Were You There at Cormac McCarthy’s First Book Signing?

I was not. But theoretically, I could have been. McCarthy, though best known for his Western novels, wrote his first novel about the people and places nearest to him. Suttree was a poignant, yet brutal depiction of his hometown of Knoxville.

As you read this, you have a chance to meet the next Cormac McCarthy, the next Elmore Leonard. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 16, Frank Bill will be reading from and signing his first novel, Donnybrook, at Destinations Booksellers. The celebration of Bill’s book kicks off at 1:30 with a pop/classical flute concert that will continue throughout the afternoon. The author reading begins promptly at 2 p.m. Afterward, Bill will take your questions and sign copies of his novel.

Please don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to meet an author at the launch of what will certainly be a stellar literary career.

To make it easier for you, we’re offering a 30% discount all day Saturday on in-stock regularly priced (non-sale) merchandise throughout the store if you buy just 1 copy of Donnybrook. We’ve done extensive promotion and advertising for this appearance, so if you don’t come to this event, it will severely limit our ability to bring in top-flight authors in the future.

Destinations Booksellers is located at 604 E. Spring Street in New Albany, Indiana. We’re open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can call us at (812) 944-5116 or e-mail us at destinationsbooksellers@gmail.com. At our Website, www.destinationsbooksellers.com, you can order books, music, and movies (at a discount) for delivery direct to your home. You can also search and buy e-books and you can rent your college textbooks. Destinations Booksellers is a full-service bookstore selling new books only (no used books and we do not buy used books) plus selected gifts, games, toys, and music.

Unique Voice of Frank Bill Here Saturday

Once you’ve read his words you will never, ever forget them. Here’s your chance to meet with and talk to Frank Bill, whose debut novel from Farrar, Strauss & Giroux marks the launch of a literary star. He’ll be here at Destinations Booksellers on Saturday, March 16, starting at 2 p.m. We’ve also arranged for a musical concert kicking off at 1:30 and continuing throughout the afternoon.

I’ve been loath to write a review on Donnybrook, simply because the reviews from others have been so compelling and true.

We are extremely proud to be hosting Frank during his national rollout for Donnybrook. If you miss it, you’ll be missing a great opportunity to be there as his literary career heads for the stratosphere.

His is a most unique voice. His use of the language is daring. And his subject is people you meet and see every day right here in Southern Indiana.

Allow me to share the words of others who’ve read Donnybrook.

• Frank Bill’s first novel, Donnybrook, is vivid in its violence, grim in its grimness. It reams the English language with a broken beer bottle and lets the blood drops tell the story. – DANIEL WOODRELL, author of Winter’s Bone.
• With action like a belt across the face and vivid prose like a stroke up the neck, Frank Bill’s astonishing novel Donnybrook renders you punch-drunk. Here’s the writer to watch: mad, bad, and dangerous to know. – MEGAN ABBOTT, author of Dare Me.
• There are these guys, like Daniel Woodrell, Chuck Pahlaniuk, and Donald Ray Pollock, incredible writers who stand out in the silk-scarf literary world like a bulging bicep with a cell-block tattoo. Frank Bill is one of those guys. – CRAIG JOHNSON, author of the Walt Longmire mysteries.
• Bill portrays depravity and violence as few others can – or perhaps as few others dare to do … the plot builds relentlessly to the final round of the Donnybrook and gives the reader unexpected jolts all the way through … Bill is one hell of a storyteller. – KIRKUS REVIEWS
• Don’t poke this book with a stick or you’ll make it angry. – BONNIE JO CAMPBELL, author of Once Upon a River.
• Frank Bill’s Donnybrook is Poe shooting heroin, Steinbeck freebasing cocaine, and Hemingway really drunk. It’s so great I felt I had been throat-punched, kicked in the cojones and was going to spit blood. – RAY WYLIE HUBBARD

Do not miss this event, folks. We have a flute concert scheduled simultaneously and we’ll have modest refreshments available. Frank Bill’s book is only $15. And if it matters to you, Frank is from Corydon, Ind. and is a frequent correspondent for The New York Times.

 

The Lists: IndieBound Mystery & Thriller (Plus Tim Dorsey Surprise)

Sundays at NewAlbanyBooks means “The Lists,” a light-duty feature designed to a) provide you a leisurely browse and b) offer me a low-stress way to keep my promise to give you fresh, daily content worth looking in on.

He's Coming Back!

This week, we offer the specialty list of mysteries and thrillers selling well at independent bookstores across the country. The American Booksellers Association, of which we are members, compiles these lists from reports each week by independent booksellers who share the IndieBound spirit.

You can expect to see Tim Dorsey’s Electric Barracuda climbing this list starting next month as New Albany favorite Dorsey releases his 13th Serge Storms novel. Tim’s visit to us 3 years ago was a singular moment in New Albany cultural history (no kidding!) and he gained an appreciation for New Albany that night that induced him to insist we be included on his tour in 2011. I’ll be talking more about it in the coming weeks, but mark it down right now – Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 5:30 the inestimable Mr. Dorsey will again grace our store with a visit.

We’re planning a post-signing reception at a restaurant to be named. Tickets for that after-party are required, but will include a signed copy of the new book plus food and beverages, including the Electric Barracuda cocktail/mocktail. $37.50 for singles, $47.50 for couples (please tip your server!). Contact the store if you want to purchase tickets. Ticketed guests will be able to jump the line for the booksigning, too.

Here’s the list. A “♦” indicates my personal endorsement. You can research at, or even buy/send as a gift any of these books from our online store HERE.

The Indie Mystery Bestseller List

Lehane's Last Ever Detective Novel

Based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending January 9, 2011.

1. Moonlight Mile ♦
Dennis Lehane, Morrow, $26.99, 9780061836923

2. U Is for Undertow
Sue Grafton, Berkley, $7.99, 9780425238110

3. 61 Hours
Lee Child, Dell, $9.99, 9780440243694

4. Worth Dying For
Lee Child, Delacorte, $28, 9780385344319

5. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ♦
Alan Bradley, Bantam, $15, 9780385343497

6. The Best American Mystery Stories 2010
Lee Child (Ed.), Mariner, $14.95, 9780547237466

7. Djibouti ♦
Elmore Leonard, Morrow, $26.99, 9780061735172

8. Killing Floor
Lee Child, Jove, $9.99, 9780515141429

9. Willful Behavior
Donna Leon, Penguin, $14, 9780143117582

10. The Track of Sand
Andrea Camilleri, Penguin, $14, 9780143117933

An Easter Egg for reading this far!

11. The Charming Quirks of Others
Alexander McCall Smith, Pantheon, $24.95, 9780307379177

12. Dog on It
Spencer Quinn, Atria, $15, 9781416585848

13. The Professional
Robert B. Parker, Berkley, $9.99, 9780425236307

14. Maisie Dobbs
Jacqueline Winspear, Penguin, $15, 9780142004333

15. Faceless Killers
Henning Mankell, Vintage, $14.95, 9781400031573

16. Painted Ladies
Robert B. Parker, Putnam, $26.95, 9780399156854

17. The Fat Man
Ken Harmon, Dutton, $19.95, 9780525951957

18. The Private Patient
P.D. James, Vintage, $15, 9780307455284

19. The Last Child
John Hart, Minotaur, $14.99, 9780312642365

20. The Lost Art of Gratitude
Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $14, 9780307387080

21. Thereby Hangs a Tail
Spencer Quinn, Atria, $15, 9781416585862

22. The Lace Reader
Brunonia Barry, Harper, $14.99, 9780061624773

23. Wicked Appetite
Janet Evanovich, St. Martin’s, $27.99, 9780312652913

24. Gone Tomorrow
Lee Child, Dell, $9.99, 9780440243687

25. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $14, 9781400034772