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  • Book Review: Murder Mystery for Antique Lovers
    Posted Friday, January 23, 2009 3:16 PM by Suzannetique | 0 Comments
     

    Book Review:

    Dead Guy's Stuff

    by Sharon Fiffer

    St. Martin's 2002

    This year, for Valentine's Day, skip the candy and flowers, and buy your antique loving sweetie a good murder mystery starring some really cool stuff!

    Once again, Sharon Fiffer proves she's a card carrying member of the Estate Sale Shoppers union.  In her second novel, Dead Guy's Stuff, Fiffer further explores the psychology of the picker, in this case, Jane Wheel, who we met in Fiffer's first novel, Killer Stuff, but she could easily be describing me.  Or you!

    Jane loves the thrill of the hunt; the tantalizing promise of an old, locked suitcase or a sealed box in a dusty attic, but what she really loves is the rich vein of back stories behind the objects, which she happily makes up when necessary. Fiffer pokes gentle fun at her heroines possibly obsessive compulsive picking techniques that include a lucky mechanical pencil for note taking, and a photographer's safari vest with exacting specifications for locations of cash, checkbook, keys, tape measure and notebook.

    Jane is charming, and you have to love her best friend, Tim, a gay, antique dealing florist, who revels in his caricature-hood.  Tim has a good eye and a sharp tongue and is free with both.  Dead Guy's Stuff is a mystery complete with murder, burglary, blackmail, high cholesterol, and very cool stuff.

  • Holiday Gift for Antiques & Book Lovers:Fun Fiction for Collectors
    Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 12:53 PM by Suzannetique | 0 Comments
    Stumped for a holiday gift for the antiques lover on your list?  For collectors that also love reading, you might want to consider Killer Stuff, a murder mystery in which the stuff is the star!

    Like most of us, picker Jane Wheel dreams of finding a Fulper gem in a five dollar box of planters. Or a battered sewing box tagged two dollars, and crammed with bakelite buttons.  Unlike most of us, Jane's passion for pottery lands her in the middle of a murder investigation. 

    The characters in this mystery are reasonably engaging, and the story compelling enough to stick with, but the real stars of Sharon Fiffer's Killer Stuff are McCoy flower pots, Roseville vases, and Jade-ite dishes, as well as the art of antique hunting itself.

    Those of us who buy and/or sell antiques will be sure to recognize ourselves in  characters who spend Friday evenings combing the classifieds, ranking estate and yard sales for proximity and promise.  Or who are subject to shortness of breath and hacking coughs due to "pickers disease" contracted after years of sifting through boxes of moldy books, tins of rusty utensils, and mountains of prizes in dusty attics and damp basements.   Certainly none of us will admit to identifying with Jane's despised "book guys," dealers who are  ". . . all grabbers and pushers," who sweep quantities of books out of the reach of other dealers while the  performing the blocking maneuvers of a particularly aggressive basketball center.

    Whether you buy to sell or buy to keep, if you read novels as well as Collector Guides, you will enjoy this book.  Sharon Fiffer understands how the game is played and how much we love to play it.

    Killer Stuff  

    by Sharon Fiffer

    c 2001

    ISBN 0-312-27818-7

    St. Martins' Press

    175 Fifth Avenue

     New York,  NY 10010

  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Is Fastest Selling Book In History
    Posted Thursday, July 26, 2007 2:27 PM by kborg1 | 1 Comments

    It is no secret that the Harry Potter series is a multi-billion dollar empire, but the release of Harry Potter's final journey broke record sales around the world. The seventh in the series sold 8.3 million copies in the U.S. and 2.65 million in Britain on it's Saturday debut alone, according to the publisher, Scholastic Corporation. An executive from the publisher compared the excitement, anticipation, and frankly hysteria of those who attended the midnight release parties to that of the Beatles' first visit to the states. 

    The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"  The Harry Potter series has sold more than 325 million books worldwide since 1997, making it the biggest children's book series ever, according to Bloomberg, a financial information network

    The Harry Potter series has sold more than 325 million books worldwide since 1997, making it the biggest children's book series ever, according to Bloomberg. Deathly Hallows topped 2005's Half Blood Prince as the fastest selling book in history. Official figures of it's first week of sales will be released soon.

    Be sure to include your latest Harry Potter book in your collection on iTaggit. I know I am!

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is just a day away!

    Posted Thursday, July 19, 2007 11:48 AM by kborg1 | 0 Comments

    A whirlwind of excitement and scandal has surrounded the upcoming release of the final Harry Potter book. Thanks to strict contract bindings, not to mention a devout fan base that is hell bent on keeping the conclusion secret until midnight tomorrow, little about the plot line has been leaked, yet the web is teeming with fan speculation. Rowling always writes in twists that will keep her audience guessing, so expect the last book to tie up loose ends and hopefully end in a satisfying manner. Personally, I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and wasted no time in adding my book and movie collection to iTaggit. Hopefully soon I will add my pin from the last midnight book party I attended for Book 6, as well as any other items I have gathered over the years. For more information, click for purchasing details, educated guesses about the future of individual characters, or the official Harry Potter fan site (spoiler free).

     

  • Nora Roberts adds another read to her unconventional romance collection
    Posted Thursday, July 12, 2007 2:41 PM by kborg1 | 0 Comments

    Nora Roberts' most recent novel, "High Noon", has begun its ascension of the best-sellers list. Roberts writes of a home invasion from years ago that continues to echo in the life of a Georgia police detective. Phoebe MacNamara is Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, a job destiny called her to long after a madman terrorized her family. Now the devoted lieutenant saves lives with a hard-earned sensitivity to besieged individuals. She also strives to keep a home for a lastingly traumatized mother and her own little girl, and expend whatever time and emotion are left on romance with a sports bar owner. Then a brazen attack leaves Phoebe injured and frightened for her safety and that of her loved ones. Our heroine does Gary Cooper proud, though, as she steels herself to track down and confront the assailant, and so does the beau who does not forsake his darling.

    Description, Interview With Roberts, and More Information Available Here