quipped, but the barroom humor was wasted on Kearney.

As the lights came on, illuminating the garage floor, Kearney doused his flashlight and glanced back twoard McMurphy. "Is that your blood on the light switches, or was it already there?" he asked.

Unholy Alliance, p.8.

Neil Low