Monday, September 24, 2007

A Trip to the Bookstore

A day off work always involves my husband and I going to the bookstore. This time I went to Borders, armed with our digital camera. It occurred to me that I might have looked a tad bit unusual snapping photos of book after book after book. Fortunately, although I got some odd looks, I did not have to explain myself. Then, I decided that I need to get Fantasy Debut business cards. That way, if someone is curious enough to ask what I am doing, I can simply hand them a business card.

I took photos of every debut that I could find. Here they are!

I have not read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, but I couldn't resist getting a picture of it. It is one of the few hardcover debuts that I have seen since starting this blog.







Naomi Novik is another author who debuted before I started this blog. I am very interested in her series, however. Since her publisher released her books back to back, like Morgan Howell's, she commands some respectable shelf space!






I found The Princes of the Golden Cage readily enough, right where it was supposed to be, but imagine my surprise when . . .








. . . I also found it in the "Paperback Bestsellers" section as well, very prominently displayed!








The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombe was another that I expected, for some reason, to be out in hardcover. Probably because it is generating so much buzz. It is also thinner than I expected. This title has wandered on and off my wish list.






The Devil You Know by Mike Carey appeared in the Horror section, cover out. It's shiny cover prevented me from using my flash. It looks like a few copies are missing!

There were three bookshelves in this section. Two were devoted to Stephen King and Dean Koontz. The other shelves were for other horror authors.


Finally, they had You Had Me at Halo, by Amanda Ashby! Longtime readers of this blog will remember that I made three trips to the bookstore looking for this book. And notice that there's a gap, where a copy is missing. The gap is even wider, now.

Male readers will probably groan when I begin to feature this one.



This is the Morgan Howell section, showing copies of King's Property and Clan Daughter. In just a few days, the final book this this series, Royal Destiny, will make the Morgan Howell section even wider.






I announced Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley last week. It is another one that is generating some hardcover-worthy buzz. I plan to read a first chapter on this one sometime in the next week or so.







I might have purchased The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari, but a review copy is supposed to be on its way. Since the review copy is rather overdue, I almost bought it, but knowing my luck, the review copy would have arrived the very next day!

Anyway, this is a nice placement, with the cover out. It stands out too, because of the white cover. I think at least one copy is missing.


Wraith by Phaedra Weldon has been out for a while, but I thought I'd snap a photo of it. It is sort of a dark urban fantasy detective series, mixing my two favorite genres.







Slaves of the Sinar by Justin Allen was another rare debut hardcover. It is still enjoying a prominent cover-out placement in the hardcover section.






Missing from the shelves were Matthew Jarpe's Radio Freefall, Richard Taylor's The Haunting of Cambria and Carole McDonnell's Wind Follower.

That's all I thought of while I was there; I know I missed a few.

Did I purchase all of these books? I wish!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a great idea! I'm def. going to steal it soon.

Tia Nevitt said...

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Steal away!

Anonymous said...

Excellent, sold out again. I guess they'll have to order some more RADIO FREEFALL. Gee I hope we don't run low on trees.

Tia Nevitt said...

A nice worry for a debut author to have!

Kimber Li said...

So...me and HH aren't the only ones who go on hot, HOT dates to Barnes & Noble?
:o)
I've never taken pictures, but I do check on how all my author Blog Buddies' books are doing. Then, I blog about it too.
;)

Tia Nevitt said...

Oh, you make my life sound so pathetic! I'd blame it on the kid, but to be perfectly honest, we used to go on such HOT dates long before she was born!

Taking pictures was a whim. It was fun.

Carole McDonnell said...

oh gee! Soon I'll (Wind Follower) be there on the shelves ...maybe next shopping trip.

Robert said...

Nice feature Tia! You should definitely do it on a regular basis :D

Tia Nevitt said...

I have done this before, but it has been a while. I'm glad it's a popular feature! Sometimes, the simplest things are best.

Patrick said...

Thanks for pointing out the Naomi Novik series. I bought the first one for my son and he has already devoured it and is ready for #2.

Don't the bookstores have a rule against cameras in the store?

Tia Nevitt said...

It never occurred to me that they might have such a policy. No one said anything. I know of several authors who have had "first photo" contests where readers take pictures of the book in bookstores.

Anonymous said...

Well, that's the first irrefutable evidence I've seen for my book actually being on a US bookstore shelf, so I'm happy. If I'd thought of having a 'first photo' contest, you would have won. Oh well, too late now.

Katie said...

LOL. I do that all the time! :) And after awhile the people looking at your stop. I had one customer service person ask me once what I was doing and I just took a picture of them too and didn't say anything. LOL. They left me alone after that.

Tia Nevitt said...

Brian, I'm glad to be of service to you!

And Katie, I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. Although I probably would not have had the guts to take a picture of the store employee!

Amanda Ashby said...

Wow!! This is the only the second time I've seen a photo of my book in a shop so thank you SOOOOOOOO much for posting it - makes it seem a lot more real!!!! Btw, did you know that Emily Gee has just sold her second book?

Tia Nevitt said...

Ooh, I'll have to get in touch with her (somehow) so I can put up an announcement in my next author catch-up.

Anonymous said...

Hi Tia,

Thanks for putting out another mention of Slaves... You do great work. Glad to know I am still face out, so to speak. What city is that in by the way? No doubt the one with the very best taste.

Thanks again,
Justin Allen

Tia Nevitt said...

Thanks, Justin! The bookstore is in Jacksonville, Florida, a veritable mecca of good taste! Thanks for stopping by!