Thursday, 22 March 2012

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Buying Guide

Updated November 2011 for the holiday season!

If you want to order a book online — and pretty much anything that’s in print can be ordered online [or by special order, but does anyone make two trips to a brick-and-mortar bookstore first to order and then to pick up a book when it can be ordered online], let us first bring your attention to some indie stores that we know have really wonderful selections:

The University Book Store in Seattle has an amazing sf/fantasy section, courtesy of buyer Duane Wilkins.
Powell’s Books in Portland OR is a great source since they stock both new and used which allows them to have a much deeper selection than many other places.
Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA also has an unusually deep selection.
We love Borderlands in San Francisco.
Sam Weller in Salt Lake is Brandon Sanderson’s favorite indie with both new and used books which extends the depth of selection.
Our client Del Howison has a horror emporium, Dark Delicacies in Burbank with lots of horror titles on the shelves.  Stop in, tell Del we sent you, and buy a good book to read while waiting on line for the tuna fish sandwich at Portos, down the block.

Conventions still have book tables! Larry Smith and Glen Cook are two booksellers you’ll find at many major sf/f conventions,and with excellent suggestions.

In Canada, Bakka Books doesn’t have an online shopping cart but does have great staff and selection and is worth visiting in person.  Toronto is blessed to have two great sources for our books: Jessica Strider and the other staff at the World’s Biggest Bookstore (part of the Indigo chain) try very hard to help the store live up to its name.

In the UK, Forbidden Planet has both US and UK editions.

In Australia, Galaxy Books in Sydney has an amazing selection.

Other than that, it’s Barnes & Noble (BN), Books a Million (BaM), and that’s kind of it, and we’ll try and guide you below. Please keep in mind that BN does allow you to check store inventory on-line and even reserve a book so it will be waiting when you walk in the store, and that’s a great feature that is under-used.

  • SFBC means the SF Book Club is carrying some books by the author
  • Audio means some books are available in audio; Audible (unabridged) and Graphic Audio (abridged, dramatized) are the places to check
  • One last note, now that your book buying options are limited, I think you shouldn’t be shy about writing to Barnes & Noble, 122 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011-5693, to let them know there’s a book you want them to carry. And if there’s an independent store that has a crappy selection of the books you want to read, don’t be shy about letting them know you’re willing and happy to give some business if they’ll show signs of caring about the books you want to read.

    Alphabetical buying guide follows. Note: Page last updated November 2011

    Tim Akers
    You’ll need to look for e-book editions or online for Tim’s Heart of Veridon, Dead of Veridon and Horns of Ruin.

    Mayer Alan Brenner
    the Dance of Gods series is now available in JABberwocky e-book

    Peter V. Brett
    Warded Man: Most book retailers, SFBC, audio (unabridged traditional has been out a while, Graphic Audio dramatic abridged just released)
    Desert Spear:  Most book retailers, SFBC, audio

    Tobias Buckell
    Halo: Cole Protocol:  Most book retailers
    Audio for Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose.
    E-book.

    Jack Campbell
    Lost Fleet series:  Most book retailers; audio; e-book
    [no secret that Jack Campbell is a pseudonym for John Hemry, and we are delighted to announce that the earlier John Hemry books are being reissued, the first two "Ethan Stark" novels now out, the third in January, and then Paul Sinclair reissues starting in April 2012]

    Adam-Troy Castro
    Z is for Zombie and V is for Vampire are being carried at select B&N outlets.
    Other than for a few B&N stores with lingering copies of Emissaries, you need to look on-line or in e-book for his excellent award-winning Andrea Cort novels, Emissaries from the Dead and The Third Claw of God.
    His Vossoff & Nimitz collection is now available as a JABberwocky e-book.

    A. Bertram Chandler
    new Baen editions now available online and BN, Baen Webscription ebooks

    Myke Cole
    Shadow Ops: Control Point, his first novel and first in a great new military sf/fantasy series is available for pre-order ahead of Feb. 2012 pub, and will be out on audio and from the SF Book Club. We’re starting to sense some good buzz for this one.

    Frederic S. Durbin
    The Star Shard, Feb. 2012, is available for pre-order.

    David Louis Edelman
    look online or in e-book for his excellent Jump 225 trilogy. And if you haven’t read these books, you really ought.

    Randall Garrett
    Lord Darcy is available on-line

    Simon R. Green
    Simon Green is a particularly good author for using the online feature to check store inventory before hopping in the car.
    The very best BN stores for sf/fantasy will have big selections from Simon, including the first three Deathstalker novels, the full Nightside series, Ghost of a Chance, the full Secret Histories series, but the depth of selection drops off quickly as the store quality diminishes and you’ll find 0 Deathstalker novels, only some Nightside books, etc.
    BN no longer carries Shadows Fall or Guards of Haven, maybe a store or two somewhere has Blue Moon Rising or Swords of Haven.
    Same thing at Books a Million, the best stores do have a lot of Simon Green, but the selection can drop off.
    Most books available on Audio
    The following titles are available as JABberwocky ebooks: Beyond the Blue Moon, Blood and Honor, Down Among the Dead Men, Mistworld, Ghostworld, Hellworld. And ebook editions of most other Simon Green books are available as well.

    Charlaine Harris
    Everything can be found everywhere!  And on audio!  And the Sookies SFBC

    Jim Hines
    Goblin books: Some Books a Million, no BN.
    Princess books:  Books a Million and BN are doing a decent job carrying these, but again check store inventory since they aren’t everywhere.
    Short story collections Goblin Tales and Kitemaster are available as JABberwocky e-books or direct from author, depending on format.

    Mark Hodder
    BN has his Burton & Swinburne alternate history steampunk series. Also e-book. Costco has taken Spring Heeled Jack, which should arrive in Jan. 2012.

    Hot Blood
    Many of the Hot Blood anthologies are now available as JABberwocky e-books, and the 13th Hot Blood anthology Dark Passions is available in a new mass market edition.

    Del Howison and the Dark Deliciacies anthologies
    The second and third are available as e-book, the first and third are available in mass market, trade paperback may be available on-line for the second and third. On balance, online is probably your best bet.

    Tanya Huff
    Like Simon R. Green, the Tanya Huff selection can vary widely from the best stores in category to the worst.
    Enchantment Emporium:  most book retailers. Audio. Sequel Wild Ways just published and widely available.
    Valor:  most book retailers.  Audio.
    Blood:  B&N should be encouraged to carry all three omnibus editions at all stores, instead of their current selection of having Blood Price at a good chunk and all of the individual tie-in volumes at only the very best stores.
    Smoke books:  Many B&N, but by no means all
    Keeper books:  BN doesn’t carry the first book, they might carry the others here or there.
    Most of Tanya’s other books are available only on-line, and the older books are not in ebook.
    A series of e-book exclusive short story collections has just launched as part of the JABberwocky e-book program, with a collection of heroic fantasy short fiction now out, and more to come over the course of 2012.

    Marjorie Kellogg
    Dragon Quartet: A smattering of BN stores, some Books a Million.
    Lear’s Daughters:  Online or in e-book.

    Violette Malan
    A decent # of B&N carry her, at least to an extent.

    Elizabeth Moon
    Another good author for using the store inventory feature before hopping into your car.
    The best BN stores will have the entire Vatta series, Deed of Paksenarrion omnibus, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, Oath of Fealty, Speed of Dark, the Serrano omnibus editions and maybe even the occasional Baen mass market edition. The worst BN stores will have four or five of Elizabeth’s books, tops. Books a Million will have a similarly varying selection.
    Most of her books are available as e-book, some only via the Baen Webscription program.
    Her most recent titles can be found at SFBC.
    Almost everything is available on audio.

    E.C. Myers
    Fair Coin is now available to pre-order, and will be out in March 2012.

    Stuart Palmer
    Hildegarde Withers mysteries:  online or special order.

    Brandon Sanderson
    For adults:  Everything can be found everywhere, and on audio, and some SFBC. New Mistborn novel The Alloy of Law is just now out.
    For midde-grade: Book #1, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, is now carried at most B&N locations.  The other titles on-line only, no e-books as yet. Recorded Books is now releasing the entire series on audio.

    Michael Schiefelbein
    Many B&N have one or more of the Vampire Vow series of novels. Vampire Maker paperback is just out but not widely available. Only the most recent St. Martin’s titles are available on e-book.

    Rick Shelley is now available in JABberwocky e-book. Check out his DMC series right now, with more books to come.

    Jon Sprunk
    Mostly on-line and e-book…

    Edo van Belkom
    SO/EBK/OL for all available titles.

    Jeri Westerson
    Crispin Guest mysteries:  Mostly online and ebook, the 4th book in the series Troubled Bones is just out.


    Date: 12/09/2010

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