Archive for March, 2009

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Watchmen contest winners – tix still available!

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Congratulations to Ulma Nurriva, Pete Crocker, and Denis Fahey – our first winners in the Watchmen ticket contest!  They answered both parts of our contest question correctly, and won film companions and hoodies along with their tickets.  Eric Chen and Nynke de Jong won tickets, for guessing the first part correctly and coming oh-so-close in the second part.  Loved the book, and want to see the film?  Just answer the following quesiton – the first five winners will also win a beautiful edition of the ‘film companion’, filled with great on-set photos!

Question: what is the name of Ozymandias’s pet, and what natural creature is it genetically engineered from?

Send answers to donna@abc.nl

(op=op, and you must be able to pick up/use the tix in NL!)

Posted in ABC Book Clubs | No Comments »

Bookbits for March 31st, 2009

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Here I go blogging about April Fools Day when I might just as well have done a Topical Tips on being shut in (or out).  I do get the news, I do – I just have a very thick filter in my brain screening it all.  Best of luck to all the Afghanistan conference people, though, I hope it’ll be a useful conference.  Now onto book news, though:

  • Lists! Here are 10 Literary One-Hit Wonders.  I consider Oscar Wilde a bit of a mistake on that list, but the author’s going by novels only, not plays or short stories, so I guess he may have a case.
  • Looking for author sites? Check out filedbyauthor, a site with over 1.8 million author pages.  Thanks, Lynn!
  • And finally, just because we have to wait until October doesn’t mean we can enjoy the trailer of Where the Wild Things Are.  Looks wonderful!

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Posted in Book News, Bookbits | No Comments »

You Review: Loser’s Town by Daniel Depp

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Reviewed by Ulma Nurriva

Loser’s Town is the first installement in the David Spandau crime series. In this début novel, Daniel Depp takes his readers to the world of David Spandau, an ex stuntman now making a living as a Private Investigator for Hollywood celebrities. He’s been hired by Bobby Dye, a rising star black-mailed by the local mobster, Richie.

The author delivers on the promises blurbed on the the back cover: lots of details on the scenery, trivia, and personalities living in the famous Tinseltown. Bobby Dye’s character represents the glam, the fame, “all that glitters is not gold”. While Spandau is the the forlorn cowboy in a jungle of fake confidence and greed. The love stories are woven in-between and feel like small burst of hope. But what appeals the most is the tragedy, a sad story behind the facades of those who are superficially sovereign.

Everybody in Loser’s Town is portrayed as a lonely human being, trying to make out something from their lives, or from Richie’s perspective (and everybody else in Hollywood), trying to make movies.

Amidst the rather weak climax, unripe character development, and a blatant ending, Depp manages to polish Spandau’s persona in a way that attracts sympathy. Personally speaking, the reason why I might be interested in reading the sequel is to find out whatever will happen next to Spandau. Loser’s Town does not need to be high-brow literature. With good marketing the series will find its own niche readers. I hate to say this but being the half-brother of Johnny Depp surely helps.

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You Review: The latest releases, reviewed by ABC customers. If you’d like to join in and get free books and ABC gift vouchers, see the original post for more details.

You Review is made possible by the following publishers: Penguin US; Penguin UK; HarperCollins US; Hachette US; Hachette UK; Simon & Schuster US, Random House US, Little, Brown UK, Hodder and Stoughton.

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Posted in Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, Recommendations, You Review | No Comments »

Topical Tips: Fools

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Ah yes, April 1st is upon us.  My least favorite day of the year.  I hate practical jokes, to the point of not being able to watch any of those hidden camera tv shows, or even Borat.  *shudder*  Yet so many people love that kind of thing, so here are 5 books about fools:

  1. Black Cats and April Fools: Origins of Old Wives Tales and Superstitions in Our Daily Lives by Harry Oliver and Mike Mosedale.  Forgive me if I repeat myself, but why, tell me why!
  2. 51 High-Tech Practical Jokes for the Evil Genius by Brad Graham and Kathy McGowan.  Just don’t pull any on me.  I’m sure Dr. Horrible would approve, though…
  3. The Only Fools and Horses Miscellany by Phil Martin.  The unofficial guide to the BBC series, oft repeated; full of history, anecdotes, and trivia.
  4. The Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.  Graphic novel following a very dark night (no, couldn’t resist that pun, sorry) in Gotham City when the Joker is released from Arkham Asylum and razes through the city.
  5. Pagliacci in Full Score.  Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s opera complete, featuring that tragic, heart-broken, cheated-on clown Canio and the classic aria “Vesti La Giubba” where he exhorts himself to put on his costume and laugh (“so the crowd will cheer”) when all he wants to do is weep at his predicament.  Stirring stuff!

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Springtime! Time for icy treats!

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Sometimes you order books for your section which you just know will be a hit.

But then they remain on the shelves. And they don’t move. And there is no reason why they should remain on the shelves and not move.

Pops! is a very original, inspiring book from Quirkbooks, perfect for the spring!

This modest publication (I admit, it may not jump off the shelf visually) has great suggestions for homemade icy treats, from all kinds of fruit juice pops to pudding pops, and from coffee and tea pops to cocktail pops.

Everybody will be able to find a favorite pop in this book, I’m sure.

The ones with fruit juice and actual pieces of fruit (grape, kiwi etc) are very colorful and original. And who can resist trying the caramel latte pops, the mint tea pops, or the margarita pops? The martini pop with a slice of olive is very sophisticated and a hit at any party no doubt.

All in all, I think these copies must be sold by the end of the month, don’t you?

For more information you can visit the author’s website: www.Icypops.com

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Posted in Food & Cooking, Recommendations, Simone | No Comments »

ABC Meets: photographer Jacqueline Hassink

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Photographer Jacqueline Hassink will sign her new book “Car Girls” in store at The American Book Center Amsterdam on Saturday April 4th, from 4-6pm.

For Car Girls Hassink photographed major car shows in seven different cities on three continents. As Hassink describes it, she has used these sites to reflect on “differing cultural values with regard to their ideal images of beauty and women. The series captures the moments during the women’s performances when they become more like dolls or tools than individuals.”

In an issue of Aperture magazine, Francine Prose praised the work for its ability to “make us rethink the association between auto and eros as if it had never occurred to us, and to see it newly in all its sheer outrageous strangeness.”

Car Girls takes a subversively fun yet conceptually astute approach to issues of gender, power, and commodification. This luxuriously produced publication is designed by the award-winning Irma Boom, and is limited to an edition of 1,500 copies. The book is accompanied by an essay by Tim Dant.

The release of Car Girls coincides neatly with AutoRai 2009. (more…)

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Posted in ABC Meets..., ABC News, Events, Promotions, Transportation | No Comments »

ABC Meets: Board game creators Eerin Vink & Valentijn Eekels

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Do you like fantasy and/or board games? Come to The American Book Center Amsterdam on Saturday the 4th of April from 12:00 to 18:00 hrs to meet Dutch designer and board game author Valentijn Eekels (1985) and upcoming fantasy illustrator Eerin Vink (1984).

Eerin and Valentijn will show you their beautiful new game Day & Night; a strategic board game where two players duel as Lady Day and Lady Night. The many spells and strategies make each game of Day & Night different from the others, keeping gameplay exciting until the very last turn. Day & Night is beautifully illustrated with over 40 art works specially created for this game by fantasy artist Eerin Vink. The board games creators will be bringing some of the original paintings alongwith them.

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Posted in ABC Meets..., Events, Gifts, Merchandise | No Comments »

Want free tickets to see Watchmen?

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Of course you do!

We have them a big bunch of free cinema tickets, plus some extra mysterious Watchmen goodies up for grabs. Just click here and answer an easy peasy question!

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Posted in ABC News | No Comments »

Wheel of Time News: New Robert Jordan book to be split into smaller volumes!

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Update: The news below was confirmed in a press release from Tor last Monday. And you all thought we were making it up.

The official word on the horrendous cover, by the way, is that it was only a very rough idea that was being thrown around and nothing like the official cover at all.

We’ve just had news from the publisher of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series that the last installment will be split into two or possibly three parts. Tentative plans are to publish book 12 in November this year, with two more volumes following in 2010 and 2011. (Please note that this has not yet been officially confirmed by Tor. We’re going from the info sheet we received from the publisher.)

Robert Jordan passed away in September 2007 while he was still writing what was planned to be the last installment in the series. It was announced that Brandon Sanderson would take up Jordan’s pen and complete the last book, to be entitled A Memory of Light. A publication date of November 2009 was scheduled.

Wheel of Time fans have been eagerly anticipating the last book and the series and will be pleased to learn that they will still get a new book, as promised, in 2009 – The Gathering Storm will be published this coming November in large format paperback (i.e. lots cheaper than a hardcover!) The price is currently EUR 21.99, though this may change (we’re trying to make it cheaper, obviously!)

Update:  The trade paperback has been cancelled, and only the hardcover version will be available come November.  Note the newer cover art on this one…  :-)

Call us, mail us, visit us, or place an order on the website: we are taking reservations and will make sure you get your copy!

Edit 26.03.09: 1. We’re pretty sure there’s going to be a hardcover available, but the details we have so far been given are for the paperback. Over in Europe we often get cheaper, exclusive Europe-only trade paperback versions of big titles. A bit like the airport editions some of you might have picked up on your travels. Once we have the hardcover details we’ll add them to our database and to the reservations page.

2. Since so many people appear to be so upset about the cover (and even think we made it up – really, is it that bad now?), we’ll show you the big version of the one we were given. Click on the image above to see the cover in all it’s gory glory. And remember it may not be the final cover art! (We hope he at least gets his legs and neck straightened.)

3. Brandon Sanderson has given a very carefully worded reaction to this news. You can read it over on his blog.  We’re expecting to see a press release from Tor soon which will tell us once and for all how many books we should expect.

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Posted in Book News, Science Fiction/Fantasy | 2 Comments »

Trade-In Day – May 1st in both stores!

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

You could perhaps make them into a tasteful lamp? No? How about making them into a retro-chic bag? No? You could transform them into furniture: a bar, a table, or even bookshelves? No? Tsk. Picky. Well, how about turning them into new books?

Spring clean your bookcases, haul out those dusty boxes from the attic and basement, and bring them to us! We’re having another Trade-In Day!

The Deal

  • We will take all fiction as long as it is in English. We are particularly interested in science fiction, fantasy and horror, romance, graphic novels and manga.
  • We can’t take non-fiction or children’s books.
  • We prefer paperbacks, but might take in your hardcovers if they are deemed resellable.
  • We’ll buy your books from you at prices based on their re-sale potential.
  • We pay in ABC Vouchers, which are valid forever in our stores.
  • The value of the gift voucher you’ll receive depends on the condition of the book and the title offered, and is at the discretion of the buyer.
  • Please note that we do not pay in cash.
  • If you have any questions, just call us, or e-mail jitse@abc.nl
  • Where: ABC Amsterdam
    In the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11 (5 minutes walk from the store)
    1200 – 1800 hrs
    for more info contact: jitse@abc.nl
  • ABC The Hague
    In the ABC Treehut, right in the store on the 1st floor
    1000 – 1900 hrs
    for more info contact: dh@abc.nl

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Posted in ABC News | No Comments »

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