Friday, March 26, 2010

The Passage by Justin Cronin



The Passage, due out June 8th, is getting a lot of pre-publication buzz. I finished an advance copy yesterday and I have to say it was pretty good. I'm usually hesitant to read books that garner this much attention. Way back in 2007 the unfinished manuscript for this novel sold to a movie studio for a nice $1.75 million (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/movies/11vamp.html). And there's lots of assumptions about how much Cronin sold The Passage and the two subsequent books in the series for. I have to admit though, in this case it may have been worth it.

It's almost impossible to distill this 750 page novel into a short review, but here is a bit of the story line. When a secret government experiment, titled Project NOAH, goes horribly wrong with the escape of twelve test subjects a horrific virus is set loose in the United States. The thirteenth test subject, a six-year-old girl named Amy, and the FBI agent who rescue her, flee to Oregon and take refuge in the mountains. The after effects of Project NOAH lead to a new United States which is ruled by fear and the need to survive.

The Passage was outside the range of what I normally read, but the writing is excellent and the characters and plot line so well developed I kept expecting to look up from my reading and see an entirely new world outside my living room window.

If you need a good, long summer read I highly recommend this book. Look for it June 8th!

- Angela

Monday, March 8, 2010

Publicity

Lately we have been receiving a fair amount of very nice publicity. A few weeks ago we won the McMinnville Downtown Association's Outstanding Business of 2009 Award. The News-Register did a lovely piece about us and all the other winners at that awards ceremony. Then this past weekend, News-Register writer Karl Klooster wrote about the events that we host at the bookstore. Walking through town these last few weeks, going about my regular routine, I have had many compliments about the bookstore. How deserving we were of the award. How great our events are. I just wanted to take a moment and say a few words. One: none of this would have happened without the great people who work at Third Street Books. I am very lucky to have such wonderful people working with me. Everyone brings a unique personal experience to the store that I think helps us become better booksellers for you. Two: none of this would have happened without the continued support of this community! Seriously! If you all stopped shopping here, we wouldn't be able to survive - so THANK YOU! I share all this kudos with you!

-Sylla

Friday, March 5, 2010

Barry Hannah, RIP

"Who?" you ask. While perhaps not popularly know, writer Barry Hannah was one of the great southern writers of our times. His recent death at 67 is a loss to the literary world. I have not read a lot of Barry Hannah, but I was deeply touched by his style. Yonder Stands Your Orphan is part literary mystery, part investigation in evil. The swamps of Mississippi never looked so bleak. His books are not for everyone, but if you are a fan of great writing and a dark tale, you should pick some Hannah up. Sadly, I can't even order some through our distributor right now. I am hoping that is because his death has sparked a renewed interest in this great American writer.

"One of those young writers who is brilliantly drunk with words and could at gunpoint write the life story of a telephone pole."--Jim Harrison on the late Barry Hannah. (from Shelf Awareness, Thursday, March 4th, 2010)

-Sylla