Sigh. Since starting this blog, I don't go to the bookstore like a normal person these days. I go to the bookstore to report on specific titles. For this trip, I went to Barnes and Noble.
For David Anthony Durham's Acacia, I first looked in the front of the store, to see if it appeared in any of the promotional displays or New Books sections. Alas. Very few fantasy books appeared in these sections. So I headed back to the Science Fiction and Fantasy section, where I found it with the New Hardcovers section. It was very close to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, which also debuted this year, in March.
I must say, the cover to Acacia is BEAUTIFUL. The graphics available on the Internet do not do it justice. It is mostly a matte finish, but has this shiny oval filigree that is only visible when held at an angle.
Once I had picked out a nice, pristine copy, I headed to the Ws to see how they positioned Wraith by Phaedra Peldon. It is a trade paperback, which always stands out, placed spine-out. Then I went around to the Rs to check out Lane Robin's Maledicte. Its cover was also stunning. As far as trade paperbacks go, it is rather larger than usual. It was also placed spine-out.
Of these two, I may end up featuring Wraith. Maledicte looks fascinating, but I've never read much dark fantasy and I'm afraid that I'll end up doing what I did the few times I tried -- that is to say, fail to finish the book. For that reason, I'll continue to hunt down as many interviews and reviews on it as I can. I would also be thrilled if someone would review it for me here as a guest blogger. To volunteer to guest blog on any of the titles that I've mentioned except Acacia (which I've already purchased), please either leave a comment or send me an email to tia dot nevitt at gmail dot com.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
A Trip to the Bookstore
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5 comments:
Tia,
Interesting that you like the cover. I agree that there's a lot more to it than you can see online. One of the first mentions of the book, though, by Rick Keffel at The Agony Column, dissed my cover and Pat Rothfuss'. Fortunately, the reviewer liked both our books, but there's been a thread of grumbling out there against the cover.
Honestly, I'll never understand covers. Some that I think are beautiful seem to have no impact on readers. And others that I think look horrible sell like hotcakes.
Hmm. I'm glad I didn't contaminate my opinion by reading all the grumbling.
Maybe I liked it because I remember the Acacia trees from my Arizona days. And maybe that's why covers are such a mystery. You never know why someone will connect.
I've got Wraith on my TBR list. For some reason it always amazes me to find other people interested in the same books as me. I haven't heard of the other book, but am headed to amazon to look it up. I hope you end up reading Wraith so that we can chat about it later.
That would be fun. We came to some of the same conclusions about Thief With No Shadow.
If you decided to purchase Maledicte, I'll be chatting with you about it as well.
I don't know how I feel about Maledicte yet. I read the blurb but am undecided.
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