Tomorrow is 12/13/14…
(Just seemed like something to point out as the months, days and years won’t line up like that again until 1/2/3003)
Congragulations to David Morrell for being presented the 2014 Nero Award for his novel Murder as a Fine Art. The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. "The 'Nero' is considered one of the premier awards granted to authors of crime fiction. "
End of the Year Sale!
For the month of December, we are offering 10% off all used hardcovers, including collectibles. Here’s your chance to find something truly special to put under the tree for a booklover on your shopping list!
AND TOO! Even more great reasons to come see us!
We got this notice from our local Pioneer Square Association, designed to entice you to come visit us, and not just on the weekends, either:
“Pioneer Square Retailers,
Through December 31, your customers can get 2-HOURS FREE PARKING at the 1st & Columbia Garage!!! Please share this information with your customers via newsletter, Facebook, Twitter or other ways! Here is the link for you to share: http://www.pioneersquare.org/discover/first-two-hours-free-parking-in-pioneer-square.
How to Get Free Parking:
1. Park at the First and Columbia Garage (721 First Ave).
2. Keep the ticket issued from the garage.
3. Shop, dine, and enjoy holiday events in Pioneer Square (at your establishment!)
4. Go to Milepost 31, the SR 99 tunnel project information center at 211 First Ave S (Hours: Tues-Sat, 11 am- 5 pm), to pick up a free two-hour voucher ticket.
5. After retrieving the vehicle, drive to the exit and put the garage-issued ticket into the machine FIRST for balance, then insert the free parking voucher ticket to apply discount.
The Fine Print:
Valid ONLY at First and Columbia Garage (721 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98104). You may park for two hours for free. After that, posted rates apply. Not valid when special events or gameday rates are in effect. Valid through 12/31/2014. No cash value. Limit one per car per visit. No purchase necessary. While supplies last.
We are very excited about this holiday season and hope this promotion helps to draw additional shoppers to your business.
Thank You!”
Holiday Calendar:
For future reference, our calendar of holidays and our hours as we head toward the end of the year:
Tues, Dec 16 – Chanukah Begins: Open
Sun, Dec 21 – Winter Solstice: Open
Wed, Dec 24 – Christmas Eve: Closing at 2pm
Thurs, Dec 25 – Christmas Day: Closed
Fri, Dec 26 – Boxing Day, Kwanza Begins: Open
Wed, Dec 31 – New Year’s Eve: Closing at 2pm
Thurs, Jan 1 – New Year’s Day: Closed
Fri Jan 2 – Our Regular Hours will change!
The 5-6pm hour doesn’t see much action – very few sales. So, from Jan 2nd to maybe sometimes in March, if then (depends on tourist season and over-all sales):
Sunday stays the same, noon – 5
Mon – Sat: 10 to 5
If there are people in the shop at 5pm, we won’t kick them out. By the same token, if you can be here by just a few minutes after 5, call and we can see if someone can stay. But Call First!
And the Post Office gives these dates for DOMESTIC Holiday shipping:
Dec 20 is the deadline for First Class to reach its destination by the 24th
Dec 20 is also the deadline for Priority mail to reach its destination by the 24th
Dec 23 is the deadline for Priority Mail Express to reach its destination by the 24th
So that means, if you want us to order something for you, speak now!
Gift Certificates:
They’re available in Whatever Denomination You Want; They Don’t Expire; You can Order Them by Phone, e-mail or through the Website, and we can Mail them directly to the Recipient if you’d like. Perfect for all sorts of occasions. And they make GREAT stocking stuffers!
Links of Interest:
Charles Finch, noted mystery author, tells us which books he’s recommeding!
Val McDermid: Why I Write
WWII By the Books: The Pocket-Sized Editions That Kept Soldiers Reading
US believed FBI mole passed secrets to IRA in Thatcher murder plot, files reveal
While we specialize in mystery and crime books, we can order virtually any new book that you might want, no matter what its topic.
See the calendar of all currently-scheduled events on our website. The website calendar contains plot synopses. At the bottom of it is the updated, complete list of signed copies that we’ll be getting from other sources. Click Here.
Waverly Curtis & Rachel Bukey, Dec 13
Jayne Ann Krentz, Jan 6 –This Event has been Cancelled
Tracy Weber & M.A. Lawson, Jan 10
Jeanne Matthews, Jan 14
Thomas Perry, Jan 16
Pamela Christie, Jan 17
Tessa Arlen, Jan 24
Yasmine Galenorn, Jan 31, drop-by, time uncertain
Burt Weissbourd, Jan 31 at 3:00pm
Cara Black, Mar 2
Glen Erik Hamilton, Mar 3
C.S. Harris, Mar 7
Leslie Budewitz, Mar 17
And there are always more on the way!
Remember, too, that while it is always fun to come in and meet the author in person, that isn’t always possible. So reserve a signed copy to be mailed to you or for you to pick up later. Those who reserve in advance get the copies in the best condition!
_________________________________________________________________
Facebook:
We’ve been looking at our Facebook numbers, and we’re considering putting the page on hold – out of over 2000 people who are our friends, the number of people our posts reach are only in the double digits. If you’d like us to keep posting there, let us know. “Liking” and sharing posts are the best ways to boost our numbers. Otherwise at the first of the year, we’ll be cutting back our time there. Thanks!
Wish List:
Our website has a Wish List capability. If folks want to know what you’d like for a given holiday or birthday, it is easy to point people to our website. Amber has put together a dandy blog post explaining it and how it works.
Word of the Week: (just to refresh your memories)
cheer (n.) From c.1200, "the face," especially as expressing emotion, from Anglo-French chere "the face," Old French chiere "face, countenance, look, expression," from Late Latin cara "face" (source also of Spanish cara), possibly from Greek kara "head," from PIE root *ker- (1) "head" (see horn (n.)). From mid-13c. as "frame of mind, state of feeling, spirit; mood, humor." By late 14c. the meaning had extended metaphorically to "mood, mental condition," as reflected in the face. This could be in a good or bad sense ("The feend ... beguiled her with treacherye, and brought her into a dreerye cheere," "Merline," c.1500), but a positive sense (probably short for good cheer) has predominated since c.1400. Meaning "shout of encouragement" first recorded 1720, perhaps nautical slang (compare earlier verbal sense, "to encourage by words or deeds," early 15th C.). The antique English greeting what cheer (mid-15th C.) was picked up by Algonquian Indians of southern New England from the Puritans and spread in Indian languages as far as Canada.
cheer (v.) From the late 14c., "to cheer up, humor, console;" c.1400 as "entertain with food or drink," from cheer (n.). Related: Cheered; cheering. Sense of "to encourage by words or deeds" is early 15th C. Which had focused to "salute with shouts of applause" by late 18th C. “Cheer up” (intransitive) first attested 1670s.
(thanks to etymonline.com)
You can browse our collectable and hard-to-find books, as well as signed copies from earlier author events, on Biblio.com. You do not have to place an order through them, especially if you’re a long-time customer and we have your ordering info. Just email us to order.
_________________________________________________________________________
What We’ve Been Reading:
Amber Recommends:
Amber’s project for 2014: My 52 Weeks of Agatha Christie. Here’s her explanation.
This Week: Problems, Productivity and Alexander Dumas
We have twoTumblr blogs, in addition to our regular shop blog:
Books and Decay, maintained by Amber – interesting photos with literary quotes to match
Hardboiled, maintained by JB – pulp covers, film noir and other images of crime and mystery
On This Date:
Dec 14, 1914 – future mob boss Joe Columbo was born in Brooklyn
Dec 14, 1934 - $590,000 was stolen from the United States Trust Company – the largest robbery in US history up to that time
Dec 14, 1935, Lee Remick was born in Quincy, MA. In 1959, she starred in the classic courtroom movie Anatomy of a Murder, with Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara and George C. Scott
Dec 14, 2012 – mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT - kindergarteners
Dec 15, 1863 – first confirmed bank robbery in US history as a man stole $5,000 from a Middlesex County, MA bank after shooting the 17 year-old bookkeeper. Other banks were robbed during the Civil War but they are viewed as acts of war and not a civilian crime.
Dec 15, 1937 - Donald Goines was born in Detroit
Dec 15, 1949 – the future Sonny Crocket, Don Johnson, was born in Flat Creek, MO
Dec 16, 1903 – whodunnit writer Clyde B. Clason was born in Boulder
Dec 16, 1927 - Peter Dickinson was born in Livingstone, Zambia. He’s known for penning some of the strangely erudite mysteries you might ever read and has won a number of mystery awards. Thankfully, he’s being reissued by Felony & Mayhem
Dec 16, 1928 – Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago
Dec 16, 1930 – screenwriter Alan Trustman was born in Boston. He wrote The Thomas Crown Affair AND Bullitt
Dec 16, 1935 – actress Thelma Todd was found dead in a car, one of the great unsolved deaths in Hollywood’s history.
Dec 16, 1943 – future creator of “Hill Street Blues”, Steven Bochco, was born in NYC
Dec 16, 1951 – “Dragnet” premiered
Dec 16, 1985 – mob boss “Big Paul” Castellano is shot down outside Sparks Steakhouse in NYC
Dec 17, 1813 – Napoleon signs the decree formally creating the Sûrète Nationale, the French national police
Dec 17th, 1903 – the Wright Brothers make the first flight with man-made power. Immediately afterward, a wagon appeared full of newspapers, candy and gum, toys and gag t-shirts, and paperback books. On-lookers were required to take off their shoes…
Dec 17 – Christianna Brand (1907, Malaya), Charlotte Jay, winner of the 1st Edgar Best Novel Award for Beat Not the Bones (1909, South Australia), pulp writer, novelist, playwright and director Richard Sale (1911, NYC), and William J. Reynolds (1956, Omaha)
Dec 17, 1926 – in what would be perhaps the first of what we know as ‘going postal’, in Australia, fired postal worker James Hannivan shot and killed two workers at the Adelaide General Post Office before killing himself
Dec 17, 1957 - Dorothy L. Sayers died
Dec 17, 1971 – Diamonds are Forever premiered
Dec 17, 1975 – “Rumpole of the Bailey” premiered on the BBC
Dec 18, 1891 – Owney Madden was born in Leeds, England. In NYC he becomes a feared gangster, boxing promoter and manager of the Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington gained fame. In 1935, due to a murder, he left NYC and settled in Hot Springs, AR, and ran it as an ‘open town’ (a safe place for hoodlums and gangsters to hide out when things in their city’s got ‘too hot’) and lived there until his death in 1965. He refused to give up his English accent
Dec 18, 1911 – actor and director Jules Dassin was born in Middletown, CT
Dec 18, 1913 – science fiction and mystery writer (The Demolished Man) Alfred Bester was born in NYC
Dec 18, 1931 – after many attempts, “Legs” Diamond was murdered.
Dec 18, 1946 - Steven Spielberg was born in Cincinnati
Dec 18, 1954 - Ray Liotta was born in Newark. Something Wild, Goodfellas, Cop Land and the wonderfully twisted Smokin’ Aces to name a few
Dec 18, 1963 - Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, OK. Thelma and Louise, Se7en, Ocean’s 11, Mr. and Mrs. Smith to name a few
Dec 18, 1969 – the first Bond movie without Sean Connery, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, premiered in London and the US (the world premiere was in France on Dec 12)
Dec 19, 1843 - Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol first published
Dec 19, 1876 – Walter W. Masterman – prolific author of many genres and brother of author and spymaster John C. – was born in Wimbledon
Dec 19 – shop founder Bill Farley was born in Battlecreek, Michigan
Dec 19, 1946 – Robert Urich was born in Toronto
Dec 19, 1969 – Hitchcock’s Topaz premiered
And Have a Relaxing and Book-Filled Weekend!
Comments