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17696. jayackroyd - 12/6/2005 4:37:59 AM thanks Mags. I love that cover. That lion on the bridge is a stone lion. They're changing it for the paperback edition; they're afraid it's not commercial enough for B&N.
MsNo--it was a bestseller in Germany. I do love the book. 17697. Macnas - 12/6/2005 10:47:13 AM Was it originally written in German? the few pages I read didn't flow well for me. 17698. alistairconnor - 12/6/2005 12:52:40 PM The first of the series (if I've got that right), The Flowing Queen, seems to be out of print in the US : Amazon only proposes it as used.
I'll buy both from the UK. I suppose I could look for a French translation... but since we won't be reading it in the original, I prefer to have it in English for the kids. Last year, I bought them The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke, without realising that it was translated from German... (also a Venice story) 17699. thoughtful - 12/6/2005 9:42:25 PM So much for the pot of gold theory!
 17700. jayackroyd - 12/6/2005 9:56:52 PM The Flowing Queen is the German title, that I think was also used in the UK. The US title is The Water Mirror. (Somebody in sales objected to juxtaposition of a female figure and "flow.") Ms. Funke was apparently irritated that Venice showed up in the story. She refused to provide a blurb.
Yes, macnas, it was written in German.
17701. Ms. No - 12/6/2005 10:04:27 PM I like that cover as well and can't imagine what they think would be more "commercial" without being inferior. It's somewhat reminicent of the art for the covers of the Lemony Snicket books and they seem to do just fine with their dark artwork. I do agree that The Water Mirror is a better title than The Flowing Queen, though.
What's Funke's problem? How terribly ungracious. If she read the book and didn't like it, that's one thing but to get her panties in a twist because another author is writing a children's fantasy book that has ties to Venice? Get real. 17702. jayackroyd - 12/6/2005 10:14:33 PM Some authors view the marketplace as a zero sum game. In fact, it's a positive sum game--Harry's sales sell Pullman's book, which in turn drives Funke's sales.
They're changing the cover because the book is not selling through in the chains as well as they had hoped. Bookselling, strangely enough, is a consignment business. Unlike other retail operations, you can return stock you don't sell. Books that come back from bookstores are said not to have "sold through." 17703. Ms. No - 12/6/2005 11:03:57 PM Yeah, that's the stock that fills the discount store shelves. You go in and they've got a zillion copies of a book you never wanted to read. They're good for cookbooks and stuff, though, and if you like an author that nobody else does then you're in luck. 17704. alistairConnor - 12/7/2005 12:36:08 AM Thanks for the tip-off Jay... nearly ended up with two copies of the book. 17705. jayackroyd - 12/7/2005 4:57:11 AM Books do get remaindered, MsNo. But they also get pulped. There was a change to US tax law on treatment of inventory that led to much more pulping of books. 17706. jayackroyd - 12/7/2005 4:59:15 AM Alistair--sorry for the confusion. 17707. jayackroyd - 12/7/2005 5:06:10 AM And thanks again Mags for doing a better job of promoting the book than I was doing.
Thoughtful--I did pass on that photo to a correspondent who sends me weird pictures. thanks.
And, for some reason, I want to say how happy I am that we've kept this site going. I was talking to somebody about it, and had a moment of realization that, you know, this is really pretty cool. 17708. wonkers2 - 12/7/2005 6:25:12 AM I agree. However, my efforts to get a couple of my local friends involved haven't borne fruit. We could use some more participants. 17709. Magoseph - 12/7/2005 2:44:13 PM The trouble about getting some local or on-line friends to participate here is that they ask too many questions about the Moties. Since they know you, they want to know the same particulars about the rest of us and I am not willing to give information about any of us.
Hello, everyone--Today, I'm getting a haircut, buying some thermal underwear for Flexy, going to lunch with my daughter-in-law, and then to her house in order to admire the latest developments in the "Lake Room".
17710. Magoseph - 12/7/2005 2:49:07 PM Hey, Mac, wabbit wants you to check Arts, Crafts and Culture.
(Sorry, wabbit)
17711. wonkers2 - 12/7/2005 3:07:19 PM Yes, and I have a number of friends who aren't aware of my dirty little shadow, The Cap'n. He'd be a big surprise to some of them. My views on Bush aren't a secret to anyone, however. 17712. wonkers2 - 12/7/2005 3:09:19 PM One of my brothers lurks and posts occasionally. I don't think anyone is aware of our connection. 17713. Magoseph - 12/7/2005 3:32:21 PM Wonks, is the brother as tall and as good-looking as you are? Is he single? Does he have any money? What kind of car does he drive? Is he a religious fanatic? Does he like Bush? Does he eat meat?
Can I have his picture? 17714. jayackroyd - 12/7/2005 3:32:58 PM What'll they think of next? Liberal Blogger postage stamps 17715. Magoseph - 12/7/2005 3:42:44 PM I wonder if the name of this site—BO ZARTZ was fashioned after the French word “Beaux-Arts”.
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