Held in Captivity

If the novel, or book, or bound object overflowing with print, is indeed a performance, then Dave Reidy's (pronounced reedy) Captive Audience would be the kind that leaves the reader, watcher, viewer, in a state of momentary awe. Captive Audience is his debut, and it does what lots of debut full length feature novels can only hope for. This is short fiction with a through-line, that through-line being performing. Whether it's a hacky stand up comedian campaigning to win over an audience, or a rock n' roll band trying to inject the crowd with a bit of life through sound, or even a star athlete seeking redemption, on and off the court. Dave Reidy chose a shape shifting motif to center his stories around, and his performance was nothing short of show stopping.

Every last Tuesday of the month I host a book club here at the bookstore (the Hard Boiled Book Club). It is fun. We read lots of fiction and form our theories about what we've read. Last Tuesday we met and discussed Captive Audience. We were lucky enough to be joined by Dave Reidy on the telephone. He answered our questions with an easy wit, and was generous with his time. He even dispelled the chopped pronunciation of his name that had been circulating the bookstore for weeks.

If you're reading this and are even remotely curious about the book club, come, we love new faces, freckles too. For May we're reading Willy Vlautin's third novel: Lean on Pete. He's also going to be here in the bookstore next Wednesday, May 5th at six, reading and signing.

We'd love to see you!

Jan Recommends

The Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall
$26.95
W.W. Norton
978-0-393-06262-5

Golden is a polygamist, husband to four and father of twenty-eight, and like other dads he has to make sacrifices for his family. This is why he is building a bordello in Nevada, where he falls in love with his boss's wife. Beautifully written with insight into the secret world of polygamy. This is a story about an American family—dysfunctional, heart-breaking and funny.

Todd Recommends

The Elegant Universe
by Brian Greene
$19.95
W.W. Norton
978-0-393-05858-1

Seeing is not always believing—or it shouldn't be. Neither do particle physics and cosmology have to be hard to understand. One of the best received books to engage the hidden principles of reality, test your wits and open your eyes with The Elegant Universe.

Tony Recommends

The Journal of Albion Moonlight
by Kenneth Patchen
$19.95
New Directions
978-0-8112-0144-5

This dark, surreal tale is like a dream, or a nightmare. A proto-beat novel which is packed with dramatic imagery. Appeals to those with refined visual sensibilities and dreamers and idealists. English majors should not bother.

Catherine Recommends

The Lost Books of the Odyssey
by Zachary Mason
$24.00
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
978-0-374-19215-0

I consider the Odyssey to be one of the greatest stories ever told. So a book that purports to retell—to reimagine!—the Odyssey had better be good. This book is. Mason's writing is lyrical; the new tales, magical. Calvino fans rejoice.

Tracy Hickman!

Tracy Hickman will be reading and signing Secret of the Dragon in Sam Weller's Bookstore Thursday, April 1st, at 6:00 PM.


What self-proclaimed fantasy nerd (like me!) hasn't read a ton of Weis and Hickman's works? Rose of the Prophet, Death Gate, Darksword, and, of course, Dragonlance!

Here's what TOR has to say about Secret of the Dragon and Tracy Hickman:

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the creative minds behind these incredible worlds, have teamed up again to write an epic new fantasy saga which began with Bones of the Dragon. Now, they return to this exciting new world of the Dragonships with Secret of the Dragon.

With Bones of the Dragon, these two storytelling masters introduced the rich new world of Viking-like warriors who sail the seas in ships powered by dragons in search of untold treasure. When strife and chaos threatens their world, however, they are duty-bound to follow their gods on a fantastic quest that will not only determine the fate of mortals—but the fate of the gods as well.

The action-packed, utterly riveting Secret of the Dragon brilliantly continues the Dragonships of Vindras saga, an epic six-book adventure in which individual mortals will face tests of faith and character, and both gods and dragons will aid, abet, and battle as they see fit—to ensure their own survival.

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman published their first novel in the Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, in 1984. Over twenty years later they are going strong, collaborating on more than thirty novels. Alone or together with other co-authors, Weis and Hickman have published more than one hundred books, including novels, collections of short stories, role-playing games, and other gaming products. Margaret Weis lives in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Tracy Hickman lives in Utah.

Author Dan Wells at Sam Weller's Bookstore

We are really pleased to be hosting Dan Wells for the release of his novel I Am Not a Serial Killer. He will be here Tuesday, March 30th, at 6:00 PM to read an excerpt and sign.

Here's a little about the book and Dan.

Fifteen-year-old John Wayne Cleaver does not fit in. His psychiatrist has diagnosed him as “antisocial,” but sometimes he has an inkling that his urges may take a darker turn—into violence and murder. It isn’t just because he grew up in a mortuary or even the fact that he helps his mother clean up dead bodies. Serial killers have long captivated John—while the rest of his classmates write essays on George Washington and John Adams, John writes them on Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Radar. Dan Wells’ debut novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer, introduces this curious protagonist who worries that fate is leading him down a dark and deadly path.

How founded are John’s fears? Oddly enough, the similarities between John Cleaver and society’s most disturbed killers are surprisingly uncanny. Not only does he share the same three traits that most serial killers have in common: bed-wetting, pyromania and animal cruelty, but his father’s name is Sam, making him literally the Son of Sam. In addition, his parents saddled him with the same name as John Wayne Gacy, the famous Chicago killer clown, along with the unfortunate last name of a murder weapon (Cleaver). He also works part time for the family business: a mortuary, and the dead bodies both fascinate and comfort him.

Despite his efforts to contain the dangerous monster within, an unnatural death at the local laundromat sparks John’s curious obsession and he feels compelled to investigate. For the first time, John comes across a danger apart from himself, and possibly one that is even more deadly than him . . .

Dan Wells lives in Orem, Utah, with his wife, Dawn, and four young children. This is his first novel. The two sequels are already written and Wells is now researching a new book about paranoia. To learn more about Dan Wells and his work, visit his website at www.fearfulsymmetry.net.