Friday, October 26, 2007

The December Book Club Selection



Our Book Club has selected "Wish Club" by Kim Strickland as our book for December. All Book Club members and nonmembers get 15% off of the list price of the Book Club pick. Here is a brief summary of the book.
The five women (Claudia, Lindsay, Gail, Mara and Jill) make up a book club. Each enjoys the camaraderie of the get together as they chat about life while drinking wine; they even occasionally discuss a book. After reading a novel involving witchcraft and trying a light spell as a joke, Lindsay brings Benton's Grimoire, a book on witchcraft, to the next meeting although that tome is outside the normal reading material for the quintet. Fascinated by the spells, they jokingly test the incantations starting with stopping the rain; to their amazement it worked. Awed they tried to cure diabetes inflicting a cat; it works. Excited, the five decide to make their personal lives better with a series spells. Claudia asks for a baby and the writing a novel. Gail, the mother of three, wishes for some quiet time. Lindsay wishes to lose weight so that she participates in the Women's Foundation fashion show. Mara asks for money and for her former singing career to start over. Finally Jill wishes to be inspired by the perfect man when she paints. However when the Wish Club members begin to get their desires fulfilled; they find their lives out of control. Panicking they need to find a real witch to return them from the Wish Club back to the Book Club. Based on the concept that sometimes you get what you wish for, this well written lighthearted amusing chick lit tale stars five likable women who learn powerful life lessons. The changing needs of the quintet make the tale fun to follow as Kim Strickland cleverly insures each of the protagonists maintain their underlying basic personality even as their desires keep modifying. Fans who enjoy a charming whimsical fantasy will wish to join the WISH CLUB whose members ultimately wish to revert back to when they were a simple book club.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Why no bookstore cat?



A lot of people ask me, "Why no cat in the bookstore?" I'm a cat-lover so it does seem odd, in fact I have three indoor cats and one feral that I've been taking care of for years. Well the answer is, all of my cats are somewhat unpredictable. Athena, my tabby is sweet, but would be out the front door following home the first person to pet her. Coltrane our beloved black and white is a bit skittish. We've had him for 5 years and only one of my friends has ever seen him and our little Manx Minerva, is well, special. She's tiny, cute and well deadly would be the best way to describe her. You never see her coming, she usually strikes your heel first and then bites the top of your foot. I just can't see my customers enjoying that. Well, if I ever do adopt a normal cat maybe I will bring them into the bookstore.


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

A few hot titles...






Here are just some of the hot titles that are flying off our shelves here at Metropolis Books:
"The Historic Core of Los Angeles", By Curtis C. Roseman, Ruth Wallach, Dace Taube, Linda McCann, and Geoffrey.
"Coltrane" by Ben Ratliff-The story of a sound.
Any and all books by Noam Chomsky, and Howard Zinn, as well as the new Alan Greenspan book, "The Age of Turbulence"
Richard Langes, collection of short stories entitled "The Dead Boys" is also selling out, I still have a few signed first editions.
Just in time for Halloween, I have several Gothic and Victorian thrillers as well as contemporary ghost stories fiction and nonfiction.
Jeff Dwyer will sign and discuss his new book, "A Ghost-Hunters guide to Los Angeles on December 8th. We also have a large collection of Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliff, Wilkie Collins, Bram Stoker, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, and M.R. James. Come check out our selection.








Monday, October 22, 2007

Book Club


Our book club is currently reading Candice Millard's "The River of Doubt". The true account of Theodore Roosevelt's journey down an unexplored river in the Amazon. The book tells the tale of the ill-fated expedition that nearly killed the former president in 1912.

Metropolis Books








I'm co-owner of Metropolis Books, a general bookstore located in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles. Our Bookstore has been opened since December of 2006, and as we approach our one year anniversary, we can't believe how quickly the time has passed.
This weekend we are hosting two author events, On Saturday we will welcome poet Lynne Thompson, who will be reading from her debut collection, "Beg No Pardon".
Also on Sunday we will host author Randy Cepuch, who will read and discuss his nonfiction work, "A Weekend with Warren Buffet and other Adventures at Share Holders Meetings." Lynne Thompson will appear at 4:00 pm, and Randy Cepuch's event will start at 2:00 pm.